Gloria

Them recorded “Gloria” at Decca Three Studios in West Hampstead, London, during their 1964 Decca sessions with Dick Rowe producing. Van Morrison sang lead vocal, Billy Harrison played guitar, Alan Henderson played bass, and the session also involved Ronnie Millings, Pat McAuley, Arthur Greenslade and Bobby Graham. Released by Decca in 1964 as the B-side to “Baby, Please Don’t Go,” it became one of Them’s defining recordings and later reached number 71 on the Billboard Hot 100. Its three-chord drive, Morrison’s vocal attack and blunt spelling-hook structure made it a foundational garage-rock and British R&B standard. The song became one of the most widely covered rock standards of the 1960s, with major later versions by the Shadows of Knight, the Doors and Patti Smith. Its simple riff, call-and-response structure and raw vocal style kept it central to garage rock, punk and bar-band repertoires.