Today’s classic song by a Gary, Gerry, or Jerry of the day is “Ferry Cross the Mersey” by Gerry and the Pacemakers. Released in December of 1964, this tune rode the wave of the Beatles’ British Invasion all the way to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 early the following year.
“Ferry Cross the Mersey” was written by Gerry Marsden, the lead singer of Gerry and the Pacemakers, and produced by George Martin, of Beatles fame. It’s not surprising, then, that “Ferry Cross the Mersey” sounds a little like the early Beatles. The Mersey, of course, is the River Mersey in northwest England, across which ferries ferry people from side to side.
The verses are kind of interesting in that they phase from major to minor every other measure. In the key of D, the chords shift from D Major (I) to Am (v), which requires the scale’s C# to be flattened, giving the melody its unique sound. The chorus has a more traditional I – iii – ii – V7 (D – F#m – Em – A7) structure with a fairly step-wise melody, which is where it sounds a bit more Beatles-like. It’s a very pleasant little tune.
Like the Beatles, Gerry and the Pacemakers came from Liverpool. Also like the Beatles, they were managed by Brian Epstein and produced by George Martin. They predated the Beatles a bit, however; Gerry Marsden formed the group all the way back in 1956. (They were originally called Gerry and the Mars Bars until the Mars Company found out about it.) They released their first record (“How Do You Do It?”) in March of 1963 and it went all the way to #1 on the UK singles chart. Its initial release in the U.S. went nowhere, but it was rereleased in July of 1964 and hit #9 on the Billboard Hot 100. Follow-up release “You Like It” also hit #1 in the UK (and later #17 in the U.S.); other hits included “I’m the One” (#2 in the UK; #82 in the U.S.), “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying” (#6 in the UK; #4 in the U.S.), and “I’ll Be There” (#15 in the UK; #14 in the U.S.).
As the initial British Invasion gave way to a harder rock sound, the pretty Merseybeat music of Gerry and the Pacemakers fell out of favor. They disbanded in 1967, although they reformed in 1972 and had a nice career on the oldies circuit. Gerry Marsden retired from performing in 2018 and passed away in 2021, aged 78.
As you might have noticed by now, a lot of the hit acts of the ’60s eventually found themselves performing (often lip-synching) on The Ed Sullivan Show. So here’s Gerry and the Pacemakers actually performing “Ferry Cross the Mersey” live from on Ed’s program on April 11, 1965. The boy had a nice voice.
