Wayne Shanklin

Wayne Shanklin (June 6, 1916 – June 16, 1970) was an American singer, songwriter and producer.

His best known compositions were "Jezebel", "Chanson D'Amour (Song of Love)", "Primrose Lane", and "The Big Hurt".

Shanklin was born June 6, 1916, in Joplin, Missouri to Virra (Storrs) and Nathaniel Shanklin Jr. He had one brother, Nathaniel Noel, and one sister, Dorothy.

He married Grace Bastin in 1934.

They had five children: Carolyn, Barbara Faye, Darlene May, Pamela Judith, and Wayne Shanklin Jr. Wayne and Grace divorced in 1942.

Later that same year he married Gloria Hansen.

They had four children: Helen, Martha, Timothy Michael, and Thorne Scott Shanklin.

In the early 1950s, Shanklin wrote with Al Sherman as well as Sherman's sons, Robert and Richard, who worked under pseudonyms at the time.

Shanklin also contributed music to a number of films: "Kiss Me Quick" was featured in the 1957 Randolph Scott western Shoot-Out at Medicine Bend and "I Leaned On A Man" was sung by Virginia Mayo in The Big Land.

It was first recorded in 1958 in two competing versions by Art and Dotty Todd and The Fontane Sisters, both of which were successful.

Shanklin co-wrote, with Herman L. Harris, the Plas Johnson 1958 45 A-side, "Downstairs" (Capitol Records 4251).

Also covered in 1958 by Ray Hartley on harpsichord with the David Terry Orchestra and produced by RCA Victor's Eddie Heller.

Shanklin founded the independent record label Signet Records in Los Angeles in 1959.

Shanklin wrote several hit songs, including "Primrose Lane", recorded by Jerry Wallace in 1959, and "Jezebel", recorded by Frankie Laine in 1951.

Shanklin's best-known composition is the song "Chanson D'Amour (Song of Love)".

One of the label's early successes was a song written by Shanklin, "The Big Hurt", which became a #3 hit in early 1960 for Miss Toni Fisher, and is also claimed to be the first commercial use of the production phasing technique known as "flanging".

"Chanson D'Amour (Song of Love)" was later covered by The Lettermen in the 1960s and was revived with great success by vocal jazz quartet The Manhattan Transfer in 1976.

Wayne and Gloria divorced on August 31, 1960.

In 1960, there is a record of Wayne marrying a Trudy Hancock.

Shanklin composed the original music for the 1961 film Angel Baby, starring George Hamilton and Mercedes McCambridge.

Shanklin also wrote Miss Toni Fisher's 1962 single "West of the Wall", which dealt with the partition of East and West Germany and the erection of the Berlin Wall (although the same melody and arrangement were used previously for an obscure Fisher single on Signet called "Toot Toot Amore").

"Jezebel" was covered (as an instrumental) by Australian teenage guitar prodigy Rob E.G. in 1963, as well as by Herman's Hermits in 1967.

He married his longtime secretary, Victoria Helen Hamway, on January 25, 1965.

On August 31, 1965, his youngest boy of many children, Edward Windsor Shanklin, was born.

Some sources state that Shanklin and Miss Toni Fisher were married at some point, but no record of the marriage is known to exist.

Fisher's daughter, Chris Miller, later married Shanklin's son, Timothy Michael Shanklin.

They had one known child.

Wayne Shanklin died June 16, 1970, from a heart attack in Orange County, California.

He was survived by his many children, wife Vicki, ex-wives and common-law wives.

"Primrose Lane" was used as the theme song for the 1971-72 sitcom The Smith Family, sung by Mike Minor.

Shanklin's son Windsor and his band Jaz Dyin recorded a cover of "Jezebel" in 1983.

Shanklin's songs were used in several recent films: "Primrose Lane" in Primary Colors (1998) and "Chanson D'Amour" in Eyes Wide Shut (1999).

Anna Calvi covered "Jezebel" which was released on Domino Records on October 11, 2010.