"Because" is a song recorded by English rock band

The Dave Clark Five The Dave Clark Five, also known as the DC5, were an English rock and roll band formed in 1958 in Tottenham, London. Drummer Dave Clark served as the group's leader, producer and co-songwriter. In January 1964 they had their first UK top ten sin ...

from their third studio album '' American Tour'' (1964). Written by Dave Clark and singer Mike Smith, and produced by Adrian Clark, the song was originally the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

to "

Can't You See That She's Mine "Can't You See That She's Mine" is the fourth single released in the United States by the Dave Clark Five. The song was written by Dave Clark and Mike Smith, and was the Dave Clark Five's fourth Gold Record. The B-side "No Time To Lose" was ta ...

" in the UK. "Because" was released as a single in the United States and reached number three on the US ''

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Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

chart. It also charted at number three in both Canada and New Zealand.

Julian Lennon Julian Charles John Lennon (born John Charles Julian Lennon; 8 April 1963) is an English musician. He is the son of Beatles member John Lennon and his first wife, Cynthia, and he is named after his paternal grandmother, Julia Lennon. Julian i ...

released a version of the song which peaked at number 40 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in 1985.

Background and release

"Because" was written with the intention of being the Dave Clark Five's fifth US single, but the band's label,

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

, was initially resistant, believing the ballad strayed too far from the hit-making formula that had proven successful with the band's previous upbeat singles. In May 1964, the song was released in the UK as the B-side to "Can't You See That She's Mine". Clark insisted that "Because" be released as an A-side in the US, and Epic eventually agreed. The single entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart at number sixty in August, and peaked six weeks later at number three. "Because" became the band's fifth US single to sell more than one million copies. In Canada, the song reached number three on ''RPM'' magazine's singles chart. The songwriting credits on the record are given to Dave Clark and Mike Smith, but "Because" is one of several Dave Clark Five songs claimed to have been co-written by Ron Ryan, rather than by Clark.

Critical reception

* In a review for the single, ''

'' described "Because" as a "warmly romantic ballad ... that should keep he Dave Clark Fiveon the chart." *''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' described it as "a most attractive shuffle rock-a-cha-cha beat newcomer...that the artists wax in ear-arresting manner." *

Richie Unterberger Richie Unterberger (born January 19, 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing. Life and writing Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

said the song "was on about the same melodic level as all but the best of the early

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...

' compositions". He felt the song showed a more subtle side of the band, contrasting it with the "stomping hits that were their main diet." Unterberger also complimented the track's harmony vocals, and noted the "beautiful, unusual, and irresistible chord changes" as well as the "tender, romantic lyrics".

Other versions

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...

recorded a version of "Because" on the group's ''

A Bit of Liverpool ''A Bit of Liverpool'', released as ''With Love (From Us to You)'' in the UK, is the third studio album by the Supremes, released in the fall of 1964 on the Motown label. It was produced by Berry Gordy with Hal Davis and Marc Gordon doing the mi ...

'' (1964), a

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records coll ...

dedicated to music of the

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on ...

. * The Ray Conniff Environment released the song as a single in 1972. *

recorded the song for the soundtrack to Dave Clark's musical ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' (1986). Released as a single in 1985, Lennon's version reached number 40 on the UK Singles Chart, and number eight on the Belgium Singles Chart. *Indie recording artist Michael Poss included a version of "Because" on his debut CD ''I Can Feel You In My Heart'' (1996), citing Dave Clark as Poss' inspiration to write Pop songs. * One-man band act Arthur Nakane performed his own rendition of the song in his audition for the fifth season of '' America's Got Talent''. He dedicated his performance to judge

Sharon Osbourne Sharon Rachel Osbourne (née Levy, later Arden; born 9 October 1952) is a British-American television personality, music manager and author. She is married to heavy metal singer-songwriter Ozzy Osbourne and came to prominence while appearing ...

Track listing

;7" Single (US, Canada)

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

* {{authority control 1964 singles The Dave Clark Five songs The Supremes songs Julian Lennon songs Columbia Graphophone Company singles Capitol Records singles Epic Records singles 1964 songs Songs written by Dave Clark (musician)