The last time I played this one was in January 2021, after learning of the death of Gerry Marsden, so it’s time for a redux! His other two songs that are on my revolving-door list have both already been played this year, so that just leaves this one …
Gerry Marsden in the 1960s
Gerry Marsden in 2009
Gerry and the Pacemakers were an English beat group prominent in the 1960s. In common with the Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein, and were recorded by George Martin. Gerry Marsden formed the group in 1959 with his brother Fred, Les Chadwick, and Arthur McMahon. They rivalled the Beatles early in their career, playing in the same areas of Hamburg and Liverpool.
This song was written by Gerry Marsden and released in late 1964 in the UK and in 1965 in the United States, becoming a hit in both countries, #8 in the UK and #6 in the U.S.
“Mersey” refers to the River Mersey in northwest England, a river that flows into the Irish Sea at Liverpool. The Mersey Ferry runs between Liverpool and Birkenhead and Seacombe on the Wirral.
Ferry Cross The Mersey Gerry and the Pacemakers
Life goes on day after day
Hearts torn in every way
So ferry ‘cross the Mersey
‘Cause this land’s the place I love
And here I’ll stay
People they rush everywhere
Each with their own secret care
So ferry ‘cross the Mersey
And always take me there
The place I love
People around every corner
They seem to smile and say
We don’t care what your name is boy
We’ll never turn you away
So I’ll continue to say
Here I always will stay
So ferry ‘cross the Mersey’
Cause this land’s the place I love
And here I’ll stay
And here I’ll stay
Here I’ll stay
Well, when I played “You’ll Never Walk Alone” by Gerry and the Pacemakers last night, I didn’t do so with the intention of making this Gerry and the Pacemakers’ Week, but today I find that another of their songs is stuck in my mind and isn’t going to leave until I share it with you guys! I played this one one other time, back in 2020. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?
Gerry & the Pacemakers were the second group to be signed by manager Brian Epstein (after The Beatles). They were part of the Merseybeat sound emanating from Liverpool, England.
In the UK, the group’s first three singles, all released in 1963, went to #1: How Do You Do It?, I Like It and You’ll Never Walk Alone. In the U.S., Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying was their first hit. The group had a few more hits in 1964 and 1965, but their fortunes faded as The Beatles emerged.
This song was written by written by Gerry Marsden, Freddie Marsden, Les Chadwick and Les Maguire, the members of Gerry and the Pacemakers. It was first recorded and issued as a single by Louise Cordet in February 1964. Shortly after Cordet’s version failed to chart, the song was recorded by Gerry and The Pacemakers themselves in April 1964.
This was produced by Beatles producer George Martin, and Gerry & the Pacemakers sang this when they made their US television debut on May 3, 1964 on The Ed Sullivan Show.
This song hit #4 in the U.S., #5 in Canada, and #6 in the UK.
Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying Gerry and the Pacemakers
Don’t let the sun catch you cryin’
The night’s the time for all your tears
Your heart may be broken tonight
But tomorrow in the morning light
Don’t let the sun catch you cryin’
The night-time shadows disappear
And with them go all your tears
For the morning will bring joy
For every girl and boy
So don’t let the sun catch you cryin’
We know that cryin’s not a bad thing
But stop your cryin’ when the birds sing
It may be hard to discover
That you’ve been left for another
But don’t forget that love’s a game
And it can always come again
Oh don’t let the sun catch you cryin’
Don’t let the sun catch you cryin’, oh no Oh, oh, oh
There are only three songs by Gerry and the Pacemakers that I have played before: Ferry Cross the Mersey (2); Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying; and I’m Telling You Now. Last time I played Ferry Cross the Mersey in 2021, several readers mentioned this one, You’ll Never Walk Alone. I’m sure that at the time I intended to play it shortly thereafter, but as happens to many of my plans, that thought went astray and I never played it. So tonight, I was thinking to redux Ferry Cross the Mersey, but when I looked back at the comments, saw the suggestions for this one, I decided to change course and play this instead.
I was surprised to learn that this was originally written for the 1945 musical Carousel. It was sung in the original show by Christine Johnson.
According to SongFacts …
Frank Sinatra was the first artist to take this song into the charts (#9 on the Billboard charts in 1945). It soon became very popular as many who had lost loved ones during the war took solace in the lyrics. Judy Garland recorded a well-known version, and in the 1950s several American rock n rollers sang it, including Conway Twitty, Gene Vincent and Johnny Preston.
Gerry & the Pacemakers had included the song in their stage act for a long time. When they decided to record it as their third single, producer George Martin enhanced the song by adding strings. When it topped the UK chart, they became the first act to reach #1 in the UK with their first three singles. Soon afterwards, it was adopted by the fans of Liverpool Football Club as the club’s anthem.
Elvis Presley covered this song, releasing it as a single in 1968. His was one of four versions of the song to chart in the US in the ’60s:
1964 Patti LaBelle & Her Blue Belles (#34)
1965 Gerry & The Pacemakers (#48)
1968 Elvis Presley (#90)
1969 The Brooklyn Bridge (#51)
Following a damning report into the 1989 Hillsborough disaster in which 96 football fans died, Liverpool Walton MP Steve Rotheram started a campaign to get this song back into the UK charts. As a result it returned to the UK top 20 in September 2012 with the proceeds being donated to Hillsborough-related charities.
Radio stations across Europe, including the BBC, joined forces to simultaneously play “You’ll Never Walk Alone” in a show of solidarity against coronavirus. The song ran out at 7:45 a.m. GMT on March 20, 2020, on hundreds of European radio stations. Dutch radio presenter Sander Hoogendoorn of 3FM, who came up with the idea, explained: “We all have to do what we can to beat this crisis. Things like this just go beyond the boundaries of radio channels. [The song] could speak to those doing an incredible job working in healthcare right now, those who are ill or those who can’t leave their house for a while.”
This topped a “lockdown listening list” collated by The Official Charts Company of the UK’s most popular coronavirus quarantine tracks. They compiled the survey by analyzing the songs that had the biggest percentage increase in listens and purchases, March 23-29, 2020, the week after Britain went into lockdown. They found a mixture of “uplifting classics” and “apocalyptic isolation” tunes being blasted from the nation’s speakers as folks adjusted to life in the COVID-19 era.
99-year-old Captain Tom Moore joined forces with Michael Ball and the NHS Voices Of Care Choir to record a charity cover in April 2020. The war veteran captured the UK nation’s hearts by raising over £26 million ($32 million) for the NHS during the COVID-19 pandemic by walking lengths of his garden.
All proceeds are being donated to Captain Tom Moore’s 100th Birthday Walk in aid of NHS Charities Together, which supports the NHS staff and volunteers caring for coronavirus patients.
Captain Tom Moore’s version entered the UK chart at #1, making Moore – six days short of his 100th birthday – the oldest person to achieve a chart-topping single.
In March 2021, a few months after Gerry Marsden died, Brittany Howard and Chris Martin performed “You’ll Never Walk Alone” as part of the “In Memoriam” segment on the Grammy Awards.
The Pacemakers’ version reached #1 in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and the UK, #31 in Canada, and #48 in the U.S.
You’ll Never Walk Alone
Gerry and the Pacemakers
When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don’t be afraid of the dark
At the end of a storm
There’s a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark
Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
For your dreams be tossed and blown
Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone
You’ll never walk alone
Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone
Yes, I know I just played this one back in June, but tonight this is rather a tribute, for yesterday, 03 January 2021, Gerry Marsden, the frontman of Gerry and the Pacemakers, died at the age of 78. I thought a bit of a tribute was fitting, and so I am reduxing this, probably the song he is most known for.
Gerry Marsden in the 1960s
Gerry Marsden in 2009
Marsden went into hospital on Boxing Day after tests showed he had a serious blood infection that had travelled to his heart. His daughter Yvette Marbeck told the PA news agency: “My sister Vicky and myself have always been very, very proud of Dad … He was our hero, wonderful.”
Paul McCartney paid homage on Twitter …
R.I.P. Mr. Marsden, and thank you for some wonderful music!
This is the first time I’ve featured a song by the group Gerry and the Pacemakers, in part because I can only think of two songs by them … this one and Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying.
Gerry and the Pacemakers were an English beat group prominent in the 1960s. In common with the Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein, and were recorded by George Martin. Gerry Marsden formed the group in 1959 with his brother Fred, Les Chadwick, and Arthur McMahon. They rivalled the Beatles early in their career, playing in the same areas of Hamburg and Liverpool.
This song was written by Gerry Marsden and released in late 1964 in the UK and in 1965 in the United States, becoming a hit in both countries, #8 in the UK and #6 in the U.S.
“Mersey” refers to the River Mersey in northwest England, a river that flows into the Irish Sea at Liverpool. The Mersey Ferry runs between Liverpool and Birkenhead and Seacombe on the Wirral.
Ferry Cross The Mersey Gerry and the Pacemakers
Life goes on day after day
Hearts torn in every way
So ferry ‘cross the Mersey
‘Cause this land’s the place I love
And here I’ll stay
People they rush everywhere
Each with their own secret care
So ferry ‘cross the Mersey
And always take me there
The place I love
People around every corner
They seem to smile and say
We don’t care what your name is boy
We’ll never turn you away
So I’ll continue to say
Here I always will stay
So ferry ‘cross the Mersey’
Cause this land’s the place I love
And here I’ll stay
And here I’ll stay
Here I’ll stay
A brief search of my archives shows me that the only other song I have played by Gerry and the Pacemakers was Ferry Cross the Mersey … a good one, indeed, but certainly not the only good one this group put out.
Gerry & the Pacemakers were the second group be signed by manager Brian Epstein (after The Beatles). They were part of the Merseybeat sound emanating from Liverpool, England.
In the UK, the group’s first three singles, all released in 1963, went to #1: How Do You Do It?, I Like It and You’ll Never Walk Alone. In the U.S., Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying was their first hit. The group had a few more hits in 1964 and 1965, but their fortunes faded as The Beatles emerged.
This song was written by written by Gerry Marsden, Freddie Marsden, Les Chadwick and Les Maguire, the members of Gerry and the Pacemakers. It was first recorded and issued as a single by Louise Cordet in February 1964. Shortly after Cordet’s version failed to chart, the song was recorded by Gerry and The Pacemakers themselves in April 1964.
This was produced by Beatles producer George Martin, and Gerry & the Pacemakers sang this when they made their US television debut on May 3, 1964 on The Ed Sullivan Show.
This song hit #4 in the U.S., #5 in Canada, and #6 in the UK.
Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying Gerry and the Pacemakers
Don’t let the sun catch you cryin’
The night’s the time for all your tears
Your heart may be broken tonight
But tomorrow in the morning light
Don’t let the sun catch you cryin’
The night-time shadows disappear
And with them go all your tears
For the morning will bring joy
For every girl and boy
So don’t let the sun catch you cryin’
We know that cryin’s not a bad thing
But stop your cryin’ when the birds sing
It may be hard to discover
That you’ve been left for another
But don’t forget that love’s a game
And it can always come again
Oh don’t let the sun catch you cryin’
Don’t let the sun catch you cryin’, oh no Oh, oh, oh
This is the first time I’ve featured a song by the group Gerry and the Pacemakers, in part because I can only think of two songs by them … this one and Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying.
Gerry and the Pacemakers were an English beat group prominent in the 1960s. In common with the Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein, and were recorded by George Martin. Gerry Marsden formed the group in 1959 with his brother Fred, Les Chadwick, and Arthur McMahon. They rivalled the Beatles early in their career, playing in the same areas of Hamburg and Liverpool.
This song was written by Gerry Marsden and released in late 1964 in the UK and in 1965 in the United States, becoming a hit in both countries, #8 in the UK and #6 in the U.S.
“Mersey” refers to the River Mersey in northwest England, a river that flows into the Irish Sea at Liverpool. The Mersey Ferry runs between Liverpool and Birkenhead and Seacombe on the Wirral.
Ferry Cross The Mersey Gerry and the Pacemakers
Life goes on day after day
Hearts torn in every way
So ferry ‘cross the Mersey
‘Cause this land’s the place I love
And here I’ll stay
People they rush everywhere
Each with their own secret care
So ferry ‘cross the Mersey
And always take me there
The place I love
People around every corner
They seem to smile and say
We don’t care what your name is boy
We’ll never turn you away
So I’ll continue to say
Here I always will stay
So ferry ‘cross the Mersey’
Cause this land’s the place I love
And here I’ll stay
And here I’ll stay
Here I’ll stay
Filosofa's Word 