Lenny Davidson

English Guitarist (member of the Dave Clark Five)

Lenny Davidson

Davidson with the Dave Clark Five in Get Yourself a College Girl in 1964

Background information
Birth name| Leonard Arthur Davidson
Born|  (1944-05-30) 30 May 1944 (age 79)
Enfield, Middlesex, England
Genres|  Beat
Occupation(s)| Guitarist
Instrument(s)| Guitar, vocals
Years active| 1960s-1970
Labels| EMI, Epic Records, Capitol Records

Musical artist

Leonard Arthur Davidson (born 30 May 1944 in Enfield, Middlesex, England) is an English musician and songwriter, best known as the guitarist for the Dave Clark Five.[1]

## Biography[edit]

### Early life[edit]

Davidson was born in Enfield as one of three children. He started playing the guitar when he was a teenager. After leaving school, he worked at a company that made steel pipes.

### The Dave Clark Five[edit]

Main article: The Dave Clark Five

Lenny (far right) with the Dave Clark Five on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1966

In 1961 he joined 'The Dave Clark Five with Stan Saxon', the forerunner of The Dave Clark Five. According to Mike Smith (the DC5's lead singer and keyboardist), Dave Clark was looking for a lead guitarist and asked Smith if he knew anybody.[citation needed] Smith recommended Davidson saying there was no one better. Smith and Davidson had worked together in a previous band.

In 1963, the Dave Clark Five signed to EMI and released their debut album Glad All Over in March 1964. In total, the group appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show 18 times, more than any over British Invasion group.[2] He was one of three members of the group who wrote songs. The Dave Clark Five were big competitors with The Beatles during 1963 and 1964, knocking many of their songs off the number one spot on numerous music charts. He wrote their 1965 hit "Catch Us If You Can",[3] and contributed five more tunes on the Catch Us If You Can soundtrack album, although Davidson was the only member of the group not to have one single line of dialogue in the film.

The Dave Clark Five were one of the first leading groups in The British Invasion, cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States.

He co-wrote five songs, including "Crying Over You" and "When" to their 1965 Coast to Coast album,[4] and sang lead on the 1967 hit "Everybody Knows" which reached number 2 on the UK Singles Chart.[5] Lenny sang co-lead with Smith on their Because.

The Dave Clark Five sold more than 100 million records and scored 15 consecutive Top 20 U.S. hit singles. The Dave Clark Five broke up in 1970, but was quickly reformed by Clark and Smith as "Dave Clark and Friends", albeit without Davidson, Huxley, and Payton.

### Personal life[edit]

After the Dave Clark Five broke up in 1970, Davidson later relearned the guitar and became a music teacher in Hertfordshire, and also owned a company that provided repair and maintenance services for church organs.[6] He also owned an Antique shop, as stated by Mike Smith.[7][8] Following the death of Clark Five bassist Rick Huxley on 11 February 2013, Davidson and Clark are the last surviving members.

## Rock and Roll Hall of Fame[edit]

Davidson was inducted as part of the group into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 2008 along with the then fellow surviving band members Dave Clark and Rick Huxley. Mike Smith died 11 days before the ceremony from Pneumonia aged 64.[9] Davidson mentioned that they arrived in New York City for the ceremony on 8 March, exactly 44 years after the group's first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. Lenny also told a story of when the five went to see Ella Fitzgerald perform at the same hall the ceremony was held at, and the audience having to evacuate when a curtain caught fire from a lit cigarette.[10]

## Discography[edit]

### With The Dave Clark Five[edit]

Main article: The Dave Clark Five discography

Davidson (far right) with the Dave Clark Five on The Dean Martin Show in September 1965

#### Albums[edit]

Title  | Album details

|

A Session with the Dave Clark Five |

* Released: April 1964
* Label: Columbia
* Formats: LP

Catch Us If You Can |

* Released: July 1965
* Label: Columbia
* Formats: LP

Everybody Knows |

* Released: 15 December 1967
* Label: Columbia
* Formats: LP, reel-to-reel

5 by 5 |

* Released: 1 November 1968
* Label: Columbia
* Formats: LP

If Somebody Loves You |

* Released: December 1970
* Label: Columbia
* Formats: LP

#### EPs[edit]

Title  | EP details

|

The Dave Clark Five |

* Released: December 1963
* Label: Columbia
* Formats: 7"

Hits of the Dave Clark Five |

* Released: December 1964
* Label: Columbia
* Formats: 7"

Wild Weekend |

* Released: September 1965
* Label: Columbia
* Formats: 7"

#### Singles[edit]

Title  | Year

|

"I Knew It All the Time"

b/w "That's What I Said"

| 1962
"Chaquita"

b/w "In Your Heart"

"First Love"

b/w "I Walk the Line"

"The Mulberry Bush"

b/w "Chaquita"

| 1963
"Do You Love Me"

b/w "Doo-Dah"

"Glad All Over"

b/w "I Know You"

"Bits and Pieces"

b/w "All of the Time"

| 1964
"Can't You See That She's Mine"

b/w "Because" (UK); "No Time to Lose" (US)

"Thinking of You Baby"

b/w "Whenever You're Around"

"Because"

b/w "Can't You See That She's Mine"

"Everybody Knows (I Still Love You)"

b/w "Say You Want Me" (UK); "Ol' Sol" (US)

"Any Way You Want It"

b/w "Crying Over You"

"Come Home"

b/w "Mighty Good Loving" (UK); "Your Turn to Cry" (US)

| 1965
"Reelin' and Rockin'"

b/w "Little Bitty Pretty One" (UK); "I'm Thinking" (US)

"I Like It Like That"

b/w "Hurting Inside"

"Catch Us If You Can"

b/w "Move On" (UK); "On the Move" (US)

"Over and Over"

b/w "I'll Be Yours (My Love)"

"Having a Wild Weekend"

b/w "No Stopping"

"At the Scene"

b/w "I Miss You"

| 1966
"Try Too Hard"

b/w "All Night Long"

"Look Before You Leap"

b/w "Please Tell Me Why"

"Satisfied with You"

b/w "Don't Let Me Down"

"Nineteen Days"

b/w "I Need Love" (UK); "Sitting Here Baby" (US)

"I've Got to Have a Reason"

b/w "Good Time Woman"

"You Got What It Takes"

b/w "Sitting Here Baby" (UK); "Doctor Rhythm" (US)

| 1967
"Tabatha Twitchit"

b/w "Man in a Pin-Striped Suit"

"You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby"

b/w "Man in a Pin Striped Suit"

"A Little Bit Now"

b/w "You Don't Play Me Around"

"Red and Blue"

b/w "Concentration Baby"

"Everybody Knows"

b/w "Concentration Baby" (UK); "Inside and Out" (US)

"No One Can Break a Heart Like You"

b/w "You Don't Want My Lovin'"

| 1968
"Please Stay"

b/w "Forget"

"The Red Balloon"

b/w "Maze of Love"

"Live in the Sky"

b/w "Children"

"The Mulberry Tree"

b/w "Small Talk"

| 1969
"Paradise (Is Half as Nice)"

b/w "34-06"

"If Somebody Loves You"

b/w "Best Day's Work"

"Put a Little Love in Your Heart"

b/w "34-06"

"Good Old Rock 'n' Roll"

b/w "Good Old Rock 'n' Roll (Part 2)"

"Bring It On Home to Me"

b/w "Darling, I Love You"

"Everybody Get Together"

b/w "Darling I Love You"

| 1970
"Julia"

b/w "Five by Five"

"Here Comes Summer"

b/w "Break Down and Cry"

"More Good Old Rock 'n' Roll"

b/w "More Good Old Rock 'n' Roll (Part 2)"

"Southern Man"

b/w "If You Wanna See Me Cry"

| 1971
"Won't You Be My Lady"

b/w "Into Your Life"

## References[edit]

1. ^ "The 2008 Induction Ceremony". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame official website. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
2. ^ Knight, Christina (25 March 2014). "The Dave Clark Five And Beyond ~ Fast Facts About the Dave Clark Five | Great Performances | PBS". Great Performances. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
3. ^ "Original versions of Catch Us if You Can written by Dave Clark [GB], Lenny Davidson". Secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
4. ^ "The Dave Clark Five Coast to Coast Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
5. ^ "Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. 7 November 1967. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
6. ^ "Lenny Davidson Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
7. ^ "Did Lenny Davidson ever marry Jan McEwen?". Answers. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
8. ^ Mike Smith: What Members of the DC5 Did After The Group's Disbanding, retrieved 8 December 2022
9. ^ "Mike Smith of Dave Clark 5 dies at 64". TODAY.com. 28 February 2008. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
10. ^ Induction of The Dave Clark Five, retrieved 14 September 2022

## External links[edit]

* Lenny Davidson at IMDb
* Lenny Davidson discography at Discogs

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lenny Davidson (musician).

* v
* t
* e

The Dave Clark Five (DC5)

* Dave Clark
* Mike Smith
* Lenny Davidson
* Rick Huxley
* Denis Payton

Songs|

* "I Knew It All the Time"
* "Do You Love Me"
* "Glad All Over"
* "Bits and Pieces"
* "Stay"
* "Can't You See That She's Mine"
* "Any Way You Want It"
* "Because"
* "I Like It Like That"
* "Catch Us If You Can"
* "Over and Over"
* "You Got What It Takes"
* "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby"
* "Everybody Knows"
* "The Red Balloon"
* "Put a Little Love in Your Heart"
* "Good Old Rock 'n' Roll"
* "Loving You"
* "Here Comes Summer"

UK albums|

* A Session with The Dave Clark Five
* Everybody Knows (UK)
* 5 By 5 (1964–69)
* If Somebody Loves You
* The Dave Clark Five Play Good Old Rock & Roll
* Dave Clark & Friends

US albums|

* Glad All Over
* The Dave Clark Five Return!
* American Tour
* Coast to Coast
* Weekend in London
* Having a Wild Weekend
* I Like It Like That
* Try Too Hard
* Satisfied with You
* 5 by 5
* You Got What It Takes
* Everybody Knows (US)

UK compilations|

* Glad All Over Again

US compilations|

* The Dave Clark Five
* The History of The Dave Clark Five

Related articles|

* Discography
* Catch Us If You Can

* v
* t
* e

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – Class of 2008

Performers|

* The Dave Clark Five
* Dave Clark, Lenny Davidson, Rick Huxley, Denis Payton, Mike Smith
* Leonard Cohen
* Madonna
* John Mellencamp
* The Ventures
* Bob Bogle, Nokie Edwards, Gerry McGee, Mel Taylor, Don Wilson

Non-performers
(Ahmet Ertegun Award)|

* Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff

Sidemen|

* Little Walter

Authority control databases: Artists |

* MusicBrainz

|

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