Top 10 Dave Clark Five Songs

Photo: CBS Television [Public domain]

Our Top 10 Dave Clark Five songs list examines some of the best music the band released during their decade long run in the 1960’s. The Dave Clark Five originated in England in the London Borough of Haringey. The group was first formed in 1957. Like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and many other bands that hailed from the United Kingdom, The Dave Clark Five released different versions of their albums on both sides of the Atlantic. The same also went for their singles release schedules. In the end, as fans we are left with a tremendous body of work that is often overlooked in the shadow of The Beatles.

The Dave Clark Five released their first album in 1964 entitled Glad All Over. The album featured Dave Clark on drums, Mike Smith on lead vocals and keyboards, Lenny Davidson on guitar, Rick Huxley on bass and Denis Payton on saxophone.

Between 1964 and 1970, The Dave Clark Five released close to thirty albums when combing their U.K. and U.S. releases. Many of those albums were compilations combining singles and different tracks from both the U.K. and U.S.

Making it even more difficult to track Dave Clark songs was the reluctance of Dave Clark to license his music to CD and current streaming services. Most of the original vinyl issues have never made it to CD or have been reissued in any other format.

Nonetheless, our Top 10 Dave Clark Five songs list attempts to showcase some of the best songs the band released during their fabulous run in the 1960’s.

# 10 – Can’t You See That She’s Mine

We open our Top 10 Dave Clark Five Songs list with the Dave Clark Five band single “Can’t You See That She’s Mine.” The song was released in 1964 on their debut album Glad All Over. It was the fourth single released from the record. The song is very similar in groove and melody to The Beatles “I Saw Her Standing There.”

# 9 – The Red Balloon

The Dave Clark Five song “The Red Balloon,” was released in 1968. The song was released as a non-album single. The song did very well in the United Kingdom reaching number seven on the singles charts. The song “The Red Balloon,” failed to chart in the United States. It was a great example of how different tastes could be between fans in the United States and fans in the United Kingdom.

# 8 – Any Way You Want It

The great Dave Clark Five song “Any Way You Want It,” is one of the most covered Dave Clark Five songs in their catalogue. The song was covered by Kiss on their Kiss Alive II album. It was covered by The Ramones with Eddie Vedder singing lead vocals. The song was also recorded by Tom Petty. “Any Way You Want It,” is one of the most powerful rockers the band ever released. The song was released on the Coast to Coast album in 1964.

# 7 – Because

For anyone who grew up in the 1960’s in the U.S. the sound of that organ lick at the beginning of “Because,” will be instantly recognizable. The mid-tempo ballad was a huge hit in the United States. The song was a top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 peaking at number three. The song was never released as a single in the United Kingdom.

# 6 – Catch Us If You Can

In 1965, The Dave Clark Five released the album Having a Wild Weekend. One of the most successful singles released from the album was the great Dave Clark Five song “Catch Us If You Can.” The song hit number four on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was so popular on a worldwide basis that a television show in Australia was named after the song.

# 5 – Everybody Knows

It’s interesting to watch old television clips of The Dave Clark Five perform. If one could not figure out that this was Dave Clark’s band by the name of the group, the stage set up of having the drummer Dave Clark placed in front of the rest of the musicians would confirm whose band this was. “Everybody Knows,” was an early hit of the band being released in 1962.

# 4 – I Like It Like That

“I Like It Like That,” was a song written by Chris Kenner and Allen Toussaint. Chris Kenner had a big hit with his song in 1961 as it reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100. The Dave Clark Five recorded the song in 1965 and released it on the album also entitled I Like It Like That.

# 3 – Bits and Pieces

As we get closer to number one on our Top 10 Dave Clark Five songs list, we turn to three of the band’s most successful songs. The great track “Bits and Pieces,” was released in 1964 and issued on the band’s debut album Glad All Over.The song was a huge hit for the band reaching number two in the United Kingdom and number four in the United States.

# 2 – Over and Over

We will close out this Top 10 Dave Clark Five songs list with two number one singles. The classic Dave Clark Five song “Over and Over,” was released in 1965. The song hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100. It was the band’s only number one single in the United States. In the United Kingdom the song only made it to the number forty-five position.

# 1 – Glad All Over

While “Over and Over,” served as the band’s only number one single in the U.S., in the United Kingdom, the Dave Clark Five celebrated another number one single with their legendary track “Glad All Over.” The song served as the title track for their debut album Glad All Over released in 1964. The song was written by Dave Clark and Mike Smith. The song helped fuel the competition they had with the Beatles in 1964. It was a competition wrapped in comparisons between the Beatles Mersey sound and the so-called Tottenham Sound.