The AT40 Blog/June 5, 1976: The moving song about the dog

 Whenever I get on Facebook now and I see someone mourning the passing of their beloved pet, my mind wonders off to "Shannon."

It's true. Without hesitation. It goes back to the spring of 1976 and a song that was climbing the Top 40 called "Shannon." The artist performing the song was a young man from Brooklyn named Henry Gross. And it climbed the Hot 100 until it stopped at No. 6 in early June.

Gross wrote the song about the passing of Beach Boy Carl Wilson's Irish setter. Now that might be an odd subject for any song, but it hit a chord with all pet lovers who have suffered great loss of their beloved cat, dog, anything they grew attached to.

And while some people may call it complete schlock, some of us call it a masterpiece. Remember: We all have something in our lives we are attached to, and while there have been songs mourning the loss of a beloved family member (songs like Bobby Goldsboro's "Honey" and Bread's "Everything I Own" come to mind), there was never that song about the loss of a family pet. In that regard, what Henry Gross did was pen pure genius.

Gross was a founding member of the famed '50s-style act Sha Na Na, but left for a solo career at 19 years old in 1970. The follow-up to "Shannon," "Springtime Mama," was a Top 40 hit in September of 1976, keeping him from being a forever one-hit wonder.

But just because the Top 40 hits stopped coming didn't mean Henry Gross hung up his guitar and left. He's recorded a dozen albums/CDs since 1977, one being titled "One Hit Wanderer" in tongue-in-cheek fashion. Just turned 63 in April, Gross still tours, though nothing has been posted on his Web site about a tour.

And yes, the song has had a little bit of infamy thanks to a "Long Distance Dedication" gone wrong in September 1985 on American Top 40 when the producers arranging the show had Casey Kasem read a dedication over a deceased pet named Snuggles after he had played an uptempo, dance hit on the countdown called "Dare Me" by the Pointer Sisters. The outtake of the Casey Kasem rant has been on YouTube for years.

Still, that doesn't take away from the majestic beauty of a loving tribute to a an equally loving pet. If only all pet owners could find the words about their animals the way Henry Gross did 38 years ago, which is why when a pet passes, this song always circulates in my head. It simply shows the beautiful and compassionate human being this man was to pay homage to a friend's pet.

Henry, you're still nailing it perfectly to this day.