Love Forever - Demo Recordings 1966-1968 (RSD 2025)
Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Jackie DeShannon got her start singing gospel at home and in church as a child in her native Kentucky, and then singing country songs in her teens on her own weekly radio show, followed by rockabilly in the late 1950s. But her career really started in full swing after she moved to Los Angeles in the early 1960s and signed to Liberty Records and it's song publishing arm, Metric Music, where she would write on her own as well as in collaboration with Sharon Sheely, Randy Newman, Jack Nitzsche, and Jimmy Page. Her recordings during this time initially emphasized rhythm-and-blues material and then embraced the folk era blending with west coast country rock and the Southern California sound. As a staff member of Metric Music, Jackie created a countless number of demo recordings. Although some of these have appeared on unofficial/bootleg CDs over the years and a few were sprinkled in her with her Liberty/Imperial releases, there has never been a complete authorized commercial issue of DeShannon demos until now. Covering the years 1966-68, LOVE FOREVER offers over 16 demo selections by Jackie which reflect the decade's shift to a more introspective songwriting approach. Although Jackie enjoyed major hit singles such as "What the World Needs Now Is Love" and her evergreen anthem "Put a Little Love in Your Heart," her craftsmanship as a tunesmith took a more personal tack here. And with recollections by Lady Love herself incorporated into Richie Unterberger's liner notes as well as photographs from her private collection, LOVE FOREVER paints a picture of a timeless artist evolving with the times, on her way to new creative territory in the 1970s with career crowning compositions and recordings at Capitol, Atlantic, Columbia, and Amherst Records. And best of all, 10 of the 16 tracks have never appeared ANYWHERE (and only one on vinyl), so most of the tunes and tracks on LOVE FOREVER will be new even to DeShannon devotees. Pressed for Record Store Day in Valentine red with white swirl vinyl limited to 1250 copies!
