On March 5 the SunBird Lions will present Steve Shannon…In Motion, a night of singing, storytelling and just plain good fun. Steve is a long-term resident of SunBird and has played to a packed house here in the past. This is a must see show.
Doors open at 6:00 p.m. and the show starts at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $10 through the HOA office and $12 at the door. Reserve your tables early. Seating is first come, first served.
Steve began his career in junior high when he had a local radio show on Saturdays on KGOS in Torrington, Wyoming, called Little Stevie’s Spins and Needles. This led to leads in high school plays and live shows in college sororities.
He was the first entertainer to be booked for the summer at Mount Rushmore and as a result, stood with Walter Cronkite and sang to the President of Italy for the first ever international TV broadcast on CBS via TelStar.
After being drafted into the Army he joined the Third Infantry Glee Club, performing for European royalty, command performances for the Army and Air Force. He later performed for the Admiral of the Seventh Fleet in Manila. Asked to do a 30 minute show, he did a two hour show, ad-libbing 90 minutes with a 26 piece Pilipino orchestra.
During a visit to Australia, he was asked by Eleanor Crook, wife of the American Ambassador, William Crook, to sing Born Free at the still famous Bourbon in Kings Cross. One song turned into 6371 shows (seven shows a night for 30 months – he never missed a show). Performances on TV and in major clubs followed with two gold records, several awards and his own TV show, Steve Shannon…in Motion. After 10 years, Steve came home.
Steve has appeared in literally every live and taped venue: nightclubs, concerts, conventions, cruise ships, command performances for the military, TV (including commercials) and radio. He has appeared or recorded with Tony Bennett, The Beach Boys, The Temptations, Sammy Davis Jr., Sara Vaughn and Dick Haynes, to name a few. At one time, he was backed by the legendary Liberace on piano (THAT is a story) and actor Bruce Willis on harmonica.
Steve says, “I’m old enough to relate to the lyrics. I’m definitely having more fun and looking forward to singing until, quite simply, I can’t.”
Steve Shannon is still “…in Motion”.