Real name: Richard Doyle

Effective period / Period of releases: 1981

Shamus M'Cool (born Richard Doyle in 1941, Providence, RI, died January 19, 1990, Los Angeles, CA), was an American comedian, songwriter, and singer.

He is best known for his 1981 hit "American Memories", which he released as a 45 single under his very own Perspective Records, and which is one of the hardest "Hot 100" hits to find in the history of the charts. By some estimates, only 10 copies of this record exist. Allegedly, Doyle shipped or may have even delivered the single to several L.A. radio stations, PD's and DJ's alike who reported it in their playlists which were then submitted to both Billboard and Cashbox. Both publications listed the single in their pop charts. While unlikely, it's possible the single may not have gotten any air time at all or if any, very little even though it charted. In April, 2014, in an interview with Rick Romell of the (Milwaukie) Journal Sentinel, Joel Whitburn said "the 1981 record is the most valuable single in his massive music archive" of 150,000 items. See: http://archive.jsonline.com/business/joel-whitburn-is-no-1-when-it-comes-to-pop-music-charts-b99230640z1-254272691.html/
An earlier holiday single by Doyle, "Santa's Little Helper Dingo", and credited to "Dingo, the Most Lovable Elf Of All" charted at #11 on Billboard's Holiday Singles charts in 1973, and was reissued in 1976 with a different B-Side. These singles are also extremely rare, though somewhat more common than "American Memories."