Billy J Kramer had been friends with John Lennon for some time and John gave the group a demo of a new song, “Do You Want to Know a Secret”, which they perfected whilst working in Hamburg at the Star Club. On returning to Britain, the song was recorded at Abbey Road studios, with producer George Martin. It stormed up the charts and reached No.2 in the spring of 1963. It must be remembered that the Dakotas and Billy each had separate recording contracts with Parlophone, and that they were billed as “Billy J Kramer WITH the Dakotas”. To maintain the group’s identity, the Dakotas’ guitar instrumental “The Cruel Sea” was released as a single, and it reached the Top 20 around the same time as “Secret”. This Mike Maxfield tune was released in America as “The Cruel Surf”, coinciding with the surf craze.
The first Billy J Kramer with the Dakotas album, “Listen…”, was released at the end of 1963, and eventually reached No.11 on the LP chart. Early in 1964, the group felt they needed to release a single that wasn’t written by the Beatles (!) and chose “Little Children”. This controversial move paid off, and the record went to No.1 on the British charts in the spring of 1964. Later that year, both “Bad To Me” and “Little Children” made the American Top 10, and the group visited the ‘states, appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show, and playing to sell-out frenzied fans of the “British invasion” sound.
The Reformation 1989 - 2008
The first studio album since the 60s “The Dakotas -Volume 1” was released in August 1991, including a contemporary orchestrated version of the 1963 hit single, “The Cruel Sea”. In April 1992 the Dakotas did a three week tour of Sweden with fellow Manchester band, Herman’s Hermits. Between 1992 and 1994 the band appeared all over the UK, as well as regular trips to Germany.
In 2003 the Dakotas released their fourth studio album, “Everlasting”, to coincide with a massive 70-date “Solid Silver 60s” tour of the UK and Ireland.The tour also featured the Searchers, Wayne Fontana, Dave Dee and Barry Ryan, and ran from February until May 2003. Later that year, the band’s keyboard player, Toni Baker wrote the theme music, and the Dakotas were among the session musicians for the immensely successful British TV comedy series “Phoenix Nights”, starring Peter Kay.
In the spring of 2004 the Dakotas undertook yet another major 50 date UK theatre tour, teaming up once again with Peter Noone and Wayne Fontana, plus Bryan Hyland and John Walker of the Walker Brothers. To tie in with the tour, the band released their fifth album, “Strong” named after the title track I’m Gonna be Strong originally recorded by Gene Pitney. Almost straight after the tour, Toni Baker started co-writing the new music with Peter Kay for his TV series “Max and Paddy’s Road To Nowhere”. The show also featured Tony Christie singing the theme song, also co-written by Toni & Peter Kay.
The Dakotas were filmed in an episode of Peter Kay’s “Max and Paddy”, which was eventually broadcast in October 2004. Dressed as various 80s characters, the band performed and also backed Peter Kay on “I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues”.
In August 2004 tragedy struck, when guitarist Mike Maxfield suffered a stroke and had to stop performing, although he is still actively involved behind the scenes.
Richard Benson, who had worked with Toni on the Max & Paddy recordings, joined the band as lead guitarist but due to his heavy teaching schedule, couldn’t commit to long-term involvement.
Alan Clare has now taken over the role of the band’s lead guitarist.
In spring 2007 the Dakotas again toured the UK along with The Searchers, The Merseybeats, John Walker & Wayne Fontana on the Solid Silver 60s Tour.
Once again a new CD was released to coincide with this tour.
The CD, called “Evolution” to mark the changes undergone by the band over the last few years, features many new songs including an original song specially written for the band by Toni Baker called “Falling From Heaven”. There are 17 tracks in all.
You can hear and download some these songs on the music player at the top of the myspace page
Anyone wanting a copy of the CD can email the band at thedakotasuk@yahoo.com.
Eddie Mooney joined the Dakotas in the late 80s after being a member of the band “Park Avenue”. The drummer in that band was Tony Bookbinder, who had been the original drummer in the Dakotas, and this connection eventually led to the reforming of the band with Mike Maxfield.
After fronting The Dakotas for 20 years, Eddie amicably left The Dakotas in January 2008 to join The Fortunes after their long-standing frontman, Rod Allen sadly passed away.
Paul Rafferty was recruited to join the Dakotas as new frontman/bass player in late Feb 2008. Paul was well known to Toni & Pete from earlier years on Piccadilly Radio as a singer/songwriter & performer.
Paul has toured Britain before with his own band supporting Bucks Fizz and he has had two singles released on EMI lable: ‘The Man behind The Scenes’ which he wrote himself, and ‘Too Late Now’ written for him by Junior Campbell. They were recorded at Abbey Rd Studios London and can also be heard on our music player here on myspace.
For a few years, Paul sang & played bass at ‘Bookbinders’ a top Manchester night club. The owner of the club, the late Brian Bookbinder was also the uncle of Tony Bookbinder the Dakotas’ original drummer!
After several great singers and musicians were considered for the role of Dakotas’ frontman, Paul’s experience & fabulous vocals stood him in good stead when the final few were being considered. His natural experience of live gigs & recording made him feel instantly at home in his new environment.
Toni Baker joined the Dakotas early in the 90s, though he has a long history of working in well known bands. He played on Billy Ocean’s early recordings in the 70s, & was a member of “Shabby Tiger”, a hugely successful group in Europe, with many hit singles, such as the No.1, “Slow Down”.
Toni, who is still a top UK session man, now owns his own recording studio “Moose”. He is also a talented songwriter, who had a Number 5 hit in Japan with Eat You Up.
More recently Toni wrote all the music, including the theme tune, for Britain’s top comedian Peter Kay on his highly acclaimed comedy series “Phoenix Nights” and Max & Paddy’s Road to Nowhere.
Toni and fellow band member Pete Hilton also starred in the first episode of the first series of Phoenix Nights as members of a folk band called “Half A Shilling”. Toni continues his production and session work for major TV programmes including “Waterloo Road” and “League of Gentlemen”.
A CD containing much of his recent TV work - The Best of Peter Kay So Far -was released in December 2005.
Toni is working on the music production of a guitar tuition DVD at the moment, called “killerguitartips”.
Pete Hilton joined the Dakotas in 1999, but has also a long established pedigree. An ex-member of Freddie & the Dreamers, he is also a respected session drummer, and has been touring since 1963. In the late sixties Pete worked the original Liverpool Cavern Club with the eminent guitarist Robin Hill. Pete and Robin went on to form jazz rock band “Spring”. There were memorable live performances with Mike Oldfield, Joe Cocker, Canned Heat, Deep Purple, & Traffic. In the late seventies Pete worked theatres throughout the UK with many greats such as Frankie Howerd and Bob Monkhouse. Rolf Harris & Tommy Cooper also played an important role in Pete’s musical education! In the late seventies while working with pop group Family Affair (Alan Clare was also in the band!) Pete grabbed the opportunity to gig with the Supremes (Mary Wilson). He also worked alongside David Essex, who later inspired Pete to perform in “Godspell” while he was living in Canada. Pete is passionate about jazz and classical music and was delighted to collaborate with Robin Hill once again to perform the Claude Bolling concerto. Pete is currently recording again with Robin. He continues to teach drumming, as well as performing with the Dakotas.
Alan Clare joined the band in 2006. His varied guitar talents lend themselves perfectly to The Dakotas’ many faceted musical styles.
Alan has worked in many bands, including Freddie & the Dreamers alongside Pete Hilton, and is still a major session player, having worked with artists as diverse as the Supremes, Dionne Warwick, Buddy Greco, Cliff Richard, Gene Pitney, Gerard Kenny, Kenny Lynch, Lynn Paul and Ken Dodd.
As well as being one of the North’s leading session guitarists, Alan also teaches a master class in advanced jazz guitar techniques.
Bad To Me
The Dakotas Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'll be sad and blue
Don't you ever leave me
I'm so in love with you
The birds in the sky would be sad and lonely
If they knew that I'd lost my one and only
They'd be sad
The leaves on the trees would be softly sighin'
If they heard from the breeze that you left me cryin'
They'd be sad
Don't be bad to me
But I know you won't leave me 'cause you told me so
And I've no intention of lettin' you go
Just as long as you let me know
You won't be bad to me
So the birds in the sky won't be sad and lonely
'Cause they know that I got my one and only
They'll be glad
You're not bad to me
But I know you won't leave me 'cause you told me so
And I've no intention of lettin' you go
Just as long as you let me know
You won't be bad to me
So the birds in the sky won't be sad and lonely
'Cause they know that I got my one and only
They'll be glad
You're not bad to me
They'll be glad
You're not bad to me
To me
To me
The Dakotas's song Bad To Me is a love song that describes the fear of losing a loved one. The singer emphasizes the importance of the love they share with their significant other and expresses how much they are in love with them. The lyrics convey the fear of being left alone and the effect it would have on the singer's life.
The first verse of the song emphasizes the singer's fear of loneliness and sadness if the significant other were to ever leave. The second verse uses nature to metaphorically convey the sadness that the singer would feel. In the same way, the birds in the sky would feel lonely and the leaves on the trees would softly sigh in sadness if the significant other left the singer crying. The chorus of the song expresses the singer's hope that the significant other will not be bad to them and will not leave them.
The final verse of the song reassures the listener that the significant other has promised not to leave, and the singer intends to hold them to that. The song ends on a happy note, with the idea that their love is strong enough to keep them together, and the birds in the sky won't be sad and lonely because they know that the singer has their "one and only" and they will stay together.
Line by Line Meaning
If you ever leave me
The singer expresses that they would feel sad and blue if their loved one leaves.
I'll be sad and blue
The singer feels that separation from their loved one would negatively affect their emotional state.
Don't you ever leave me
The singer implores their loved one to never leave them.
I'm so in love with you
The artist expresses a strong and deep feeling of love towards their significant other.
The birds in the sky would be sad and lonely
The artist imagines that even the birds in the sky would feel sad and lonely if they knew the artist lost their loved one.
If they knew that I'd lost my one and only
The singer emphasizes the importance of their significant other, who they consider to be their one and only true love.
They'd be sad
The singer uses the symbolism of nature to communicate the immense sadness they would feel if they lost their partner.
If you're bad to me
The artist warns their significant other of the consequences if they mistreat or leave them.
The leaves on the trees would be softly sighin'
The artist envisions a world in which even the leaves on the trees would sigh softly if their loved one left them.
If they heard from the breeze that you left me cryin'
The artist feels that even the natural elements would lament their separation from their partner.
They'd be sad
The singer uses the symbolic language of nature to convey their emotional state in case of separation from their significant other.
Don't be bad to me
The artist implores their partner to treat them well and not cause them emotional pain.
But I know you won't leave me 'cause you told me so
The singer expresses their trust in their partner's loyalty, as their partner already gave them assurances that they will stay together.
And I've no intention of lettin' you go
The singer firmly declares their intention to not let go of their loved one.
Just as long as you let me know
The singer expects their partner to reassure them of their commitment to the relationship.
You won't be bad to me
The artist requests their significant other to be kind and not cause them emotional pain.
So the birds in the sky won't be sad and lonely
The artist suggests that the world would feel complete and harmonious if they continue to be with their partner.
'Cause they know that I got my one and only
The singer believes that the birds would rejoice in their perfect match - the singer and their partner.
They'll be glad
The singer imagines that even the birds would feel glad and content to see them together.
You're not bad to me
The artist expresses their gratitude towards their partner for their kindness and loyalty, which helps maintain their happy relationship.
To me
The artist emphasizes that the love, care, and devotion they share in their relationship is paramount.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: John Lennon, Paul McCartney
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jmrodas9
This song is still very good to hear. It has nice language in its lyrics and nothing vulgar or obscene. The rhythm is very good too. The Beatles were musical geniuses really.
@philbrown9764
I remember hearing this on the radio during the 60s, when I was a teen. It still sounds great in my 70s.
@fuzzlewit9
You still have great taste in your 70's.
@davidwinn721
72 here, and I can ditto that observation. We used to have the transistor radio in bed at night during the early to mid 60's, listening to a Top 40 charting 45's and of course the Beatles had like 6 sides in the top 5-10 slots.....plus all these other great British Invasion singers and artists like Billy J Kramer, Petula Clark, Gerry & The Pacemakers, Peter Noone, Peter & Gordon, etc. What complimented The Beatles back then on the radio was Terry Stafford and Suspicion which held a top 5 position at the same time, and was a great song. I still love all Beatles compositions including Bad To Me, and they never tire or get old. McCartney-Lennon-Harrison wrote some really tasty chord progressions, melodies and lyrics, didn't they?
@rodmcdonough6111
You captured it so well, I was there back then and still here today... with an even greater appreciation of all those British Invasion bands you mentioned, as well as the musicianship, chord structure and vocal quality. It never gets old!
@utubemusiccritic
Always loved this song. The fact that Lennon/McCartney wrote it is amazing. Was there nothing they couldn't do?
@ashith1297
Well, they couldn't make bad music.
@milesfromneworleans
Their best song was "Something".
@darrenringer9811
Damn. This song popped into my head and I was determined to figure out what it was that made it noteworthy. But that is almost a cop-out.
@ClassicAustralianTV
I had no idea that they wrote it but now you mention it I can hear a bit of Beatles in this song.