Search - Rockin Berries, Jefferson :: Rockin Berries

Sixties pop group with unfulfilled potential

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 03/01/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Rocking berries were, when they chose to be, a brilliant pop group. They could also sing great comic songs. Their problem was that their fans did not appreciate this mix. So maybe the group would have had more success if they had left the comedy to the Barron Knights, the specialists at that kind of music. They had one other problem - they didn't write their own material so all their hits (and misses) were covers.



The group built up a huge reputation as a live act and secured a contract with Decca. They recorded two singles for Decca, neither of which charted in Britain although one (Wah wah wah woo) did well in Germany, where they were also known as great live performers. Decca dropped them but they soon got a contract with Piccadilly and it is their Piccadilly recordings that make up this compilation.



They began with a minor hit - a cover of I didn't mean to hurt you (Shirelles) that spent just one week in the UK charts, at 43. It might have been a much bigger hit but an extraordinary thing happened - their second single was rush-released almost immediately. The Tokens, a successful American group, had made little impact in Britain (one minor hit - The lion sleeps tonight - which lost out to a cover by Karl Denver) but were about to release He's in town, which would surely have been a big UK hit for them, but the Rocking berries had heard their demo and recorded their own cover, which made the top three. As to the Tokens, they never had another British hit as all their best songs became UK hits via British cover versions.



The Rocking Berries seemed set up for further success when they were initially given Funny how love can be, a song written by two members of another British group, the Ivy League. The Rocking berries recorded a brilliant version that would have been another huge hit. Unfortunately for them, the Ivy League decided to release their own version as a single so, as Piccadilly, was a subsidiary of Pye (the Ivy League's label), the Rocking berries were not allowed to release their version as a single but it is included here.



They had a minor UK hit with What in the world's come over you (a cover of a Dovells song), then scored their second and last big UK hit with Poor man's son (a cover of a Reflections song) that made the top five. This was followed by another Tokens cover (You're my girl) but it was only a minor hit, sales hampered by the simultaneous release of a four-track EP.



It was at this point that their comedy material started to alienate their younger fans and only one more minor hit followed - The water is over my head (a cover of an Eddie Hodges song). Several other singles all missed the charts but it didn't seem to bother the group for a while - they were very busy as a variety act and didn't need hits.



Geoff Turton, their lead singer, opted for a solo career using the name Jefferson. He had a British hit with Color of my love and an American hit with Baby take me in your arms, but he was then involved in a road accident, sustaining injuries that prevented him from working. By the time he recovered, the momentum had been lost although he moved to America for a while in an attempt to continue his solo career. Eventually, he gave up, returned to the UK and rejoined the Rocking Berries, who by that time were just a cabaret act.



This compilation contains all the essential Rocking Berries and Jefferson tracks. In Britain, there is a double CD (They're in town) that gives comprehensive coverage of the Rocking Berries (it has 58 tracks) but does not include any Jefferson solo tracks."

The long lost Jefferson songs

dnaito | Santa Clarita, CA United States | 02/19/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The Rockin' Berries??? Sorry, but I never heard any of their
songs while I was listening to the British Invasion of the 60's.
The main reason I bought this CD was because of the lead singer,
renamed "Jefferson". The song, "The Colour Of My Love" was great, and the follow-up "Baby Take Me In Your Arms" went even higher on the Billboard charts. Those two songs make this CD worth buying!"