DC5's Induction Is Long Overdue

Tonight the most underrated British Invasion band finally entered the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. The Dave Clark Five has been eligible for the Hall of Fame for two decades but is just now getting its due. The band's induction is bittersweet because of the recent death of singer/keyboardist Mike Smith.


I'd like to pay tribute to the DC5 without mentioning the Beatles, but to rock fans in 1964 the two bands were very similar, sometimes hard to tell apart. While the Dave Clark Five had no shortage of mid-sixties pop hits, they never reached the artistic heights of Abbey Road or the White Album. Nonetheless, their place in the Hall of Fame is well deserved. Oldies radio would have been incomplete without snappy tunes like "Catch Us If You Can," "Glad All Over," and "Bits and Pieces." And future generations need to appreciate the way Dave Clark beat the snot out of his snare drum.