Songfacts®:

• This uptempo composition by a youthful Jackie DeShannon has one of the most recognizable riffs of the 1960s, on a par with "Smoke on the Water." A massive hit that has been covered by many artists from Paul Carrack to Agnetha Fältskog to Status Quo, the definitive version was recorded by The Searchers with heavy emphasis on that wonderful riff.
  
  The original version was released on the Liberty label November 23, 1963 as the B-side of "Till You Say You'll Be Mine." Produced by Dick Glasser, it runs to 2 minutes 35 seconds, and might have been buried because the day before its release the President of the United States was assassinated, and the day after it was released, the assassin was assassinated. These two events would spawn a large number of songs including the contemporary "In The Summer Of His Years" and later "Dallas 1pm" and "Jack Ruby" to begin with. Fortunately, the Kennedy Assassination did not completely drown out all other news, and the song was picked up on the other side of the Atlantic. The September 1964 cover by The Searchers which was backed by "I'll Be Missing You" and reached #3 on the UK chart, #35 in the US.
• In an October 2001 interview with Ken Paulson, Jackie DeShannon said it was still one of her favorites, a show opener, and timeless: "I think we all have that spark when somebody walks in the room that we feel an emotional tie. That's how we feel." >>

  Suggestion credit:
  Alexander Baron - London, England
• The song's lyrics describe the singer's emotions of unrequited love. DeShannon talks about the "glowin' sensation" she gets when her love interest walks into the room but also her frustration that she cannot tell him how she feels.
• Pam Tillis took this song to #2 on the Country chart in 1994 with her cover version. Other successful covers include ones by:
  
  1981 Stephanie Winslow: #29 on the US country chart
  
  1987 Paul Carrack: #90 in the US and #48 in the UK.
  
  2004 Agnetha Fältskog #34 in the UK
• DeShannon wrote the song when she was hanging around at home, getting ready to go out on a date. "It just popped out," she told Uncut magazine, "along with that word, nonchalant. What can I say, I was excited about the date! Those songs are very rare, that come together so quickly. It didn't stand out as special at that point. I was writing a lot, all day, everyday."
• DeShannon supported The Beatles on their first US tour and this song's use of electric 12-string in a pop-rock setting was an influence on The Fab Four. She told Uncut: "We talked about songs. On the plane, The Beatles had one section and the opening acts had the other. George (Harrison) came up and asked me about the little riff on 'When You Walk In The Room.' He asked me to play it, and of course I was shaking. You think you hear its influence on 'Ticket To Ride?' Well George really did like the riff!"