Henry Gross

At age 18, while a student at Brooklyn College, Gross became a founding member of 1950s Rock & Roll revival group, Sha Na Na, playing guitar and wearing the greaser clothes he wore while a student at Midwood High School.

The 18-year-old Gross was the youngest musician to perform at Woodstock.

Henry Gross (born April 1, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter best known for his association with the group Sha Na Na and for his hit song, "Shannon".

Gross is considered a one-hit wonder artist; none of his other songs reached the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Gross left Sha Na Na to become a solo singer-songwriter in 1970.

He signed a recording contract with ABC Dunhill Records in 1971.

While there, he did some session work for producers Tommy West and Terry Cashman.

He played electric lead guitar on the Jim Croce album, I Got a Name.

His own debut album had little commercial success.

He continued to play at clubs and colleges until 1973, when he signed with A&M Records.

His first self-titled A&M album included several regional hits including "Simone", "Come On Say It", "Skin King", and a cover version of Lindisfarne's European hit, "Meet Me on the Corner".

With Gross’s second A&M album, Plug Me into Something, he began to achieve national recognition in Rolling Stone and The New York Times.

Gross moved on to Lifesong Records to make his next album.

He produced a single, "Shannon", a song written about the death of the dog of former Beach Boys member Carl Wilson, who was named Shannon.

As a session guitarist Henry performed on many records by other artists including Jim Croce (I Got A Name, ABC Records 1973)

However, his single "Springtime Mama" was a top 40 hit in the summer of 1976, peaking at #37.

Gross was born in Brooklyn, New York City.

At age 13 he performed at the New Jersey Pavilion at the World's Fair in Flushing, New York with his first band, The Auroras.

By age 14 he was playing regularly in local clubs in the New York area, and spending his summers playing at Catskill Mountains resort hotels.

The single went gold in the U.S. and became a worldwide hit, reaching No. 6 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and No. 5 on the Cash Box Top 100 in 1976.

In Canada it reached No. 1 in May of the same year.

It also reached No. 1 in New Zealand, and No. 32 in the UK.

After this single's success, Gross released the album, Release.

His second single, "Springtime Mama", reached No. 37 in the US, selling nearly a million copies, and reaching No. 18 in Canada.

On his next album, Show Me to the Stage, Gross mixed rock and roll songs with Phil Spector and Brian Wilson influences.

While the album sold well, it provided no hit singles.

He also recorded The Beatles song "Help!" for the documentary, All This and World War II; both occurred in 1976.

In the 1980s Gross performed in the road company production of Pump Boys and Dinettes with a cast featuring Jonathan Edwards (Sunshine) and Nicolette Larson (Lotta Love).

Gross's recording career slowed, but with CBS Records he made "Love Is the Stuff", and with Capitol Records in 1981, produced the What's in a Name album with Bobby Colomby.

Judy Collins (Home Again, Elektra/ Asylum 1984), and Andy Kim (Baby, I Love You, Steed/Dot Records 1970).

His songs have been recorded by a variety of artists including Judy Collins, Mary Travers, Cyndi Lauper, Jonathan Edwards, Henry Paul, Blackhawk, Southside Johnny, Garry Tallent and Rob Stoner.

Gross moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1986 and signed a publishing deal with Pic-A-Lic Music, a company owned by songwriters Roger Cook and Ralph Murphy.

Gross continued his songwriting and recording career in Nashville.

In 1993, he released the album Nothing But Dreams on his own Zelda Records label, named after his mother.

He had a Top 40 Country Radio hit, "Big Guitar" with Arista recording group Blackhawk, written with his good friend, Henry Paul, the group's lead singer.

Gross released I'm Hearing Things on Zelda Records in 2001, his first self engineered CD.

He currently performs an autobiographical one-man show called "One Hit Wanderer", chronicling the highlights, lowlights and funniest moments of his life in and out of the entertainment business.

He continues to write new songs while regularly recording in Fort Myers, Florida with multi-instrumentalist and recording engineer John McLane, having produced eight albums with #9 nearly completed.

One Hit Wanderer (2006), Foreverland (2007), Rhymes and Misdemeanors (2011) and Right as Rain (2011).

A single, "What a Christmas", was released the same year.