Rock and Roll
The song “Love Potion No 9” by The Searchers was written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller was originally recorded by the R&B group The Covers. That recording by The Clovers went to #23 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and R&B Chart in 1959. The Searchers covered it, and recorded it in 1963. However, it took until 1965, it make it to the U.S. charts, where it went to #3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The song was also on their 1963 album Meet the Searchers. It’s fun Sixties British Invasion music where they take a U.S. song, make it their own, and then play it back to the U.S. Other covers of the song include those by Wayne Fontana and The Mindbenders, Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, The Ventures, Tlot Tlot, The Nylons, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Neil Diamond, Carole Davis, AC/DC, The Alley Cats, Robert Plant, and the list goes on and on.
The Searchers got their name from the 1956 Western The Searchers, which was directed by John Ford and starred John Wayne. They formed in 1959 and were part of the 1960s Merseybeat scene, which also gave us The Beatles, The Hollies, The Fourmost, The Mersey Beats, Gerry and the Pacemakers, and The Swinging Blue Jeans. There have been lineup changes over the years, but for “Love Potion No. 9,” group members of The Searchers were John McNally, Mike Pender, Chris Curtis, and Tony Jackson. The group continues to tour and perform.
If you would like to read about hear the original version, please click here for “Love Potion No 9 by The Clovers,” which is on Pass the Paisley‘s sister site The Daily Doo Wop.
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