Tag Archives: Dave Clark Five

♫ Because ♫

Posted on by under music

The other night, I played a song by the British group the Dave Clark Five, and in the comments, a friend said his favourite by them was Because.  The song rang a bell, and when I went and listened, I remembered it well, remembered liking it back in the day.  Funny how we don’t think of a song for decades, and all of a sudden it’s clear as a bell.

This song hit #3 in both the U.S. and Canada, but didn’t fare so well on the band’s home turf, likely because in the UK it was released as the B-side of another song, Can’t You See That She’s Mine.  B-side songs just never quite seem to make it to the top of the charts.  According to Wikipedia …

Because was written with the intention of being the Dave Clark Five’s fifth US single, but the band’s label, Epic Records, was initially resistant, believing the ballad strayed too far from the hit-making formula that had proven successful with the band’s previous upbeat singles. In May 1964, the song was released in the UK as the B-side to Can’t You See That She’s Mine. Clark insisted that Because be released as an A-side in the US, and Epic eventually agreed. The single entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number sixty in August, and peaked six weeks later at number three.  Because became the band’s fifth US single to sell more than one million copies.  In Canada, the song reached number three on RPM magazine’s singles chart.

The songwriting credits on the record are given to Dave Clark and Mike Smith, but Because is one of several Dave Clark Five songs claimed to have been co-written by Ron Ryan, rather than by Clark.

I was surprised to find that the Supremes recorded a version of Because on the group’s A Bit of Liverpool (1964), a tribute album dedicated to music of the British Invasion.  And Julian Lennon recorded the song for the soundtrack to Dave Clark’s musical Time (1986). Released as a single in 1985, Lennon’s version reached #40 on the UK Singles Chart, and #8 on the Belgium Singles Chart.

Because
The Dave Clark Five

It’s right that I should care about you
And try to make you happy when you’re blue
It’s right, it’s right to feel the way I do
Because, because I love you

It’s wrong to say I don’t think of you
‘Cause when you say these things
You know it makes me blue

Give me one kiss and I’ll be happy
Just, just to be with you
Give me, give me, a chance to be near you
Because, because I love you

Give me one kiss and I’ll be happy
Just, just to be with you
Give me, give me, a chance to be near you
Because, because I love you
Because, because I love you

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Dave Clark
Because lyrics © Songtrust Ave

 

 

♫ Bits And Pieces ♫

Posted on by under music

In a comment on a post yesterday (or was it the day before?), our friend Keith asked if I had played this song on my music posts yet.  I hadn’t, in fact haven’t played anything by the Dave Clark Five!  It was simply oversight, not intentional.  Allow me to remedy that oversight now …

Released in 1964, this song by British group the Dave Clark Five is a toe-tapper.  I must admit to a bit of confusion, for while writing credit for the song is to Dave Clark and Mike Smith, according to Wikipedia, Smith co-wrote it with Ron Ryan rather than Dave Clark.  I cannot find verification either way … do any of my UK friends know the truth?

I did find it interesting, though, that some theater owners wouldn’t let them play this at concerts because they were worried that fans would jump up and down in time to the beat and damage the venue.  I told you it was a toe-tapper!

Like the rest of the Dave Clark Five catalog, this song wasn’t issued on CD in the U.S. until 1993 with the The History Of The Dave Clark Five collection, which was distributed by Hollywood Records, a division of Disney. Clark had held back the rights to the group’s catalog, which made their music difficult to find – even for radio stations, many of which didn’t play DC5 tracks because they didn’t have them.

In signing with Hollywood, Clark was hoping to get songs like this one used in Disney movies, but that didn’t happen. With the catalog held back for nearly two decades, interest in the group’s music waned, and many of their songs – including this one – never had a popular resurgence through use in a movie or commercial.

The song is in antiphonal style, with Mike Smith singing a solo line and the whole group responding. The drums have a very prominent part in the accompaniment. Additionally, some of the song’s unique percussion was supplied by an exercise board, which two of the band members (reportedly quite intoxicated) stamped on, not always perfectly in time to the music.

Okay, so this isn’t going to outpace Stevie Wonder’s Overjoyed or The Beatles’ Something, but it’s a fun song, one that will make you wanna … DANCE!  After a week of meaningful songs that carried a deep message, I think it’s time we get those feet moving just because, and stir that adrenaline!  This made it to #2 in the UK, #4 in the U.S., and #1 in Canada and Ireland.

Bits And Pieces
The Dave Clark Five

Since you left me and you said goodbye
(I’m in pieces, bits and pieces)
All I do is sit and cry
(I’m in pieces, bits and pieces)
You went away and left me misery
(I’m in pieces, bits and pieces)
And that’s the way it’ll always be

You said you loved me and you’d always be mine
(I’m in pieces, bits and pieces)
We’d be together till the end of time
(I’m in pieces, bits and pieces)
Now you say it was just a game
(I’m in pieces, bits and pieces)
But all you’re doin’ is leavin’ me pain

Time goes by and goes so slow (oh, yeah)
It just doesn’t seem true
Only just a few days ago
You said you’d love me, never make me blue

Now you’ve gone and I’m all alone
(I’m in pieces, bits and pieces)
And you’re still way up there on your throne
(I’m in pieces, bits and pieces)
Nothin’ seems to ever go right
(I’m in pieces, bits and pieces)
Cause night is day and day is night

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Dave Clark / Mike Smith
Bits And Pieces lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC