Troy Shondell

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Gary "Troy" Shondell (born May 14, 1940, Fort Wayne, Indiana) is an American vocalist, who achieved 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 U.S. and the UK.

His most famous recording was "This Time". The song was a hit in 1961. Shondell recorded his first session for Mercury Records' subsidiary, Smash, in 1958. The song was a rock version of "My Hero" from The Chocolate Soldier. It was quickly banned in Boston, Massachusetts because of the lyrics, including the word "come".^{[citation needed]}

He followed the next year with "Kissin' At the Drive In," a rockabilly song that sold mainly in the Midwest.^{[citation needed]} In 1959, Mark Records released "Goodbye Little Darlin'".^{[citation needed]} Again it sold well in the Midwest and a few other areas,^{[citation needed]} but it never made it into the Top 40 of the national Billboard record chart.

In April 1961, he recorded "This Time". He and a good friend, Mike McMillen, decided to start their own record label, "Goldcrest Records".^{[citation needed]} The record was released during the last week in June, and sold ten thousand copies during the first week. The song went to number 1 almost everywhere it got played.^{[citation needed]}

Six weeks after being released and played in Chicago,^{[citation needed]} Shondell flew to Los Angeles and signed with Liberty Records.^{[citation needed]} It finally hit the Billboard charts the first week of September, and landed in the Top 10 four weeks later, staying in the charts for a total of sixteen weeks. "Tears From An Angel" was his follow-up recording, released in March 1962. No further chart action was forthcoming, and Shondell quietly slipped away from the music industry the following year.

On October 2, 2007, Shondell traveled to Collins, Mississippi, to deliver the musical tribute to his fallen rock and roll colleague, Dale Houston, who reached #1 in 1963 with "I'm Leaving It Up To You".