I am grieving over the death of Mike Smith, lead vocalist and keyboardist for the Dave Clark Five, today near London. Mike died of pneumonia at age 64. He was too young to leave us.I was only a wee lad when the DC5 hit the top of charts in the UK and, for a time, were as equally well known in the British Invasion as were the Beatles. In fact, the DC5 made 18 appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show, the most by any British group.
Smith had a distinctive voice, which some writer described as "leathery", that made the popular music of the group so appealing. I feel blessed nowadays to be able to see old performances of the DC5 on YouTube. Mike is a real presence in the performances.
Smith's passing seems even more tragic with the somewhat recent passing of the saxophonist of the group, Denis Payton, at age 63.
It is just really sad to lose the rock and roll stars of my youth, when they are still relatively young. Their music lives on, but it is sobering to realize that this is the end of an era.
"I'm in pieces, bits and pieces" over the passing of Mike. We will miss you, Mike. The song was always so true of you, that "You got what it takes."
