Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I have just finshed listening to I Pretend I'm With You and No One Else Could Love Me, composed by Chris Curtis. As I listened to these compositions I couldn't help but ask myself what was Chris Curtis' greatest contribution to the Searchers? In the end, I believe that it was his compositional talent as he offered some very nice melodies that I am sure were but a small sampling of what he might have contributed to the group. I have always thought that the group's lack of original material held them back on the charts. I don't want to take away from his nice falsetto voice or his drumming. I consider that his compositional and arrangment skills will be his legacy with the Searchers. As always, I am wondering what others think.

I think his greatest contribution was possibly his record collection, as I understand that this provided the raw material for some of The Searchers early hits.

Gary: Interesting comment. Do you suppose that you may have underestimated his musical skills a tad? As a follow-up would this mean that The Searchers' lack of chart success after his departure was due to the fact that he took his records with him?

No. The problem of declining chart success was probably more to do with them still being labelled a 'merseybeat' group. If they could have broken away from that label then they could have probably rode out Chris's departure. They would then have been judged solely on the quality of their singles.

I think a part of his importance for the group was his personality as well. Most of members in groups were not very remarkable but Chris had personality, stage presence, he sang, he announced the songs and provided the group with good material.
Michael

I quite agree Michael. I have really enjoyed the Swedish Recordings as it reveals the importance of Chris Curtis' fronting of the group. He was the "Don Henley" of his day in this regard.

The "Swedish Radio Sessions" also shows the emergence of Frank Allen as 'frontman' - a role he performs with distinction these days.

Yes Tim you are spot on. The sessions provide an interesting bit of history. Frank has been working the crowd since Curtis left and by all accounts is tops!

I didn't mean to be-little Chris. He was a major force in the group, but the question was "what was Chris Curtis' greatest contribution to the Searchers?", and in my opinion it was his record collection, without which they may not have had the material to have as many hits as they did.

He made huge contributions in other ways of course.

Gary

We can conjecture on his contribution all we wish, but the stark reality is that The Searchers popularity in commercial terms(record sales) was on the wane, well before Curtis left.

John McNally and Mike Pender also wrote some great Searchers songs, particularly "B" Sides, so the songwriting talents of the group were not restricted to Chris Curtis's contribution.

Agreed Roy, but as we know, their self-penned songs didn't bring them much chart success.

Gary

While Chris had many signifcant roles to play in the group, it would seem that the was the creative force from the beginning. He appears to have spent more time and energy in selecting covers to do and in the arrangements.

Your comment is well taken Gary. Chris did glean much material from his record collection and he worked hard at digging for new material. Roy, the Searchers did "stumble" somewhat prior to the departure of Chris. It appears that their difficulty coincided with problems ecountered by Chris. Once Chris lost his motivation, the lack of chart success was to follow soon thereafter.

To this day, I consider the the contribution of Chris Curtis has been underestimated. While I appreciate from Frank Allen's book that these were most trying days for the group, I continute to be amazed that they didn't work something out. There is another book to be written!

By that time nobody could work with Chris Curtis (look what happened with his next musical venture - Rounabout). I don't think that if Chris had stayed it would have extended The Searchers' chart career. I think The Searchers rode out Chris's departure very well indeed. They wouldn't have survived to this day otherwise.

This is one of my favourite photos of Chris being the frontman from the drum kit. Just a great photo captured by Peter Kaye.

Hi Pete, I agree with Tim the cause was lost on the tour down here (Australia) with the Rolling Stones. By that time Chris had a real problem and drugs seemed to be the only solution. After the Searchers he had a go at a couple of things but in the end I just think he couldn't handle the added pressure of 'the problem' and opted out and back to familiar territory. I really believe he felt he wouldn't be accepted for himself and he lost the confidence to continue to persue a music career. I don't know if anyone close to him keeps tabs on this site and the comments but I do know that Spencer Leigh could contibute quite a bit to this discussion without getting too personal. Perhaps he should be approached through the Radio Merseyside web site to see if he would be willing to participate. He seems to be reasonably close to Chris and perhaps could shed some light on why he will not participate in all the discussion. And yes there is defiantely fodder for another book but who will write it???? Cheers Pam