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Del Shannon 1939-1990

Bill Holdship, L.A. Weekly, 22 February 1990

THE MOST tragic thing would be for Del Shannon to be lumped with, as he sometimes was in the past, all the Bobbys and Frankies and the other teen idols. Del Shannon was a rocker. Even when he played one of those often depressing revival shows, joining a crew of mostly has-beens onstage twice nightly for an ensemble sing-along, he'd carry his guitar and amplifier along with him. It always looked like If I have to be up here, man, I'm gonna play. "And he was a great rock & roll guitarist," said Billy Cioffi, the guitarist who backed him up onstage many times over the years. Shannon played great rhythm guitar the same way Keith Richards plays great rhythm guitar. "He'd Johnny B Goode' ya to death," said Cioffi.

Total word count of piece: 604

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