Emile Ford was born in Castries, Saint Lucia, in the West Indies. He was the son of Barbadian politician, Frederick Edward Miller, and Madge Murray, a singer and musical theatre director whose father had founded and conducted the St. Lucia Philharmonic Band. His mother married again, taking the name of Sweetnam; some sources erroneously give Emile Ford's birth name as Sweetnam or Sweetman.
He was educated at St Mary’s College, Castries. He moved to London with his mother and family in the mid-1950s, partly motivated by his desire to explore improved sound reproduction technology, and studied at the Paddington Technical College in London. It was during this time that he taught himself to play a number of musical instruments, including guitar, piano, violin, bass guitar and drums. Using an abbreviated form of his name, as Emile Ford, he first entered show business at the age of 20, and made his first public performance at the Buttery, Kensington. His first appearance with a backing group was at the Athenaeum Ballroom in Muswell Hill. His TV appearances in 1958 included outings on The Music Shop, the Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson Show, Oh, Boy!, and Six-Five Special.
He teamed up in January 1959 with his half-brother, bassist George Sweetnam-Ford (born 1 January 1941), electric guitarist Ken Street (born 1943) and drummer John Cuffley to form Emile Ford & the Checkmates. The band appeared on the TV programme Sunday Serenade, which ran for six weeks. They won the Soho Fair talent contest in July 1959, but turned down a recording contract with EMI because the company would not allow Ford to produce their records, and instead agreed to a deal with Pye Records. Their first self-produced recording, "What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?", a song originally recorded by Ada Jones and Billy Murray in 1917, went to number one in the UK Singles Chart at the end of 1959 and stayed there for six weeks. Ford was the first black British artist to sell one million copies of a single.
In January 1960, Ford signed a two-year employment management contract with Leslie Grade. He had several more hits in the UK, and also scored a number one EP in 1960. The readers of the British music magazine New Musical Express voted Emile Ford and the Checkmates as the "Best New Act" in 1960. Ford's debut album was made up of covers. He made several albums, but his last studio recordings were in 1963. His half-brothers George and Dave Sweetnam-Ford were later members of the Ferris Wheel.
As a sound engineer, Ford was responsible for creating a backing track system for stage shows, first used in 1960, which provided a basis for what became known as karaoke. In 1969, he set up a recording studio in Barbados with the help of his father, before moving to Sweden. While there, he further developed a new open-air playback system for stage shows, patented as the Liveoteque Sound Frequency Feedback Injection System.
Counting Teardrops, an anthology including all of Ford's recordings with Pye Records, was released in 2001.
Emile Ford died in London on 11 April 2016.
Counting Teardrops
Emile Ford Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Just like a little kid
You told me to cry you a river
Believe it or not, I did
'Cos I've been countin' teardrops instead of sheep
Honey, honey, I just can't sleep
Because I miss (Yeah-yeah) you so (Yeah-yeah-yeah)
You told me I cry lonely teardrops
For treatin' you so mean
All I need to keep me from drownin'
Is a plumber or a submarine
'Cos I've been countin' teardrops instead of sheep
Honey, honey, I just can't sleep
Because I miss (Yeah-yeah) you so (Yeah-yeah-yeah)
Since you've gone the teardrops flow
Forty days and forty nights
I sit here in the gloom
Well, if you don't call or come back soon
I'm gonna drown in my living room
I hear tell they got seven oceans
Up to the present day
If you don't come back soon, pretty baby
I'm gonna make it eight
'Cos I've been countin' teardrops instead of sheep
Honey, honey, I just can't sleep
Because I miss (Yeah-yeah) you so (Yeah-yeah-yeah)
Since you've gone the teardrops flow
Countin' teardrops instead of sheep
Countin' teardrops instead of sheep
Countin' teardrops instead... FADE
The song "Counting Teardrops" by Emile Ford is a melancholic track that tells the story of a heartbroken individual that sits alone, crying every day. The song opens with the artist admitting to his audience that he spends each day crying and weeping, like a little child. The artist confesses that he was advised to cry a river, and he went as far as shedding countless teardrops. He misses his lover so much that he can't sleep anymore. The chorus goes on to say that the tears flow every time he thinks of his lost love.
In the second verse, the artist talks about how his lover left him and now he is left with tears instead of her. He realizes that he mistreated her and regrets it, and suggests he needs a plumber to fix the tears or help to maneuver through the sea of tears he is swimming in. The third verse takes a more dramatic turn, with the artist admitting that he has been crying for forty days and forty nights to the point that he is about to drown in his tears. He goes on to claim that he will soon create an eighth ocean from all the tears he has cried.
In conclusion, "Counting Teardrops" by Emile Ford is a heartfelt tune about the pain and trauma one goes through after a break-up. The artist's story is so raw and vivid that it could bring tears to your eyes, especially if you have been through a similar experience.
Line by Line Meaning
Ev'ryday I sit here a-bawlin'
Every day, I am sitting here crying loudly
Just like a little kid
Crying uncontrollably and like a small child
You told me to cry you a river
You asked me to cry excessively for you
Believe it or not, I did
I cried so much that I literally could have filled a river
'Cos I've been countin' teardrops instead of sheep
I can't stop crying, and I am now counting my tears instead of counting sheep to fall asleep
Honey, honey, I just can't sleep
I am finding it difficult to sleep due to my excessive tears and sadness
Because I miss (Yeah-yeah) you so (Yeah-yeah-yeah)
I am unable to sleep because I really miss you
Since you're gone the teardrops flow
I have been crying non-stop since you have gone
You told me I cry lonely teardrops
You told me that I cry tears of loneliness
For treatin' you so mean
Because of how poorly I treated you
All I need to keep me from drownin'
To prevent myself from being overwhelmed by sadness and tears
Is a plumber or a submarine
I need someone to help me stay afloat
Forty days and forty nights
I have been crying for a really long time
I sit here in the gloom
I am sitting in a dismal state
Well, if you don't call or come back soon
If you don't contact me or return soon
I'm gonna drown in my living room
I will become engulfed in my tears and sadness to the point of metaphorically drowning in my living room
I hear tell they got seven oceans
There are supposedly seven oceans in the world
Up to the present day
Until this very day
If you don't come back soon, pretty baby
If you don't return soon
I'm gonna make it eight
I will declare an eighth ocean due to the overwhelming amount of tears I have cried
Countin' teardrops instead of sheep
I am still counting tears instead of sheep to fall asleep
Countin' teardrops instead of sheep
I am still counting tears instead of sheep to fall asleep
Countin' teardrops instead... FADE
Continuing to count tears and unable to move on from my sadness
Writer(s): Emile Ford
Contributed by Keira M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Colin W Mason
As a kid this was one of my favourite records. Memories of playing it on my parents radiogram. Why wasn't his passing given more mention in the press? In his time he was probably as famous as Jackson, Bowie and Prince among others
Walt Eb
+Colin W Mason Hi Colin, thanks for the information.
Obituary, in memory of Emile Ford
Emile Ford, born 11. October 1937 - 11.April 2016 was a musician and singer. He was popular in the UK in the late 1950s and early 1960s as the leader of Emile Ford & The Checkmates, who had a number one hit in late 1959 with 'What Do You Want To Make Those Eyes At Me For?
R. I. P.
David Gough
Loved this since it was released in the 60s.