Shondell, whose real name was Gary Shelton, died Thursday (Jan. 7) at a nursing facility in Picayune, Mississippi, according to family friend K.J. Vigue. Vigue says Shondell's wife, Trina, told him about the death. The cause was complications related to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
Originally from Fort Wayne, Indiana, Shondell started singing and writing as a teenager. One of his earliest songs, "Kissin' at the Drive-In," became popular at drive-in movie theaters.
His biggest hit was "This Time (We're Really Breaking Up)," which spent four months on the Billboard Top 100 chart in 1961 and also charted on the UK singles chart. He later became a songwriter and publisher in Nashville.
