Artist:Them
Song:Gloria
Album:Them Featuring Van Morrison
Them was a short lived mid-60s group that introduced the world to legendary singer songwriter Van Morrison. Gloria was their biggest hit. Though they were sold as a British Invasion band, Them was actually from Belfast, Northern Ireland. In April 1964, Van Morrison had left The Golden Eagles and needed a new band. He got together with a group called The Gamblers and a teenage piano player named Eric Wrixon. The group name was changed to Them in tribute to the 1954 horror movie. Eventually the group got the attention of Decca Records and signed with them. The frequent personnel changes and Decca's insistence on using session musicians irritated Morrison and he left in 1966 for a significant solo career. But not before he wrote and sang the garage band classic Gloria. Not only did Them have a hit with it but the Chicago garage band Shadows Of Knight had a hit with it too. Also, Jim Morrison of The Doors acknowledged Gloria as a major influence and even performed the song once with Van Morrison in San Francisco. Them continued for a few years but they weren't the same without Van Morrison. This 1987 comp is OK but Gloria is one of those songs you might want to get on Rhino's British Invasion series. Though Them may seem like a minor footnote of pop music today, they were influential to the burgeoning garage band movement of the 60s. Here's Them performing Mystic Eyes & Gloria in 1965.
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