#21: Do You Love Me by the Dave Clark Five

City: Ottawa, ON
Radio Station: CFRA
Peak Month: June 1964
Peak Position in Ottawa ~ #1
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ #2
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #11
YouTube: “Do You Love Me”
Lyrics: “Do You Love Me”

The Dave Clark Five were formed in 1958 in Tottenham, London, England. Dave Clark played drums and contributed background vocals, alongside a frequently changing line-up. Clark and guitarist Rick Huxley both participated in the 1958 line-up. Clark and his bandmates eventually split with the lead vocalist, Stan Saxon, and reconstituted themselves as a standalone concern in January 1962, making their home in the South Grove Youth Club in Tottenham. After a little more evolution, a lasting ensemble was settled, with Clark on drums, Huxley moving to bass, Lenny Davidson on lead guitar, Denis Payton on saxophone (and harmonica and rhythm guitar), and Mike Smith on keyboards and lead vocals. Davidson’s previous bands were the Off Beats and the Impalas.

Dave Clark was born in 1939 in Tottenham, England. He left school without qualifications at the age of 15 and claims to have become a film stuntman, performing in over 40 films in that capacity. In the late 1950s he bought a set of drums, taught himself how to play them, and formed a skiffle band to raise funds so that his football (rugby) team could travel to the Netherlands. The skiffle band grew into the Dave Clark Five, with Clark their leader, co-songwriter, manager and producer.

Michael “Mike” Smith was born in 1943 in the northern London suburb of Edmonton. His parents found he had a natural ability as a pianist that surfaced as early as age five. Smith started lessons in classical piano, and at age 13 passed the entrance exams at Trinity Music College in London. Smith met Clark when there were on the same football team at the St. George’s Boys Club. At age 17, while working for a finance company, Smith was invited by Clark to join his band, which was busy rebuilding itself around the core of Clark and rhythm guitarist (later bassist) Rick Huxley, after having recently lost its lead singer.

Rick Huxley was born in Dartford, Kent, England in August 1940. He began playing guitar at a young age and later switched to bass. At 16, he answered an advertisement to join a beat group led by Dave Clark, marking the beginning of his professional music career.

Lenny Davidson was born in Enfield, Middlesex, England, in 1944. He learned to play guitar and joined the Dave Clark Five in 1961.

Denis Peyton was born in Walthamstow, London in 1943.

The Dave Clark Five released “I Knew It All The Time”, featuring Mike Smith on lead vocals in 1962. The single charted to #53 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #9 in Peace River (AB).

In 1963, the band covered the Contours’ 1962 Top Ten hit “Do You Love Me”.

“Do You Love Me” was written by Berry Gordy Jr. Berry Gordy wrote “Do You Love Me” and earmarked it for the Temptations, who had no Top 40 hits to their name yet. However, when Gordy was looking for the group to record it, he could not find them; they had gone to church to see some gospel groups. Instead, the Contours, who had turned up to the studio to record their song “It Must Be Love”, were asked by Gordy to try singing “Do You Love Me”. After several attempts, they sang it exactly how Gordy wanted, and it was then recorded the following day. Contours singer Joe Billingslea stated in an interview in 2009, “The Temptations could never have sung that song because it wasn’t suited to them but Berry had motivated us to sing it the way he wanted it”.

Gordy said that “getting the concept for the song was easy. I remembered the days when I could never get the girls I liked because I couldn’t dance”. As such, the song references the 1960s dance moves the Mashed Potato and the Twist. The song includes a spoken recitation in the intro:

You broke my heart, ’cause I couldn’t dance,
You didn’t even want me around. 
And now I’m back, to let you know,
I can really shake ’em down.

The Contours original recording topped the R&B chart in the USA, and reached #2 in Canada (CFUN, Vancouver), #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, #6 in New Zealand, #10 in the Netherlands, and #13 in Belgium. In 1987, the song was included in the Soundtrack to the film Dirty Dancing. As a result, the Contours’ “Do You Love Me” enjoyed a revival reaching #8 in the Netherlands, #11 on the Billboard Hot 100, #13 in Belgium, and #16 in Canada.

Subsequently, Brian Poole and The Tremeloes released a refined cover of the song. It topped the pop charts in Australia, Ireland and the UK, peaked at #5 in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, and #12 in Finland.

Berry Gordy III was born in 1929 in Detroit. His father Barry Gordy II had moved to Detroit from Georgia, prompted by stories of the KKK lynching black men. Young Barry dropped out of school in grade eleven to be a boxer. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1951 and was assigned to the 58th Field Artillery Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, in the Korean War. After the war ended in 1953, Gordy opened a record store. But it was not successful. However, he kept his hand in the music business. In 1956 he met Jackie Wilson and the following year co-wrote “Reet Petite”, a #6 hit in 1957 in the UK. Next Gordy wrote “To Be Loved”, “Lonely Teardrops”, a #1 R&B hit in the USA, which climbed to #7 on the Billboard Hot 100. Gordy also co-wrote “That’s Why (I Love You So)”, a #2 R&B hit for Wilson in ’59. Late that year Gordy wrote a couple of Top Ten hits for Marv Johnson titled “You Got What It Takes” and “I Love the Way You Love”.

In the 1960s, Barry Gordy penned many hit songs. These include “Shop Around” for the Miracles; “Do You Love Me” by the Contours; “I’m Livin’ In Shame” for Diana Ross & The Supremes; and “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy” for Blood, Sweat & Tears. Gordy also penned four number-one hits for the Jackson Five in the early 1970s: “I Want You Back”, “ABC”, “The Love You Save”, and “I’ll Be There”. Barry Gordy is known also as a talent scout. Gordy signed many recording acts to Motown. These include Mary Wells, the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, Jimmy Ruffin, the Contours, the Four Tops, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Little Stevie Wonder, the Martha & the Vandellas, and the Jackson Five. At the time of publishing this song review, Berry Gordy III is 96 years of age.

In the Dave Clark Five version of “Do You Love Me” they dropped the brag “I can Mash Potato,” and replaced it with “Can I do the blues?”  In all versions the groups exclaim (I can) “do the twist.” The Twist was a perennial hit on the pop charts for Chubby Checker. It reached number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 19, 1960, and again on January 13 & 20th, 1962. On the Cashbox Top 100 Singles chart, “The Twist” enjoyed four weeks at number-one starting on September 10, 1960. And from January 6th to 27th, it topped the Cashbox Top 100 Singles chart again. Between 1959 and 1963, there were seventy different songs with the word “twist” in the song titled.

The Dave Clark Five cover of “Do You Love Me” peaked at #1 in Ottawa, Troy (NY), Buffalo, #2 in Vancouver (BC), Montreal, #3 in Halifax (NS), Calgary, Edmonton (AB), Chicago, and New Haven (CT), #4 in Winnipeg (MB), Cedar Rapids (IA), Wilkes-Barre (PA), and Boston, #5 in Vancouver (WA), Hamilton (ON), Minneapolis/St. Paul, Tucson (AZ), Toronto, Fairfax (VA), Arlington (VA), Davenport (IA), Milwaukee, and Akron (OH), #6 in Lansing (MI), Pittsburgh, and La Crosse (WI), #7 in Saint John (NB), Miami, Port Huron (MI), Reading (PA), Denver, St. Louis, Kansas City (MO), Philadelphia, Cincinnati (OH), and Springfield (MA), #8 in Endicott (NY), El Cajon (CA), and Lancaster (PA), #9 in Newport News (VA), Allentown (PA), Washington DC, and Erie (PA), and #10 in Niagara Falls (NY).

Internationally, the Dave Clark Five’s version of “Do You Love Me” climbed to #5 in Canada, #11 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #24 in the UK.

In early 1964, “Glad All Over” spent nine weeks in the Top Ten on CFUN (#3) in Vancouver, and on CHUM (#2) in Toronto. It topped the pop charts in New Zealand, Ireland and the UK, reached #4 in the Netherlands and #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single knocked “I Want To Hold Your Hand” out of the number-one position in the UK. The British press, briefly, called them the Beatles’ “most serious threat.” The Dave Clark Five were the first British Invasion band to follow the Beatles to the United States in 1964.

Their next single, “Bits And Pieces”, topped the pop charts in Canada and Ireland, reached #2 in the UK, #3 in New Zealand, #4 in Australia and America, #6 in the Netherlands, and #9 in Sweden. A third Top Ten hit in 1964, “Can’t You See That She’s Mine” also reached #4 on the Hot 100 in the USA, climbed to #3 in Canada, #7 in New Zealand, and #10 in the UK. A fourth hit in ’64 was “Because” which climbed to #3 in Canada, New Zealand and the USA.

In the winter of 1964, “Anyway You Want It” reached #7 in Canada, and #14 in the USA. Another single, “Come Home” also reached #14 on the Hot 100 in the USA at the start of 1965. That year the Dave Clark Five released covers of Chuck Berry’s “Reelin’ And Rockin'” – which peaked at #3 in Calgary; Bobby Day’s “Little Bitty Pretty One”; Chris Kenner’s “I Like It Like That” which reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, #3 on the Canadian RPM Singles chart, and #12 in Australia; and Bobby Day’s “Over And Over” which topped the RPM chart in Canada and the Hot 100 in December 1965. The Dave Clark Five’s cover of “Over And Over” also climbed to #2 in Sweden, #3 in Malaysia and New Zealand, and #6 in Singapore.

From the Dave Clark Five film Having a Wild Weekend, the band released “Catch Us If You Can”. The single peaked at #2 in Singapore, #4 in Malaysia, the UK and the USA, #5 in Canada and South Africa, #6 in Hong Kong, #7 in Rhodesia, and #9 in Sweden.

In 1966, “Try Too Hard” was a Top Ten hit in a number of Canadian radio markets, though it stalled at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100. After this release, the band struggled to crack the Top 30. One of the singles that got passed over in America was “Nineteen Days”.

In 1967, the Dave Clark Five scored one last Top Ten hit in North America with a cover of the 1960 Marv Johnson hit “You’ve Got What It Takes”. Johnson reached #7 in the UK in 1960, and #10 on the Hot 100 in the USA. While in 1967, the DC5 cover climbed to #7 on the Billboard Hot 100.

While in Europe, the Dave Clark Five continued to chart into the Top Ten. In 1968, “Everybody Knows” reached #2 in the UK, #5 in the Netherlands, #6 in Ireland and New Zealand, and #7 in South Africa. Later that year, “The Red Balloon” topped the pop chart in Singapore, climbed to #5 in Rhodesia, #6 in Denmark, South Africa, and the UK, #8 in Ireland and New Zealand, #10 in Sweden, and #13 in West Germany.

Late in 1969, the Dave Clark Five covered Cat Mother & the All-NIght News Boys “Good Old Rock ‘n’ Roll”. It reached #7 in the UK, #10 in Ireland, and #16 in South Africa. And in 1970, the band released a cover of the Youngblood’s “Get Together” (released as “Everybody Get Together”) which climbed to #8 on the UK pop chart. They released a cover of the 1959 Jerry Keller tune “Here Comes Summer”, but it stalled at #44 on the UK pop chart.

Between 1964 and 1972 the Dave Clark Five released sixteen studio albums. Internationally, they had twenty singles reach the Top Ten in one or more countries.

In the late 1960s, in addition to managing his band, Dave Clark began directing and producing for television. In 1968 he made a television production, Hold On, It’s the Dave Clark Five. In the 1980s he acquired the rights to the 1960s UK variety music show Ready, Steady, Go!

Clark later wrote a science fiction stage musical, Time, which debuted in 1986. Playing in London’s West End for two years, it starred Cliff Richard. Dave Clark was also a close friend of Freddie Mercury of Queen, and among the people near him at the time of Mercury’s death.

After the band split up in the year 1970, Lenny Davidson opened an antique shop and organ-repair shop. He also taught guitar in Buckinghamshire, UK.

In 1976, Mike Smith recorded an album titled Smith & d’Abo, with former Manfred Mann singer Mike d’Abo. Most of Smith’s work in the 1970s and 1980s, however, was as a producer and songwriter, and Smith was successful working on commercials (commercial ads), authoring jingles for many products. As well, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice recruited Mike Smith to sing on the recording of their musical, Evita, before it ever hit the stage. This earned Mike Smith another gold record.

Now based in Spain in the 1990s into the early 2000s, Mike Smith formed Mike Smith’s Rock Engine. The band began appearing in August 2002, and went on occasional tours generated very enthusiastic responses from audiences.

In September 2003, nearing his 60th birthday, Mike Smith was injured in an accident in his home in Spain which severely damaged his spinal cord. He tried to climb a seven foot gate after locking himself out of his villa. He fell heavily, and landed on his head. His spine fractured in three places leaving him permanently paralyzed from the waist down and in his right arm, with very little movement in his left arm. He died of pneumonia in January 2008, which was a complication from his accident.

After the Clark Five split in 1970, Denis Peyton worked in real estate. Peyton died in 2006 at the age of 63 of cancer.

Rick Huxley died at the age of 72 in February 2013, of emphysema.

The Dave Clark Five made the list of nominees for the class of 2008, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that year. The band appeared in a record-setting 18 occasions on The Ed Sullivan Show. The Dave Clark Five also made twelve appearances at Carnegie Hall in Manhattan. During the zenith of their career, the band conducted six tours to North America, and five world tours.

March 9, 2026
Ray McGinnis

References:
“Dave Clark Singer Mike Smith dies,” CBC, February 29, 2008.
Gary James, “Dave Clark Interview,” Classic Bands.com.
James Brinsford, “Freddie Mercury’s closest friends recall the moments immediately after his death,” Mirror, London, December 4, 2019.
“Rick Huxley Obituary,” Legacy.com.
“Rick Huxley Biography: Life Story, Achievements, and Legacy,” Mabumbe.com, January 15, 2025.
Michael Jack Kirby, “Dave Clark Five,” Way Back Attack.
“Dave Clark Five star Payton dies,” BBC, December 18, 2006.
Jem Aswad, “Motown Founder Berry Gordy to Retire,” Variety, September 24, 2019.
Harvey Kubernik, “Berry Gordy Interview: The Man Who Made Motown,” Classic Bands.com, November 28, 2023.
The Contours, “Do You Love Me“, Motown, 1962.

CFRA 580-AM Ottawa (ON) | July 4, 1964