JethroTull Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 LONDON (AP) -- Dave Clark Five lead singer Mike Smith died of pneumonia Thursday, less than two weeks before the band is to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was 64. Mike Smith (rear right) sang lead on such songs as "Bits and Pieces" and "Glad All Over." Smith died at a hospital outside of London, his agent Margo Lewis said. He was admitted to the intensive care unit Wednesday morning with a chest infection, a complication from a spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed below the ribcage with limited use of his upper body. Lewis said he was injured when he fell from a fence at his home in Spain in September 2003. Smith had been in the hospital since the accident, and was just released last December when he moved into a specially prepared home near the hospital with his wife. "These last five years were extremely difficult for Mike. I am incredibly saddened to lose him, his energy and his humor, but I am comforted by the fact that he had the chance to spend his final months and days at home with his loving wife Charlie," Lewis said. Smith wrote songs as well as singing and playing keyboards for the Dave Clark Five, one of many British rock acts whose music swept across the United States in the 1960s during the so-called British Invasion. The Beatles are the best remembered, of course, but at the time the Dave Clark Five posed the strongest threat, commercially and critically, to their pre-eminence. The Dave Clark Five claimed a string of U.S. hits, including "Because," "Glad All Over," and "I Like it Like That." By 1966, the band had made 12 appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show," then a record for any British group. The group's antics were captured in John Boorman's 1965 documentary "Catch Us If You Can," which followed Smith and his band mates through the English city of Bristol. While the group -- which broke up in 1970 -- was named after him, Dave Clark himself was the drummer. The group is going to be inducted in the rock hall on March 10, a ceremony Lewis said Smith was trying to attend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knebby Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 I read this in yesterday's paper and felt very sad. I really liked them and felt they deserved recognition for their contribution to the 60s. RIP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juliet Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 Ah....that is so sad... I liked them to... I saw them on the Ed Sullivan show when I was a kiddie... My condolences to all who loved him... Juliet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternal light Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 Thanks for all the great music, RIP. Catch Us If You Can - Dave Clark Five Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRB Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 That is a sore loss, especially with the timing. Too bad the group wasn't inducted when the HOF sort of meant something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragster Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 I can't believe he was only 64!! ............RIP bro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 way to go cleavland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 That is a sore loss, especially with the timing. Too bad the group wasn't inducted when the HOF sort of meant something. When would that have been? It still means something to me even if they are inducting Madonna. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.