Again in an occasional series of songs that became pop classics, I was ten so didn't buy this but the drums made me think, well I could do THAT! and you know what I could! Didn't but could . . . . . . and I'm feeling . . . . . . . 

On this day in music history: December 27, 1963 - “Glad All Over” by The Dave Clark Five is released in the US (UK release date is on November 15, 1963). Written by Dave Clark and Mike Smith, it is the first major hit single for the pop/rock band from Tottenham, North London, UK. Going through numerous line up since forming as The Dave Clark Quintet in 1957, by 1961 the bands’ line up is set with Dave Clark (drums), Mike Smith (lead vocals, keyboards), Rick Huxley (bass), Lenny Davidson (lead guitar) and Denis Payton (saxophones, harmonica, guitar). The band change their name to The Dave Clark Five in 1962, becoming a popular attraction at clubs and the ballroom circuit in and around London. They release two non charting singles on the Picadilly label before attracting the attention of EMI Records who sign them to the Columbia Records subsidiary. The DC5’s first chart single is a cover of The Contours’ “Do You Love Me” (#30 UK). Not content with recording covers of the R&B and rock & roll standards they’ve been playing as part of their live act, or recording songs by outside songwriters, Clark and Smith decide they should write original songs for their band. The first song the pair write is the uptempo “Glad All Over”, which also sets the pattern for the DC5’s sound with a foundation of heavy drums, topped by Mike Smith’s power lead vocals and the rest of the band singing call and response vocals and in unison. The track is recorded at Landsowne Studios in London in September of 1963, with recording engineer Adrian Kerridge who also plays a vital role in the trademark sound of The Dave Clark Five’s records. “Glad All Over” is recorded live in the studio on a four-track tape machine, adding any additional overdubs while the track is being mixed to mono. Released in the UK first in mid November of 1963, the song is an immediate sensation, rocketing to the top of the UK singles chart, garnering much attention for having unseated The Beatles’ “I Want To Hold Your Hand” from the number one spot. The DC5’s recordings are licensed to Epic Records in the US, who follow in promoting the band as the closest rivals to The Beatles. Entering the Hot 100 at #77 on February 15, 1964 and peaking at #6 on on April 25, 1964, it becomes the first of eighteen Top 40 singles The Dave Clark Five have in the US over the next three and half years.

thanks to Jeff Harris' blog Behind the Grooves