Runaway by Del Shannon

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TGNeil
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Fri Apr 28, 2023 12:47 pm

Hey Everybody,

Digging way back into the early days, we have our first Del Shannon lesson - Runaway.


Del Shannon was an American musician, singer and songwriter, best known for his nr. 1 Bilboard single 'Runaway'. It was released in 1961 and became a major international hit.

The arrangement was done in the key of A minor and changes to A major mid song (Capo I). In later years he would perform the song a half step down.

We take a look at all the chords, and break down the strumming, which is quite uptempo. It includes a 'roll' on beat 2, alternating bass notes, a little ascending bass line in the intro, and a bit of percussion by squeezing and releasing the chords in a few spots of the song, in particular the chorus.

Of course, if you're a beginner, it could also be done by simply using the folk and/or rock strum. We take a look at that as well.

All in all, a much fun song to play with a couple of useful techniques, which has a great carry over to other songs.