Thursday Inspiration #173 Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying

Respond to this challenge, by either by using the prompt word broken, or going with the above picture, or by means of the song ‘Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying’, or by going with another song by Gerry & The Pacemakers, or anything else that you think fits.  Liverpool was isolated from the rest of the world, but it had all the right ingredients to become the birthplace for the phenomenon that became known as The British Invasion.  Mersey Beat was a music publication in Liverpool, England in the early 1960s.  It was founded by Bill Harry, who was one of John Lennon’s classmates at Liverpool Art College.  The paper carried news about all the local Liverpool bands, and stars who came to town to perform.  The Mercy Beat is also a type of music, which was a British take on the Black and white musical mix of rock and roll, that included a lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass guitar, and drums (with shared vocals) and it was influenced by rock and roll, skiffle, R&B, and traditional pop music, that developed in and around Liverpool in the early 1960s, before expanding to the rest of the UK and the United States by 1964.  The beat style had a significant impact on popular music and youth culture, from 1960s movements such as garage rock, folk rock and psychedelic music to 1970s punk rock and 1990s Britpop.  Merseybeat was named due to the abundance of bands from Liverpool beside the River Mersey.

Gerry & the Pacemakers were part of the Merseybeat sound, and they were the second group signed by Brian Epstein after The Beatles.  Group leader Gerry Marsden wrote the lyrics for ‘Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying’, but the song is credited to the whole band.  Gerry explained that it’s best to save your tears for nighttime, as the light of day brings a new opportunity for joy and a chance for you to get over the heartbreak, so perhaps, you can fall in love again.  This song was released on their 1964 album that featured the same name and it was their first hit in the US reaching #4 on the charts.  The single went to #6 in the UK and Gerry & The Pacemakers were the first act to reach #1 in the UK Singles Chart with their first three single releases.  This song was first recorded by Louise Cordet, who had toured with them as well as The Beatles in 1964, but then they decided to record their own version, making a sad song a little bit sadder.  Someone related this song to a passage in the Bible Psalms 30-5, where David praises God for His mercy and rescue and it says, “For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning.”  The Sun represents hope, so you should save your tears to be shed at night.

The band was made up of Gerry Marsden who played guitar and sang vocals, his older brother Freddie Marsden on drums, Les Maguire on keyboards and Les Chadwick on bass.  They were originally named Gerry Marsden and the Mars Bars, but when the candy company complained, they had to change their name.  The first implantable pacemaker in was developed in 1958 by Rune Elmqvist and this invention has kept hundreds of thousands of hearts beating around the world.  In 1959, the band got a lucky break when they were hired to open for U.S. rocker Gene Vincent, who was performing in Liverpool.  Gerry and the Pacemakers headed to Hamburg at the end of 1960 about four months after the Beatles went there.

The night’s the time for all your tears
Your heart may be broken tonight
But tomorrow in the morning light
Don’t let the sun catch you cryin’