''Rock On!'' is an album by the American musician

Del Shannon Charles Weedon Westover (December 30, 1934 – February 8, 1990), better known by his stage name Del Shannon, was an American musician, singer and songwriter, best known for his 1961 number-one ''Billboard'' hit " Runaway", which was covered la ...

, released posthumously in October 1991. Edsel Records included the album in the 2023 ''Stranger in Town: A Del Shannon Compendium'' box set.

Production

The album was produced by Mike Campbell and

Jeff Lynne Jeffrey Lynne (born 30 December 1947) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is the co-founder and, latterly, sole member of the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) which was formed in 1970. He has written all of ...

. Shannon unexpectedly committed suicide in February 1990 with work on the album mostly complete.

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the leader and frontman of the Rock music, rock bands Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch and a member of the late 1980s sup ...

and some of the Heartbreakers played on ''Rock On!'' Richard Greene played the fiddle on "Let's Dance". " What Kind of Fool Do You Think I Am?" is a cover of

the Tams The Tams are an United States, American list of vocal groups, vocal group from Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, who enjoyed their greatest record chart, chart success in the 1960s, but continued to chart in the 1970s, and the 1980s. Two ...

song.

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...

played guitar on "I Got You"; he also contributed backing vocals to "Hot Love", a B-side to "Callin' Out My Name".

Critical reception

The ''

Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The C ...

'' lamented that "you'll hear a tired-sounding old rocker making one more half-hearted stab at a comeback." The ''

Edmonton Journal The ''Edmonton Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is part of the Postmedia Network. History The ''Journal'' was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunn ...

'' noted that "Shannon was always a first-class writer of merry melodies and ringing country guitar licks that poured upbeat empathy on our saddest moments." ''

The Indianapolis Star } ''The Indianapolis Star'' (also known as ''IndyStar'') is a morning daily newspaper that began publishing on June 6, 1903, in Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It has been the only major daily paper in the city since 1999, whe ...

'' panned the production, writing that "the 10 songs are Electric Light Orchestra layered over '60s-style rock." Tim Sendra of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

described the album as "passionate, dramatic, emotional, and full of great songs... Most of all it has that amazing voice, and yes, Shannon's majestic voice is as strong as ever here."

Track listing

Personnel

* Del Shannon – vocals, guitar *

– guitar, keyboards, bass guitar, backing vocals * Mike Campbell – guitar, keyboards, bass guitar, backing vocals *

– guitar, backing vocals *

Benmont Tench Benjamin Montmorency "Benmont" Tench III (born September 7, 1953) is an American musician and singer, and a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Early years Tench was born in Gainesville, Florida, the second child of Benjamin M ...

– accordion, organ, piano *

Howie Epstein Howard Norman Epstein (July 21, 1955 – February 23, 2003) was an American musician best known as a bassist with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Early life Epstein was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He grew up in a musical household. Epste ...

– backing vocals * Phil Jones – drums, backing vocals *

- guitar, backing vocals * Richard Greene – fiddle * Phil Hatton – backing vocals * Randy Jones – backing vocals * Andrew Williams – backing vocals * David Williams – backing vocals * David Campbell – string arrangement Production: * Jeff Lynne – producer * Mike Campbell – producer, engineer * William Bottrell – engineer * Richard Dodd – engineer, mixing * Mark Linett – engineer, mixing *

Bill Bottrell William Allen Bottrell (born October 27, 1952) is an American record producer and songwriter. He is perhaps best known for his production and uncredited guest appearance on Michael Jackson's 1991 single "Black or White", which peaked the ''Bill ...

– mixing

References

{{Authority control Del Shannon albums 1991 albums MCA Records albums Albums published posthumously Albums arranged by David Campbell (composer) Albums produced by Jeff Lynne