The five Brits, consisting of Dave Clark (vocals/drums), Mike Smith (vocals/keyboards), Lenny Davidson (guitar), Denny Payton (saxophone), and Rick Huxley (bass), sang their smash hit “Glad All Over” to American audiences on March 8th 1964. This one song, which was powerful enough to knock The Beatles’ “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” from the top spot in the UK, was the first of their 15 consecutive singles to make the U.S. Top Forty.

Initially passing on The Ed Sullivan Show, Clark soon regretted not accepting the invitation. “I’d never heard of him,” claimed Clark in an interview with USA Today, not yet understanding the massive success that came from performing on The Ed Sullivan Show. Luckily for the band, the invite was re-extended and the group was happy to oblige the second time. Appearing a total of 12 times on the show during the height of their popularity, DC5 performed hit after hit from their arsenal. Songs such as “Bits and Pieces,” “Do You Love Me?” and “Over and Over” were performed on the famous CBS stage with swarms of swooning girls falling for the English pop stars.

The crowds were so out of control when the Dave Clark Five went on that Ed often had to do a little crowd control on his end. “Look, kids, we’ve got the Dave Clark Five on tonight,” Ed yelled. “Now I don’t mind if you carry on when they come out, but remember there are other acts on the bill!” Sullivan’s pleas fell on deaf ears as fans continuously screeched at the top of their lungs throughout the live show.

With their popularity waning, the five-some decided to finally split in 1970. During the course of their careers, they managed to place 17 songs in the Top 40 charts, 8 of which climbed to the Top Ten, and one, “Over and Over,” that was a #1 hit. Payton died of cancer in 2006, and Smith passed away shortly before the band was finally inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008. Their induction came 44 years after their debut performance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964.