It's Just A Little Bit Too Late
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"It's Just a Little Bit Too Late" is a song written by Clint Ballard Jr. and Les Ledo, which was originally recorded by
Clyde McPhatter Clyde Lensley McPhatter (November 15, 1932 – June 13, 1972) was an American rhythm and blues, soul, and rock and roll singer. He was one of the most widely imitated R&B singers of the 1950s and early 1960sPalmer, Robert (1981)"Roy Brown, a Pio ...
in 1963. A British beat group named the Druids would release their version in 1964 before the definitive version by
Wayne Fontana Glyn Geoffrey Ellis (28 October 19456 August 2020),
and
the Mindbenders The Mindbenders were an English beat group from Manchester. Originally the backing group for Wayne Fontana, they were one of several acts that were successful in the mid-1960s British Invasion of the US charts, achieving major chart hits wi ...
was recorded and released as a single in 1965. Their version was the second of three songs by Clint Ballard Jr. that the group recorded together with " The Game of Love" and " She Needs Love". Their rendition of the song reached number 20 in the UK's ''
Record Retailer ''Record Retailer'' was the only music trade newspaper for the UK record industry. It was founded in August 1959 as a monthly newspaper covering both labels and dealers. Its founding editor was Roy Parker (who died on 27 December 1964). The ti ...
'' but failed to emulate the success of their previous single "The Game of Love", only reaching number 45 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.


Background

Clint Ballard Jr. wrote the song together with Les Ledo, an American songwriter who previously had written the chart hit " Cotton Candy" for
Al Hirt Alois Maxwell "Al" Hirt (November 7, 1922 – April 27, 1999) was an American trumpeter and bandleader. He is best remembered for his million-selling recordings of "Java (instrumental), Java" and the accompanying album ''Honey in the Horn (album ...
under the
pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...
Russ Damon; it brought him success as a songwriter, with it reaching number 13 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1964. Clint Ballard Jr. had on the hand enjoyed success as a songwriter since the late 1950s, writing several top-ten hits for various acts, including
Frankie Avalon Francis Thomas Avallone (born September 18, 1940), better known as Frankie Avalon, is an American singer, actor and former teen idol. He had 31 charting U.S. ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' singles from 1958 to late 1962, including Record ...
's " Ginger Bread" in 1958 which reached number nine in the charts that year. He had also enjoyed success with " The Game of Love", a song he gave to Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders to record; it topped the American chart and reached number two in the UK.''Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990'' - Being two established songwriters, the pair decided to sit down and write, with the result becoming "It's Just a Little Bit Too Late". It was one of only two songs they wrote together, the other being "How Long Is So Long" in 1965. The suspected first version of the song was recorded by
the Drifters The Drifters are an American pop and R&B/soul vocal group. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, formed in 1959 and ...
frontman
Clyde McPhatter Clyde Lensley McPhatter (November 15, 1932 – June 13, 1972) was an American rhythm and blues, soul, and rock and roll singer. He was one of the most widely imitated R&B singers of the 1950s and early 1960sPalmer, Robert (1981)"Roy Brown, a Pio ...
in the year 1963. McPhatter's version features prominent
claves Claves (; ) are a percussion instrument consisting of a pair of short, wooden sticks about 20–25 centimeters (8–10 inches) long and about 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) in diameter. Although traditionally made of wood (typically rosewood, ebony ...
in the backing which also largely consists of a female backing along with a brass quartet. However, it i unclear whether or not his version actually got released as there is no information available. It would tie in with the year Ballard Jr. and Ledo copyrighted the song in 1963. The first released version of the song were from a British merseybeat band named the Druids, who featured Gearie Kenworthy of the Knack. Their version was released as their final and second single on 8 May 1964 through
Parlophone Records Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...
.


Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders version

Wayne Fontana Glyn Geoffrey Ellis (28 October 19456 August 2020),
and
the Mindbenders The Mindbenders were an English beat group from Manchester. Originally the backing group for Wayne Fontana, they were one of several acts that were successful in the mid-1960s British Invasion of the US charts, achieving major chart hits wi ...
had by this point become acquainted with Clint Ballard Jr. as a songwriter, having previously recorded his song " The Game of Love" in 1964. When released as a single the following year, it reached number one on ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number two on the
Record Retailer ''Record Retailer'' was the only music trade newspaper for the UK record industry. It was founded in August 1959 as a monthly newspaper covering both labels and dealers. Its founding editor was Roy Parker (who died on 27 December 1964). The ti ...
chart during the spring of 1965. This led to a tour of the United Kingdom on which they most likely picked up the song while performing together with the Hollies, who had had a number one hit with the Clint Ballard Jr. composition " I'm Alive" that year. Nonetheless, they liked the song well enough to record it, which they did at Philips Studio in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
with
Fontana Records Fontana Records is a record label that started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records. Fontana Distribution, an independent label distributor, takes its name from the label. History Fontana began in the 1950s as a subsidi ...
head producer Jack Baverstock.''Eric, Rick, Wayne And Bob — It's Wayne Fontana And The Mindbenders Plus'' (liner notes pg. 2). Schuh, Olive. Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders.
Bear Family Records Bear Family Records is a Germany-based independent record label, that specializes in reissues of archival material, ranging primarily in country music but varying in everything from 1950s rock and roll to old German movie soundtracks. History T ...
. 2012.
It was eventually released as a single on 4 June 1965 with "Long Time Comin'" as its B-side. "It's Just a Little Bit Too Late" entered the UK singles chart on 23 June 1965 at a position of 47 before peaking at number 20 on 14 July. It soon thereafter exited the chart on 4 August at a position of 50 after spending only seven weeks on the chart. In the US, the single entered the charts on 12 June at a position of number 88, before peaking at 45 on 24 July. It dropped from the charts on the following week with a position of number 59, after spending eight weeks on it. In ''Cash Box'' magazine it reached number 52, while also reaching number 44 in ''
Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...
''. Internationally, it was also commercially successful, though not on the level of "The Game of Love". In Canada's ''RPM'' magazine, it reached number nine, while it reached number 55 on the Australian charts. Upon release, it received primarily positive reviews. In ''Billboard'' magazine, it is considered a "No. 1 rhythm contender", noting the previous collaboration with Clint Ballard Jr. In ''Cash Box'' it is referred to as "a bright, funky-styled ditty" while simultaneously noting the lyrics of the song. In ''Music Business'' magazine it was considered a pick of the week while
Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...
describes it as "fast-moving follow-up item". Both sides of the single were featured on the group's second studio album ''Eric, Rick, Wayne And Bob — It's Wayne Fontana And The Mindbenders'' which was released in October 1965. Personnel *
Wayne Fontana Glyn Geoffrey Ellis (28 October 19456 August 2020),
– lead vocals, tambourine * Bob Lang – bass guitar, backing vocals *
Eric Stewart Eric Michael Stewart (born 20 January 1945) is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer, best known as a founding member of the rock groups the Mindbenders with whom he played from 1963 to 1968, and likewise of ...
– lead guitar * Ric Rothwell – drums Charts


See also

* The Mindbenders discography


References

{{Reflist 1963 songs Songs written by Clint Ballard Jr. Clyde McPhatter songs 1964 singles Parlophone singles The Mindbenders songs 1965 singles Fontana Records singles