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"Concrete and Clay" | ||||
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Single by Unit 4 + 2 | ||||
B-side | " When I Fall in Love" | |||
Released | February 1965 | |||
Studio | Recorded Sounds, London [1] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 2:20 | |||
Label | Decca F12071 (UK), [3] London (US and Canada) | |||
Songwriter(s) | Tommy Moeller, Brian Parker [3] | |||
Producer(s) | John L. Barker [1] [3] | |||
Unit 4 + 2 singles chronology | ||||
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"Concrete and Clay" is a 1965 hit single recorded by the UK pop group Unit 4 + 2. It reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart in April 1965. [4] The song was written by group members Tommy Moeller and Brian Parker. [3] It was also a top 40 hit for Eddie Rambeau in 1965.
Recorded with the help of session musicians and featuring ("+2") Russ Ballard and Bob Henrit, [5] the lyrics detail the indestructible love of the singer and his lover. The arrangement has a pronounced Latin influence, using acoustic guitars and a baião beat. These distinctive elements helped boost "Concrete and Clay" to the No. 1 position on the UK Singles Chart in April 1965. [3]
American record producer Bob Crewe, best known for his work with the Four Seasons, had heard the Unit 4 + 2 hit version of "Concrete and Clay" while on a trip to the UK. As a result, Crewe had a cover version of "Concrete and Clay" cut by Eddie Rambeau, a staff writer at Crewe's music publishing firm, which was the inaugural release for Crewe's own DynoVoice Records. Although the Rambeau version's release pre-dated the US release of the Unit 4 + 2 version by one week, both singles debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 dated 8 May 1965; Unit 4 + 2 at No. 96 and Rambeau at No. 98, with both singles making a similar chart ascent over the next four weeks. The original eventually peaked at No. 28 while Rambeau's version reached No. 35. [3] In Canada's RPM Magazine the two versions were co-charted, both reaching number 1 on May 17, 1965. [6]
Chart (1965) | Peak position |
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U.K. Singles Chart | 1 |
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 28 |
U.S. Billboard Easy Listening [7] | 9 |
Chart (1965) | Peak position |
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U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 35 |
U.S. Billboard Easy Listening [8] | 13 |
The success of "Concrete and Clay" in 1965 resulted in international cover versions that same year, with renderings in: