Hits on both sides of the Atlantic for different artists

American correspondent Dan Hollombe 'charts' the differences between the acts that scored hits in America and those that achieved success with the same titles in Britain.

A British tourist recently wandered into an American CD store and the conversation went something like this:

"Do you have 'The 12th Of Never' by Cliff Richard?"
"I'm sure you must mean Johnny Matthis. Who's Cliff Richard?"

Not an uncommon occurrence. Most people on both sides of the Atlantic have absolutely no idea whatsoever about the numerous discrepancies between the British & American charts. Although there are some British songs that Americans have never heard, and some American songs that the British have never heard, a much more common occurrence is that of a given tune being well known on both sides of the Atlantic, but by different artists.

Frequently, a record will hit big in the States, but for one reason or another, doesn't quite grab the attention of the British public. It was usually under these circumstances that some A&R guy would bring the song to the attention of an established British artist, who would subsequently have a hit with it on the strength of his/her name alone. A good example of this would be the above mentioned "12th Of Never." Often the reverse is the case, one example being the American group The Grass Roots having a hit with a cover of the British group Marmalade's "Lovin' Things."

Sometimes two different American artists will have a hit with the same song on different sides of the Atlantic, an example being "Up Up And Away," a hit for The Johnny Mann Singers in England and The 5th Dimension in America. Once again, the reverse is also often the case, as with the song "Ha Ha Said The Clown," which was recorded by both Manfred Mann and The Yardbirds, the former version being the hit in the UK, the latter getting the nod Stateside.

In one really unusual instance (there might be more, but none that I know of), an American act actually had a hit in England with the same song that an English act had a hit with in America. The song was "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat," by Goldie & The Gingerbreads and Herman's Hermits, respectively.

Another common occurrence during the 60s, was that of an American act having a minor hit in the states, and then a British act covering it and making it a major hit on both sides of the Atlantic. Take "The Pied Piper," for example. The tune was originally written and recorded by the American singer/songwriting duo of Artie Kornfeld & Steve Duboff and released as a single on the Phillips label in late 1965 under the name The Changin' Times. The record became a minor West Coast hit, but only made it to #87 nationally. When British singer Crispian St. Peters covered it a couple of months later, it zoomed into the British top 10, and was subsequently released in the States, where it also became a top 10 hit, leaving the original American version in the dust (and in the process, rendering it a much sought after collector's item). "Doo Wah Diddy" by The Exciters and "Needles And Pins" by Jackie DeShannon had similar fates. As a matter of fact, many of both The Searchers and Manfred Mann's early hits were covers of failed singles by American girl groups.

And then there's the strange case of "I Will Follow Him." A #1 American hit for Peggy March in the spring of 1963, which was also a Petula Clark album cut around the same time. Subsequently, Petula would release a French language version of the song on the flipside of her British hit single "Casanova," that became a hit in it's own right under the title "Chariot."

Below is a list of some examples of songs that were hits on both sides of the Atlantic, but by different acts. The list is far from thorough (a complete list would make for a ridiculously long page), but gives a bit of a glance into the subject matter. The Blue names represent the British hit, the Red names, the American:


	Alfie Cilla Black Dionne Warwick Anyone Who Had A Heart Cilla Black Dionne Warwick Apache The Shadows Jorgan Ingmann Baby I Need Your Loving The Fourmost The Four Tops Beggin' Timebox The Four Seasons Bobby's Girl Susan Maughan Marcie Blaine Bye Bye Baby The Bay City Rollers The Four Seasons Can't You Hear My Heartbeat? Goldie & The Gingerbreads Herman's Hermits Chariot (I Will Follow Him) Petula Clark Peggy March Don't Make Me Over The Swinging Blue Jeans Dionne Warwick Everlasting Love Love Affair Robert Knight From Russia With Love Matt Monroe The Village Stompers Goin' Back Dusty Springfield The Byrds Ha Ha Said The Clown Manfred Mann The Yardbirds Halfway To Paradise Billy Fury Tony Orlando Here Comes The Night Lulu Them Hi Hi Hazel The Troggs Gary & The Hornets How Can I Be Sure? David Cassidy The Rascals I'll Never Fall In Love Again Bobby Gentry Dionne Warwick Is This What I Get For Loving You? Marianne Faithfull The Ronnettes I Who Have Nothing Shirley Bassey Ben E. King Johnny Angel Patti Lynn Shelley Fabares Johnny Get Angry Carole Deene Joanie Summers Just One Look The Hollies Doris Troy Keep On Dancing The Bay City Rollers The Gentrys Little Things Dave Berry Bobby Goldsboro Lovin' Things Marmalade The Grass Roots (continued below.........)


	Memphis Dave Berry Johnny Rivers Message to Martha/Michael Adam Faith Dionne Warwick Mountain Of Love Kenny Lynch Lee Dorman Norman Carole Deene Sue Thompson Oh No, Not My Baby Manfred Mann Maxine Brown Paper Roses The Kaye Sisters Anita Bryant Please Stay The Cryin' Shames The Drifters Puff The Magic Dragon Kenny Lynch Peter Paul & Mary Sad Movies Carole Deene Sue Thompson Searchin' The Hollies The Coasters Shakin' All Over Johnny Kidd & The Pirates The Guess Who Shout Lulu The Isley Brothers Sitting In The Park Georgie Fame Billy Stewart Susie Darling Tommy Roe Robin Luke Sweets For My Sweet The Searchers The Drifters Tell Him Billie Davis The Exciters The Boat That I Row Lulu Neil Diamond The Sound Of Silence The Bachelors Simon & Garfunkel The 12th Of Never Cliff Richard Johnny Matthis Tonight Shirley Bassey Ferrante & Teicher Up On The Roof Kenny Lynch The Drifters Up Up And Away The Johnny Mann Singers The 5th Dimension Windmills Of Your Mind Noel Harrison Dusty Springfield You're No Good The Swingin' Blue Jeans Betty Everett You're The One Petula Clark The Vogues You Were On My Mind Crispian St. Peters The We 5

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