Mar. 3, 2008
Mike Smith died on February 28, 2008, just two weeks before his group, the Dave Clark Five, was due to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Smith had a hard life. The keyboard player and main singer in the band, his later years were haunted by tragedy, including the death of his only son. A fall in 2003 left him with severe spinal injuries and he spent the last five years of his life paralyzed from the rib cage down. Still, he had plans to attend the induction ceremony before complications from pneumonia robbed him of the chance. It’s a life story with a sad ending, but it’s worth remembering the glory years, too, because at one point in 1964 Smith’s group actually toppled the Beatles from the top of the pop charts with their infectious “Glad All Over†single, going on to hit the Top 40 seventeen times between 1964 and 1967 with solid songs like “Bits and Pieces,†the beautiful ballad “Because,†and a commendable cover of Bobby Day’s “Over and Over.†It’s a nice little legacy and it’s a shame that Smith won’t be able to be there when his peers and the music industry honors it. Here’s hoping they run a clip of Smith smiling and belting out “Glad All Over†with his band. I’m sure that’s how he would want to be remembered. And it will be.