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]
