This weekend, the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum featured California-based singer-songwriter Jackie DeShannon in a recent program for its in-depth interview series Poets and Prophets. The series highlights songwriters who made significant contributions to country music. The program was moderated by Vice President of Museum Services Michael Gray and featured video clips of DeShannon performing with legendary Country Music Hall of Fame members Eddy Arnold, Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell, the Everly Brothers and Willie Nelson.

During the program, DeShannon, a Songwriters Hall of Fame member, discussed her pioneering songwriting career and country music roots. As a child and teen, she was a country radio performer in Kentucky and Illinois. DeShannon moved to Los Angeles in 1960 and released her first major pop hit with Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s “What the World Needs Now Is Love.” Her song “When You Walk in the Room” was a huge success for the Searchers during the 1960s, and later Pam Tillis’s version reached the Top Five of the country charts. In 1969, DeShannon wrote and recorded the anthem “Put a Little Love in Your Heart.” “Bette Davis Eyes,” a hit for Kim Carnes, won DeShannon the 1982 Grammy for Song of the Year.

Last fall, the Sundazed label released Jackie DeShannon – The Sherry Lee Show, a two-album set of recordings taken from these 1950s radio broadcasts.

This program was filmed and will premiere at a later date as part of the museum’s Live at the Hall digital programs series, available to stream on the museum’s website. This program was presented in partnership with Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival.

The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum collects, preserves and interprets country music and its history for the education and entertainment of diverse audiences. In exhibitions, publications, digital media and educational programs, the museum explores the cultural importance and enduring beauty of the art form. The museum is operated by the Country Music Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) educational organization chartered by the state of Tennessee in 1964. The museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, and is among the most-visited history museums in the U.S. The Country Music Foundation operates Historic RCA Studio B®, Hatch Show Print® poster shop, CMF Records, the Frist Library and Archive and CMF Press. Museum programs are supported in part by Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission and Tennessee Arts Commission.
More information about the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is available at www.countrymusichalloffame.org or by calling (615) 416-2001.