Del Shannon - Drop Down And Get Me (feat. Tom Petty) (1981)

Released in 1981, this little gem was produced by Tom Petty and features the Heartbreakers as backing band of choice. The result is an album that updates Shannon's sound without putting him through any embarrassing, then-current commercial ploys (to Shannon's eternal credit, he looks younger on the cover than he did when he had "Runaway" out). He sounds great as well, writing nine of the 12 tracks assembled and turning in bang-up readings of Don Everly's "Maybe Tomorrow," the Rolling Stones' "Out of Time" and Phil Phillips' classic "Sea of Love," which became Shannon's final Top 40 hit. Added to the original issue are the inclusion of two bonus tracks that were U.K.-only releases: "Cheap Love" and "Help Me," both produced by Shannon himself.