The Searchers, one of the most talented British bands in the early ’60s, greatly influenced American rock and roll.
What The Searchers accomplished with their early hit “Needles and Pins” is nothing short of astonishing. The song was written by Jack Nietzsche and Sonny Bono, and first recorded in 1963 by Jackie DeShannon, a great songwriter in her own right and a wonderful singer. Still, The Searchers’ version in 1964 pulled out all the stops: the powerful drumming, the superb 12-string guitar work from lead vocalist Mike Pender, rhymed with lead guitarist John McNally’s terrific pop feel and punctuated by Pender’s unforgettable phrasing of “needles and pinza” – all of this made for an exciting groove that stands up to this day.
They followed up that success with “When You Walk In The Room”, a tune written and recorded by DeShannon, but again The Searchers’ release proved to be the better hit material. The Searchers were the second-best band ever to come out of Liverpool, although they had something that The Beatles did not exhibit in their early days – an interest in American folk music, coupled with a serious interest in the possibilities of the 12 string guitar.
Consider their recording of “Where Have All The Flowers Gone”, a Pete Seeger folk song covered by the likes of The Kingston Trio and Peter, Paul and Mary in 1962 .The Searchers’ version came out in 1963, surely an unlikely choice for a pop band whose forte appeared to be covers of American tune such as “Love Potion No. 9” and “Da Do Ron Ron”. However, The Searchers produced a lovely, memorable take on an important song.
Their influence on American rock and roll is incalculable; they inspired the Byrds not only with their signature 12-string sound, but with their versatility in their choice of material. The Byrds capitalized on recreating the splendid harmonies and ringing guitars of The Searchers when they recorded four Bob Dylan songs on their debut album Mr. Tambourine Man in 1965. Their music acquired a new name: folk-rock.
Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn was as devoted to the jangling sound of his 12-string Rickenbacker guitar as he was to the lyrics of Bob Dylan. The Byrds’ first album was a marriage of Dylan’s songs and jangling guitars derived straight from The Searchers. The Byrds’ first album is often cited as the prime reason for Dylan’s move from folk music to rock music. The album came to be one of the most significant records of the Sixties. And that guitar? – the very same model used by Mike Pender – a Rickenbacker 12 string.
It is no coincidence, btw, that George Harrison, the fellow Liverpudlian, used the same guitar on “Hard Day’s Night”. He first began playing a 12 string Rickenbacker in 1964; it soon became known as “the beat boys secret weapon” – can there be any doubt that George Harrison would have been frequently exposed to Mike Pender’s expertise with that “secret weapon” in the Beatles’ early Liverpool days?”
The Byrds, btw, chose another Pete Seeger song for their first album: “Turn, Turn, Turn”. Many of the songs on their first three albums show influence from The Searchers’ catalogue, with The Byrds virtually imitating the sound and the feel of “Don’t Throw Your Love Away” and “Someday We’re Gonna Love Again”. And it’s no coincidence that the paths of The Byrds and Jackie DeShannon crossed many times. She also wrote “Don’t Doubt Yourself Babe” for them, which appeared on their first album. The best covers of her own tunes? – the two great singles from The Searchers.
As for interesting choice of material, The Searchers’ 1964 cover of folk writer Malvina Reynolds “What Have They Done To The Rain”, with its theme of protest over above-ground nuclear testing, is a strong reminder that The Searchers were far removed from their image as merely a pop group or an imitation Beatles band. In addition, their 1964 recording of Canadian folk duo Ian and Sylvia’s “Four Strong Winds” is further evidence of The Searchers’ impeccable and far-ranging musical diversity. Further, their cover of P.F. Sloan’s “Take Me For What I’m Worth” was proof positive of their taste in songwriters. As a side note, Sloan was the California songwriter behind hits of The Grass Roots as well as Barry McGuire’s “Eve of Destruction”. That title showed up in slightly altered form when Stephen Stills composed “For What It’s Worth” a couple of years later.
Those two American pioneers of folk rock, The Byrds and Jackie, owed an inestimable debt to the guitar stylings and harmonies of that British band who was so much more than predictable pop tunes. The Americans were the innovators of a new sound that captured the hearts and minds of listeners in the change-over from pop to folk-rock. The Byrds evolved to create the psychedelia of “Eight Miles High”, and went further afield with the seminal country-rock/Americana of Sweetheart of The Rodeo. Jackie DeShannon continued to write great pop songs, among them “What The World Needs Now”, “Put A Little Love In Your Heart” and “Betty Davis Eyes”.
There is a direct line of influence from music of The Searchers to The Byrds, to Dylan going electric, and to Tom Petty, whose signature guitar sound was strongly reminiscent of Mike Pender’s 12-string arrangements. He was notably a fan of the band, and in 1985 teamed up with Stevie Nicks to record “Needles and Pins” for his live album Pack Up the Plantation: Live! The resulting US single reached No. 37 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Tom Petty was a big fan of The Byrds’ sound; witness his great cover of “I’ll Feel A Whole Lot Better” from his Full Moon Fever album. Petty’s choice of 12 string was, of course, the Rickenbacker.
Tom Petty provided his original song “Lost In Your Eyes” for the band in their 1979 comeback album, simply entitled The Searchers. That album is a forgotten classic, with Pender and McNally still at the peak of their powers. The album sold modestly, the prevailing taste having turned to the music of Michael Jackson, The Clash and AC/DC, a bridge too far for an aging British band to cross.
There are many collections available of The Searchers’ extensive catalogue, but the most representative is the one shown above, a recent CD collection based upon a 1971 UK compilation aptly named Needles and Pins. The sound is first-rate and the mono versions are a treasure.
