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Artist
Gary Shelton
12+ albums
rockabillyWild 50s and 60s
about
Gary Wayne Schelton (May 14, 1939 – January 7, 2016) was an American rockabilly singer and songwriter, who achieved as Troy Shondell a modicum of fame and recognition in the early 1960s. He became a transatlantic one-hit wonder, by releasing a single that made the record charts in both the US and the UK. The song, "This Time" (or sometimes billed as "This Time (We're Really Breaking Up)" sold over one million records, earning gold disc status. In a single year, sales were over three million copies. Shondell was born in 1939, raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and educated at Valparaiso and Indiana universities. He wrote his first song at age 14, which was recorded by Little Anthony & the Imperials. Shondell also learned to play five musical instruments. His professional music career started as a teenager. Mercury Records released his first single, "My Hero", from The Chocolate Soldier, which he recorded in 1958 under the name Gary Shelton, which was close to his real name, Gary Schelton. He followed the next year with "Kissin' at the Drive-In", a rockabilly song that went on to become a drive-in theater standard. Still performing as Gary Shelton, he seemed to be on his way, at least in the Midwest. Chicago's Brass Rail, a major nightclub that usually hosted jazz and blues acts, brought him in for its first foray into rock and roll. The successful gig stretched to 16 weeks. In 1959, Mark Records released "The Trance" and "Goodbye Little Darlin'". These sold well in the Midwest and
