Today’s Han’s Worst Hits of the 70’s- is “Shannon” by Henry Gross. This is a terrible song but I love it- I will explain that later. Shannon was written by Henry Gross. Shannon was about the death of Beach Boy Carl Wilson’s Irish Setter-named Shannon. Gross had visited Carl and Carl told him of the death of Shannon- having been hit by a car.
Shannon was a worldwide smash- going to #6 on the US Billboard chart. It was a #1 in Canada and New Zealand. It was thankfully Henry Gross’s only hit.
Here is a trivia question for you- Henry Gross as a member of Sha Na Na was the youngest performer at the age of 18 on the main stage at Woodstock in 1969.
Why do I love this crappy song? This is the infamous song about the dead dog dying that sent Casey Kasem off – while doing a long distance dedication on AT40. Link below. [explicit language]
slicethelife 
Have to say I had never heard this song- what year was it a hit? Hilarious clip from Casey Kasem – like hearing Mr. Rogers swear! Not expecting that!
It was from the year 1976.
I didn’t know it!
Okay…Shannon always reminded me of The Beach Boys–and I love The Beach Boys and dogs, hence I love Shannon. Didn’t know that it was about Carl Wilson’s dog!! That’s awesome but sad. Now it all makes sense. Thanks.
Now, to make a brief case for the song…The harmonies are undeniable. They’re gorgeous. Very choral…Okay, Okay, the subject matter…a dead father, a depressed mother and a drowned dog is kind of morose, but those harmonies…
Made me think of Del Shannon… Runaway!
The Casey Kasem thing is hilarious though – shocking, but hilarious!
I always get a kick out of Casey when there is a song on the charts like ‘The Bitch Is Back” or “My Ding-A-Ling” and he has to say it….There are other outtakes out there where he goes off. He was always so ‘professional’ on the air. He seems like he was a handful behind the scenes!! Look for the outtakes of his doing intros for AT40 stations.
Yes, talk about Jekyll and Hyde!
OMG, that’s hilarious! Certainly not the warm, sweet Casey we thought we knew!
That has always made me wonder a bit about ole Casey… I also am curious-what music did Casey like away from the job?
He probably disliked much of what he played.
I would bet so.. he always sounded enthusiastic about it though- I enjoyed listening to him-he loved telling that Diamond/Babs story.
Too funny, a “death dedication”. Ahahaha! And he got so wound up. Those letters were always good for a laugh.
I love the long distance dedications- because they are always so funny- well usually are. There was years ago a local morning show on the radio that did a parody- American Back 40- and they had a long distance dedication that always started “Dear Casey- me and my girl Ethelbert…”
I would have loved to have heard that.
I would buy a collection of Casey Kasem’s outtakes.
Me too! It would be a great comedy album!!
Along with Lasorda’s best rants….
I actually like this song, good melody good high notes. Had no idea it was about a Beach Boy pet. Tsk tsk tsk Casey, losing it over a dead pet dedication?!? What did they do to his face on the picture on the youtube? Looks like eraser? About Casey and his tantrums, I heard the same thing about Delilah at Night…
I can’t stand Delilah. She is so smug & irritating. I’d rather hear someone fire up a chainsaw or a car with a bad muffler.
A hairdresser from way back gave me an earful on Delilah once. Not sure who/what her source was, but…
I have to ask- who is Delilah? Curious minds want to know!
You must not drive at night listening to the radio 😉 Here’s a wiki link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delilah_(radio_host) Like Casey, she has a very soothing and professional sounding voice, guys might say sexy, but, like we saw Casey’s meltdown, she has a darker side. Maybe that’s why they call her program Delilah in the Dark (I think that’s what they call it on stations near here.) A lot of lonely callers and she gives soothing bits of wisdom.
Thanks! I will have to look for her- at least once.
I just found a youtube clip of her talking which gives you a sample. Also look at youtube and you’ll see her promoting her new book…
The only Delilah I know is Chuck Berry’s Beautiful Delilah..who is this person you all talk about?
Think of a purring, smarmy Dear Abby, hanging out in the back alley of a dive bar…bestowing passersby with useless advice…then putting them to sleep with saccharine music pieces.
And, speaking of ‘msjadeli’s remark, above, regarding her hairdresser going off about said Delilah, I could NOT resist…
thank you
I hope you got the YouTube link.
OMG. Great info! I loved the song but, didn’t know it was about a dog. I remember the Kasem rant when it was released but, had no idea it was regarding this song. Damn.
That extra tall blond freak wife of his that battled his kids over his estate told me a LOT about him. She had crazy eyes.