Jukebox Alive revisits a '60s garage band classic: “Gloria" was written by Van Morrison and first recorded in 1964 by Them, his band from Northern Ireland. “Gloria” was the B-side of the single "Baby, Please Don't Go." The A side charted in the UK, but Gloria did not. When the single, on a different record label, was released in the US in 1965, both sides got considerable Top 40 radio airplay – but on only the West Coast. Come 1966, a sanitized cover version of Them’s then sexually explicit song was recorded by the American band the Shadows of Knight. Cutting out the line “she came to my room,” and substituting instead “she calls out my name," the new cover saw good chart action nationally. Taking note that the tune was catching on, Them’s original track was re-released in the US. Ultimately, in spring 1966, the cover by Shadows of the Knight peaked at number 10 in the US and Them's raunchier and less radio friendly version stalled at number 71.

In the mid-sixties,“Gloria” was a mandatory part of the repertoire for teen age rock 'n' roll bands. In spite of its mediocre chart performance at the time,Them's original “Gloria” remains a garage band classic and the cover by the Shadows of Knight is mostly forgotten. In 1993, Morrison and John Lee Hooker released an updated cover of “Gloria” that achieved international chart success.
This video is a composite from two performances by Them (filmed on October 19, 1965) at the Olympia Theater in Paris. The live mono audio track has been replaced with a stereo version of the original single and the video has been modestly up-scaled. In this performance you will see Van Morrison - vocals, Billy Harrison - guitar, Allan Henderson - bass, Ray Elliot - keyboard, and Terry Noone - drums.