It's no secret that I love all things British. This fascination, paired with my love for oldies, extends to include British invasion musical groups such as the Beatles (of course), Dave Clark Five, The Kinks, Herman's Hermits, The Rolling Stones, Manfred Mann, I could go on and on. I often get made fun of for having such a penchant for oldies (and I do listen to newer music too) but hey, there's a reason that 45 years later people are still listening to this stuff.
I often title my blog posts with lyrics from whatever I happen to be listening to that day or week. I'll have a song in my head and pull up Youtube to listen to it via music video. When it comes to oldies, the first video is usually a clip of the band playing on Ed Sullivan or some similar show. I just love watching these over and over again. Everyone looks so happy and engaged and so darn wholesome.
The other day as I wrote about running I wanted to listen to Dave Clark Five's "Catch Us If You Can. I paused as the video panned over the bandmembers. I was struck by how they're so handsome, every one of those five. I was particularly taken with the keyboard player/lead singer. He had a smile that portrayed an "aw shucks" quality that must have been irresistible in person. I began to wonder, who were these Dave Clark Five? After some consultation with Wikipedia and Google Images, I deduced that must have been Mike Smith, and he passed away in 2008 from complications from a spinal cord injury (incurred in a freak accident) just days before the band was to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. That is a dirty rotten shame. He went from singing his heart out and bopping around on Shindig to spending four years in hospital after his accident.
I'm going to choose to remember him as that happy young kid, singing his heart out and smiling that winning smile. I mean, that's how we'd all like to be remembered, right? Not how we are as we waste away, or are disfigured or disabled from accident and disease. Maybe that is the more truthful representation, but I'd rather remember the purity of youth.
