Little Town Flirt is the third studio album by American rock and roll singer-songwriter Del Shannon, released in June 1963 by Bigtop Records. His final album for the label, it features the singles "Two Kinds of Teardrops" and "Little Town Flirt". They peaked at numbers 50 and 12, respectively, on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart,[1] number 55, and 12, on the Cashbox Single Charts in the United States,[2] and numbers 5 and 4, respectively, in the United Kingdom.[3]
| Little Town Flirt | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 1963 | |||
| Genre | Rock and roll | |||
| Length | 29:28 | |||
| Label | Bigtop Records | |||
| Producer | Embee Productions | |||
| Del Shannon chronology | ||||
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| Alternate cover | ||||
 Little Town Flirt (UK) | ||||
| Singles from Little Town Flirt | ||||
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Little Town Flirt included multiple cover songs, including "Dream Baby", "Go Away Little Girl", and "Runaround Sue". It also included Del Shannon's second U.S. top five hit, "Hats off to Larry".
The album debuted on the Billboard Top LPs chart in the issue dated June 22, 1963, and remained on the album chart for 26 weeks, peaking at No. 12, his highest position had achieved on that chart.[4] It reached No. 19 on the Cashbox albums chart, where it stayed for 22 weeks.[5]
The album was released on Compact Disc by Beat Goes On on August 25, 1998, paired with Shannon's 1964 album Handy Man.[6] Bear Family included also the album in the 2004 Home and Away box set.[7] Edsel Records included the album in the 2023 Stranger in Town: A Del Shannon Compendium box set.[8]
Reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [9] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [11] |
| New Record Mirror | [10] |
Billboard gave the album a positive review, saying the title track is included with "a flock of his other winners".[12]
Cashbox described the album as a "teen-angled dancing and listening disk."[13]
New Record Mirror called it "excellent album" and stated that "A few other hits will be noticed if you scan the title list. Undoubtedly another winner as Del is in top form".[14]
Richie Unterberger of AllMusic noted that "Half of the songs on Shannon's second album [...] are on Greatest Hits. These are also the best and most popular songs on Little Town Flirt, which is filled out with competent but unremarkable covers of early '60s hits [...] That means that everyone except Shannon collectors should head to Greatest Hits instead."[9]
Track listing
editUS release
editSide one
editAll tracks are written by Del Shannon unless otherwise stated.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Two Kinds of Teardrops" | Maron McKenzie | 2:29 |
| 2. | "Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)" | Cindy Walker | 2:35 |
| 3. | "Happiness" | Del Shannon, Jim Ellis | 2:20 |
| 4. | "Hey! Little Girl" | 2:28 | |
| 5. | "She Thinks I Still Care" | Dickey Lee, Steve Duffy | 2:40 |
| 6. | "Runaway" | Max Crook, Shannon | 2:19 |
Side two
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Runaround Sue" | Dion DiMucci, Ernie Maresca | 2:36 |
| 2. | "Hats Off to Larry" | 2:00 | |
| 3. | "Kelly" | Del Shannon, Marron McKenzie | 2:39 |
| 4. | "Hey! Baby" | Margaret Cobb, Bruce Channel | 2:25 |
| 5. | "Go Away Little Girl" | Carole King, Gerry Goffin | 2:17 |
| 6. | "Little Town Flirt" | Del Shannon, Maron McKenzie | 2:40 |
UK release
editSide one
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Two Kinds of Teardrops" | Maron McKenzie | 2:29 |
| 2. | "Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)" | Cindy Walker | 2:35 |
| 3. | "Happiness" | Del Shannon, Jim Ellis | 2:20 |
| 4. | "Two Silhouettes" | Maron McKenzie | 2:20 |
| 5. | "She Thinks I Still Care" | Dickey Lee, Steve Duffy | 2:40 |
| 6. | "My Wild One" | Maron McKenzie | 2:02 |
Side two
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Runaround Sue" | Dion DiMucci, Ernie Maresca | 2:36 |
| 2. | "From Me to You" | Lennon–McCartney | 1:57 |
| 3. | "Kelly" | Marron McKenzie | 2:39 |
| 4. | "Hey! Baby" | Margaret Cobb, Bruce Channel | 2:25 |
| 5. | "Go Away Little Girl" | Carole King, Gerry Goffin | 2:17 |
| 6. | "Little Town Flirt" | Maron McKenzie | 2:40 |
Charts
editAlbum
edit| Chart (1963) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Top LPs (Billboard)[4] | 12 |
| U.S. Cashbox[5] | 19 |
Singles
edit| Year | Title | US | UK | US |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | "Two Kinds of Teardrops" | 50 | 5 | 55 |
| "Little Town Flirt" | 12 | 4 | 11 |
References
edit- ^ a b "Del Shannon chart history". Billboard. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
- ^ a b Downey, Pat (1994). Cash box pop singles charts, 1950-1993. Englewood, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited. p. 310. ISBN 1-56308-316-7.
- ^ a b "DEL SHANNON". Official Charts. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
- ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (1996). Joel Whitburn's top pop albums : 1955-1996 : compiled from Billboard magazine's pop album charts, 1955-1996. Menomonee Falls, Wis.: Record Research. p. 700. ISBN 978-0-8982-0117-8.
- ^ a b Hoffmann, Frank W (1988). The Cash box album charts, 1955-1974. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press. p. 332. ISBN 0-8108-2005-6.
- ^ "Little Town Flirt / Handy Man". allmusic.com. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
- ^ "Home and Away: The Complete Recordings 1960-1970". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
- ^ "Stranger in Town: A Del Shannon Compendium". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
- ^ a b Unterberger, Richie. "Little Town Flirt Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
- ^ Watson, Jimmy (12 October 1963). "Del Shannon: Little Town Flirt" (PDF). New Record Mirror. No. 25. p. 10. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 1250. ISBN 9781846098567. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
- ^ "Spotlight Pick: Little Town Flirt". Billboard. Vol. 75, no. 19. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1963-05-11. p. 31.
- ^ "Cashbox Album Popular Pick Reviews: Little Town Flirt". Cash Box. Vol. 24, no. 32. May 4, 1963. p. 24.
- ^ "BIG -NAME LP's : Lp Reviews by Jimmy Watson" (PDF). Record Mirror. October 12, 1963. p. 10.