THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,770) The Searchers — “He’s Got No Love”
The Searchers’ (see #352, 394, 636, 1,278, 1,725) most successful self-penned song (#12 in the UK, #79 in the US). “He’s Got No Love” has a lovely and compelling Beatlesque melody and a Stones-based [see #382, 398, 537, 579, 1,098, 1,403] guitar riff!
Wikipedia explains that:
Mike Pender has stated that he wrote the music and Chris Curtis the lyrics. “I played the slide guitar figure and the chord sequence to Chris. He put down the lyrics and we both came up with the group’s first self-penned Top 20 hit.” . . . Curtis . . . claim[ed] that they stole the tune off the Rolling Stones’ “The Last Time” (inspired by “This May Be the Last Time”, a traditional gospel song by The Staple Singers [see #680, 1,452]). In fact both songs were built on similar guitar riffs, but melodically they’re different. . . . It was the most successful self-penned song by the band members.
Read more about the song at https://thestrangebrew.co.uk/interviews/mike-pender-origins-of-the-searchers-and-the-search-for-myself/.
Bruce Eder gives us some context:
The turning point for the band came in 1965, as the British and international fascination with the Liverpool sound faded away. The Searchers began casting their net wider for material to cover, in addition to coming up with one original hit, the Curtis/Pender-authored “He’s Got No Love.” By the beginning of 1966, the group’s string of chart hits seemed to have run out, and Chris Curtis exited in early 1966, claiming to have become exhausted from the group’s constant touring. The Searchers, with Johnny Blunt on drums, continued working and had their last hit, “Have You Ever Loved Somebody,” which barely cracked the Top 50 in October of 1966.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-searchers-mn0000898828#biography
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