9 Songs You Didn’t Know Jackie DeShannon Wrote for Other Artists

While best known for the pop hit “Put a Little Love in Your Heart,” Jackie DeShannon should be regarded today as an innovator and a musical game-changer, rather than simply a singer/songwriter. She could not only sing circles around the heavy hitters of the 1960s, but she was also a sought-after songwriter for the decade’s A-listers.

[RELATED: Behind The Song: Jackie DeShannon, “What The World Needs Now Is Love”]

Throughout her career, she has crafted songs with an inventive mix of folk and rock, tunes that have made for first-of-their-kind chart-toppers, overflowing with skill, intellect, and infectious energy.

Here are nine songs she wrote for others.

1. “Can’t Help Forgiving You” – The Searchers

Written by Jackie DeShannon and Sharon Sheeley

Appearing on The Searchers’ third album, It’s the Searchers, the galloping tune, “Can’t Help Forgiving You,” was written by DeShannon alongside her longtime collaborator Sharon Sheeley. The Searchers would also record DeShannon’s “When You Walk in the Room” which became a big hit for the English pop-rock group.

2. “Don’t Doubt Yourself, Babe” – The Byrds

Written by Jackie DeShannon

The DeShannon-penned “Don’t Doubt Yourself, Babe” appeared on The Byrds’ 1965 debut album, Mr. Tambourine Man. It was one of the only non-folk songs to appear on the release. The song’s writer wouldn’t release her own version of the tune until 2011.

3. “Come and Stay with Me” – Marianne Faithfull

Written by Jackie DeShannon

Marianne Faithfull’s 1965 tune, “Come and Stay with Me,” came to DeShannon in a somewhat unusual way. The songwriter was having a fling with Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, according to Faithfull’s manager Tony Calder.

“One night I couldn’t get into our hotel room because Jimmy and Jackie DeShannon were shagging,” he told Mojo magazine in 2008 (via Songfacts). “So I yelled, ‘When you’ve finished could you write a song for Marianne?’” Afterward, “Come and Stay with Me” was born.

Cher would go on to record and release a version of the song a few months later with DeShannon sharing her own rendition in 1968.

4. “You Can’t Go Where the Roses Go” – Marianne Faithfull

Written by Jackie DeShannon

DeShannon’s “You Can’t Go Where the Roses Go” was recorded for Faithfull’s 1967 album, Love in a Mist. No quirky stories seemed to accompany the making of this song, but it became a Faithfull hit all the same. Another DeShannon original, “With You in Mind,” appeared on the singer’s album.

5. “(He’s) The Great Imposter” – The Fleetwoods

Written by Jackie DeShannon and Sharon Sheeley

Another tune born from the DeShannon-Sheeley partnership was The Fleetwoods’ “(He’s) The Great Imposter.” The slowly building pop tune was a Hot 100 hit in 1961 upon its release. The song was revamped in 2010 by the English artist Lightspeed Champion.

6. “He Did It” – The Ronettes

Written by Jackie DeShannon and Sharon Sheeley

DeShannon and Sheeley also crafted another pop hit for The Ronettes in the form of the 1965 tune “He Did It.” The doo-wop-inspired pop-rock tune was the perfect foil for the trio’s harmonies.

7. “Heart in Hand” – Brenda Lee

Written by Jackie DeShannon and Sharon Sheeley

The DeShannon-Sheeley dream team was behind a number of hits for rockabilly queen Brenda Lee. The duo penned songs for the singer, like “My Heart Keeps Hangin’ On,” “Dum Dum,” and “Heart in Hand,” which saw healthy chart performances internationally. DeShannon would record and release her own version of the latter tune in 2011.

8. “Woe Is Me” – Helen Shapiro

Written by Jackie DeShannon and Sharon Sheeley

Brit pop star Helen Shapiro recorded another tune penned by the DeShannon-Sheeley duo, titled “Woe Is Me.” Released on her 1963 album, Helen’s Sixteen, the stampeding rock riff-heavy song became the perfect showcase for the star’s early vocal power that would go on to capture hearts at the onset of the British Invasion.

9. “Santa Fe / Beautiful Obsession” – Van Morrison

Written by Jackie DeShannon and Van Morrison

The mashup of “Santa Fe / Beautiful Obsession” appeared on Van Morrison’s 1978 album, Wavelength. The former tune was penned by DeShannon in 1973 around the time she lent backing vocals to Morrison’s album Hard Nose the Highway. Morrison was the first to record her song, mingling it with his own self-penned “Beautiful Obsession.” DeShannon wouldn’t record and release “Santa Fe” herself until 2003.

Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images