Photo: Photographer: Paul Schumach, Metropolitan Photo Service, New York City. [Public domain]
The band released their first single in 1963, entitled “How Do You Do It?” It could not have gone any better for the band as their debut single went straight to number one in the United Kingdom. What was even more spectacular was the fact that the band’s subsequent two single releases also went to number one. However, after their first three singles hit number one, the band would never have another number one single for the rest of their career. Nonetheless, they would still find themselves in the top 10 in various countries multiple times over the next three years.
Gerry Marsden and his band did not stay together for very long. The band released just a handful of albums between 1963 and 1966. Like many of the British Invasion bands such as The Dave Clark Five, Herman’s Hermits, Rolling Stones, and The Beatles, the albums released in the U.S. were often different from the UK releases.
Our top 10 Gerry and the Pacemakers songs list presents 10 of the band’s biggest hits they released from 1963 to 1966.
# 10 – Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine
We open up our top 10 Gerry and the Pacemakers Songs list with two songs from the great Girl On A Swing
album. The fantastic cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s “Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine” was initially released on the Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme
in 1966. Paul Simon’s protest song about everything was a surprising cover by Gerry and the Pacemakers.
# 9 – Girl On A Swing
The title track to the fabulous Girl On A Swing album was an exercise in pop perfection. The album was released in the fall of 1966. The record has been out of print for a long time but can be found on multiple album compilations, at your local garage sale, or on eBay. The great song “Girl On A Swing” was the album’s opening track.
# 8 – I’ll Be There
The band released the great Gerry and the Pacemakers song “I’ll Be There” in March of 1965. Listen to how beautiful those strings sound at the start of the song. It sets it all up so perfectly. The song hit number one in Canada. Bobby Darin originally recorded the song. The song “I’ll Be There” was also written by Bobby Darin. Other notable cover versions included a great version by Elvis Presley.
# 7 – I’m the One
“I’m the One” was a single released by Gerry and the Pacemakers in 1964. The song’s success in the U.K. defined how different the country was from the U.S. in terms of hit singles. In the U.K. the song reached all the way to number two. In the U.S. “I’m the One” peaked at number eighty four. The song was released in the U.S. album, Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying
.
# 6 – I Like It
The next set of Gerry and the Pacemakers songs were really big in the United States in the 1960s. Even if you don’t recognize the names of some of these Gerry and the Pacemakers songs, you will recognize the melodies instantly. The great song “I Like It,” was released in 1963. It was the second single ever released by the band. The song was written by Mitch Murray who had also had his songs covered by The Beatles, The Dave Clark Five, Cliff Richard, Paper Lace, and Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods.
# 5 – It’s Gonna Be Alright
The song “It’s Gonna Be Alright” was released on the soundtrack album to the film Ferry Cross the Mersey. 
The soundtrack was released in 1964. “It’s Gonna Be Alright” was released as a single from the album. George Martin, known for his Beatles fame, served as the musical director for the film.
# 4 – How Do You Do It
The classic Gerry and the Pacemakers song “How Do You Do It” was the band’s debut single. It was written by Mitch Murray and released in 1963 in the United Kingdom. The song went straight to number one in the United Kingdom but failed to chart in the United States when it was initially released in 1963. A year later, the song was reissued, and it broke into the top 10 of The Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number nine.
# 3 – Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying
The next three Gerry and the Pacemakers songs on this list are the band’s most popular songs by far. Starting with “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying,” these three Gerry and the Pacemakers songs defined the soundtrack to the lives of so many people who grew up in the 1960s. “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying” was released in 1964. “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying” was a top 10 hit in 1964 in both the United Kingdom and the United States. The song has been covered by various artists, including a beautiful version by Rickie Lee Jones in 1989.
# 2 – You’ll Never Walk Alone
The classic standard “You’ll Never Walk Alone” was written by Rodgers and Hammerstein
in 1945. The song was written for the musical Carousel. Over the years the song would be recorded by hundreds of musical artists including such legendary singers as Frank Sinatra, Roy Orbison. Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley. Gerry and the Pacemakers had more success with the song than any other artists. Gerry and the Pacemakers’ version of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” hit number one in both the United States and the United Kingdom.
It became more than just a hit single in the United Kingdom. It became a fight song for many European football teams starting in Liverpool in 1965. In the United States, it became the closing song that comedian Jerry Lewis would sing at the end of his yearly muscular dystrophy telethons.
# 1 – Ferry Cross the Mersey
As we come to a close on this top 10 Gerry and the Pacemakers songs list, we turn to a song that all of us here at classicrockhistory.com agreed was our favorite Gerry and the Pacemakers song. It might not have been the band’s biggest hit, but it has become one of the most legendary songs they ever released. The song was released on the soundtrack to the film of the same name. While the song did hit number one like the previous song in this list, “Ferry Cross the Mersey,” was a top 10 hit in both the United States and the United Kingdom.
Top 10 Gerry And The Pacemakers Songs article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2024
