Over and Over (Bobby Day song)

"Over and Over"
Single by Bobby Day
A-side"Rockin' Robin"
Released1958
Recorded1958
GenreDoo-wop[1]
Length2:20
LabelClass
SongwriterRobert James Byrd
Bobby Day singles chronology
"Rockin' Robin"
(1958) 		"Over and Over"
(1958) 		""The Bluebird, The Buzzard And The Oriole""
(1958)
"Over and Over"
American single sleeve.
Single by The Dave Clark Five
B-side"I'll Be Yours (My Love)"
ReleasedOctober 22, 1965
StudioLansdowne, London
GenreBeat[2]
Length2:00
LabelColumbia
SongwriterRobert James Byrd
ProducerDave Clark
The Dave Clark Five UK singles chronology
"Catch Us If You Can"
(1965) 		"Over and Over"
(1965) 		"Try Too Hard"
(1966)
The Dave Clark Five US singles chronology
"Catch Us If You Can"
(1965) 		"Over and Over"
(1965) 		"At The Scene"
(1966)
Audio
"Over and Over" on YouTube

"Over and Over" is a song written by Robert James Byrd and recorded by him using the stage name Bobby Day. Day's version entered the Billboard Hot 100 in 1958, the same week a version of the same song by Thurston Harris entered the chart. Day's version reached #41, and was the B-side to "Rockin' Robin".[3] Thurston Harris' version peaked at #96. In the song, the singer describes going to a party with misgivings of having a good time, until he sees a pretty girl. The singer attempts to ask her out, but she is waiting for her date to arrive. He vows to try "over and over".

Dave Clark Five version

Composition and recording

"Over and Over" was the second Bobby Day song the Dave Clark Five recorded, following "Little Bitty Pretty One" from on their Weekend in London album.[4][5] According to Tom Breihan of Stereogum, the Dave Clark Five version of "Over and Over" "strips down" a song that must've sounded "rudimentary even in 1958".[6] The Dave Clark Version features a lyrical rewrite of the original, turning Bobby Day's line "everybody there was stag" into the "utterly inscrutable" “everybody there was there.”[6][4] Additionally, they omit the final verse of Bobby Day's original.[4]

As with the rest of the Dave Clark Five's output, it was recorded at Lansdowne Studios in London, together with recording engineer Adrian Kerridge.[7] It was produced by Dave Clark himself.[8] According to Clark, he felt the finished recording was "too slow", though didn't want to re-record the track as the "feel was so good".[9] Instead, they put sellotape around the tape recorder's capstan until they achieved the speed Clark was aiming for.[9] This garnered some attention in America, who praised the band for the harmonica sound they achieved on the single.[9]

Release and reception

"Over and Over" was initially released as a single by Columbia Records in the UK and on Epic Records in the US on October 22, 1965,[10][11] together with the B-side "I'll Be Yours (My Love)" which would appear on their I Like It Like That studio album.[11][12] The single became the Dave Clark Five's largest hit in the US, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100, Cash Box Top 100 Pop Singles and the Record World 100 Top Pops charts on December 25, 1965.[13][14][15] It was the Dave Clark Five's only American number one single.[16] In the UK, the single's commercial success was more muted, as it only reached number 42 on the Melody Maker Pop 50 and number 45 on the Record Retailer singles chart.[17][18]

Cash Box described it as a "lively, hard-driving rendition" with "a danceable, pulsating beat."[19] Record World said that "The Dave Clark Five go to the top over and over, and 'Over and Over' will be no exception."[20]

Chart performance

Covers

In 1981, Mike Love of The Beach Boys covered the song on his solo album Looking Back With Love.[29] Love recorded it again on his 2019 album 12 Sides of Summer.[30]

French singer Sacha Distel stayed very close to DC5's arrangement and made a hit with his French version entitled "Les Yeux Bleus".[31]

Chris Knight of The Brady Bunch also covered the song on his 1973 album with Maureen McCormick Chris Knight & Maureen McCormick. The track is also featured as a bonus track on the CD reissue of The Brady Bunch's 1973 album The Brady Bunch Phonographic Album.

References

  1. ^ Marsh, Dave (1989). The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. Plume. p. 429. ISBN 0-452-26305-0.
  2. ^ Breihan, Tom (15 November 2022). "The Beatles - "I Want To Hold Your Hand". The Number Ones: Twenty Chart-Topping Hits That Reveal the History of Pop Music. New York: Hachette Book Group. p. 45.
  3. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 148.
  4. ^ a b c Phill (11 August 2011). "2 Bs or not 2Bs?...a Rock Hall of Fame Question". Goldmine. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  5. ^ Eder, Bruce. "Complete History, Vol. 2: Coast to Coast/Weekend in London/Having a Wild Weekend Review by Bruce Eder". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  6. ^ a b Breihan, Tom (22 August 2018). "The Number Ones: The Dave Clark Five's "Over And Over"". Stereogum. Archived from the original on 3 December 2024. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  7. ^ Anon. (2008). The Hits (CD). Europe: Universal Music Group. 1781774 – via MusicBrainz. Page 28.
  8. ^ Anon. (2008). The Hits (CD). Europe: Universal Music Group. 1781774 – via MusicBrainz. Page 3.
  9. ^ a b c Barnes, Ken (1993). The History of the Dave Clark Five (CD). United States: Hollywood Records. HR-61482-2 – via MusicBrainz. Pages 20, 22.
  10. ^ Anon. (14 October 1965). "Discs from Stones - Animals" (PDF). Record Mirror. p. 5. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 February 2025. Retrieved 21 December 2025 – via WorldRadioHistory.
  11. ^ a b Barnes, Ken (1993). The History of the Dave Clark Five (CD). United States: Hollywood Records. HR-61482-2 – via MusicBrainz. Page 30.
  12. ^ a b "Over And Over" (in German). Offizielle Deutsche Charts. Retrieved 21 December 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  13. ^ a b Anon. (25 December 1965). "Hot 100" (PDF). Billboard. p. 23. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 May 2025. Retrieved 21 December 2025 – via WorldRadioHistory.
  14. ^ a b Anon. (25 December 1965). "Cash Box Top 100" (PDF). Cash Box. p. 4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 September 2025. Retrieved 21 December 2025 – via WorldRadioHistory.
  15. ^ a b Anon. (25 December 1965). "100 Top Pops" (PDF). Record World. p. 25. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 October 2025. Retrieved 21 December 2025 – via WorldRadioHistory.
  16. ^ Casalena, Em (9 August 2025). "3 Nostalgic Songs You'll Remember if You Were a Kid in 1965". American Songwriter. Retrieved 21 December 2025.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  17. ^ a b Anon. (27 November 1965). "Pop 50". Melody Maker. p. 2.
  18. ^ a b "Over And Over by Dave Clark Five". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 23 July 2024. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  19. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 6 November 1965. p. 24. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  20. ^ "Single Picks of the Week" (PDF). Record World. 6 November 1965. p. 1. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  21. ^ Kent, David (2005). Australian Chart Book 1940–1969. Australia: Australian Chart Book. p. 254. ISBN 0-646-44439-5. OCLC 62561852.
  22. ^ Anon. (27 December 1965). "R. P. M. Play Sheet" (PDF). RPM. p. 5. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 December 2024. Retrieved 21 December 2025 – via WorldRadioHistory.
  23. ^ Anon. (5 February 1966). "Hits Of The World" (PDF). Billboard. p. 37. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 September 2025. Retrieved 21 December 2025 – via WorldRadioHistory.
  24. ^ Kohler, Steve (18 March 1966). "The N.Z. Hit Parade". Flavour of New Zealand. New Zealand Listener. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  25. ^ Anon. (8 January 1966). "Hits Of The World" (PDF). Billboard. p. 33. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 December 2024. Retrieved 21 December 2025 – via WorldRadioHistory.
  26. ^ Hallberg, Eric (1993). Eric Hallberg presenterar Kvällstoppen i P3 [Eric Hallberg Presents Kvällstoppen on P3] (in Swedish) (1st ed.). Stockholm: Drift. p. 80. ISBN 9-789-16-302-14-04. OCLC 186244613.
  27. ^ Hallberg, Eric; Henningsson, Ulf (2012). Tio i Topp - med de utslagna "på försök" 1961–74 [Tio I Topp With The Eliminated On Try 1961–1974] (in Swedish) (2nd ed.). Stockholm: Premium. p. 447. ISBN 978-91-89136-89-2. OCLC 939611828.
  28. ^ "Top 100 Chart Hits of 1966" (PDF). Cash Box. 24 December 1966. p. 30. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 August 2025. Retrieved 20 December 2025 – via WorldRadioHistory.
  29. ^ "Mike Love - Looking Back With Love". Discogs. 1981.
  30. ^ Grow, Kory (20 May 2019). "Hear the Beach Boys' Mike Love Cover the Ramones' 'Rockaway Beach'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  31. ^ "Sacha Distel - les yeux bleu". YouTube. 10 September 2015.
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