Before long the G-Clefs worked out a fast paced jump tune that seemed to hold promise called "Ka-Ding Dong". It became the 'A' side of the group's first record on Pilgrim #715. As legend has it, the galloping guitar on the song was played by a teenager from the greater Boston area named Fred Picariello who would find rock 'n roll riches under the name Freddie "Boom Boom" Cannon in a couple of years. The flip side was one of the many "girl's name" tunes so common in the fifties called "Darla My Darling". The record hit the radio airwaves and the record stores in early July of 1956 The up tempo side was the choice of listeners and broke big immediately in the Northeast during all of August. By September it had begun to sell in big numbers in the Midwest especially in Kansas City and St. Louis where it was a top five selling record. Sales of the record resulted in the usual number of tepid pop music covers.
The popularity moved the G-Clefs into the top lines of the vocal groups doing personal appearances in the region and ended talk of confusion over their name ( too close to Gee Records and The Cleftones for some). Riding a four month crest for the record, the G-Clefs readied their followup side for Pilgrim in early November. The songs were another fast paced rocker "Cause You're Mine" and the ballad side "Please Write While I'm Away" and the release was Pilgrim #720 (which had moved its headquarters to New York). Once again the rockin' up tempo tune started to sell immediately and the G-Clefs were back on the best seller charts. Soon after the November release of the new record Jack Gold left Pilgrim Records and decided to start his own record company. He brought the G-Clefs (who were under a personal contract with Gold) along with him to his new enterprise which he named Paris Records located in New York.
With "Cause You're Mine" the second solid seller for the group, Gold had the group ready their first record for the new label in March of 1957. "Love Her In The Morning" was the up side and a dramatic ballad was the flip. It was called "Symbol Of Love" and released on Paris #502. This time listeners went for the ballad side of the record and "Symbol Of Love" continued the success of the Massachusetts five. "Symbol" was a very unique treatment of a ballad for an R & B group. It featured a framing device of a dramatic spoken reading of the name of the song followed by a smooth shuffle rhythm instead of the usual hard edged triplets. The song was an atmospheric and dramatic mood piece of the story of teenage love in the fifties. The G-Clefs now were appearing on stage with Alan Freed at the New York Paramount and did not disappoint. The group had really learned to put over this song on stage with their choreographed maneuvers integrated with the lyrics for a great visual presentation, one of the best of any vocal group I have ever seen.
By spring the G-Clefs gave some tunes the once over before deciding on their next record. "Is This The Way ?" was to be the ballad side and for the jump side a nonsense syllable rocker called "Zing Zang Zoo" was the choice for Paris #506. This time after initial airplay and some sales, the record went flat and by mid summer the single was missing in action. After the summer when the group had fulfilled its in person dates there was serious discussion among the brothers about whether they wanted to continue the grind of the road and the pressures to come up with a top seller all the time. A couple of the guys wanted to further their education and one wanted to try the non performing part of the music business. There were no forthcoming records by the group, and even though George Goldner announced that he had signed The G-Clefs to his Gone label in April of 1958, nothing more was heard of that supposed partnership.
It is now three years later and jack Gold is still at it this time with another label in New York called Terrace Records. He calls around and gets the G-Clefs together once again and they agree to give their group harmony a shot. The result is the first release for the company on Terrace #7500 in September of 1961. The group does a version of a song that was a huge hit for The Four Tunes in 1954 called "I Understand (Just How You Feel)" a lovely ballad reworking of "Auld lang Syne". The flip side is "Little Girl I Love You" but that is never a factor as the ballad takes off immediately. "I Understand" creates a huge stir as the record sells in all areas and becomes a pop smash. By November it is into the top ten best seller lists of popular music in the U.S. and is easily the biggest record ever for the group. Jack Gold looks like a genius for bringing the G-Clefs back after a three year hiatus and scoring such a big seller on his new label.
Unfortunately, that was the high point for the group and the Terrace label. The vocal group sound was just about to fade away behind all the new movements in music that would take place in the early sixties. The G-Clefs kept at it for another few years, with four more tries for Terrace : #7503 - "A Girl Has To Know"; #7507 - "Make Up Your Mind"; #7510 - "A Lover's Prayer" / "Sitting In The Moonlight"; and #7514 - "All My Trials" / "The Big Rain". There were also sides for small labels such as Regina, Veep, and Loma, until the G-Clefs called it quits in 1966. And so ended a decade of vocal group harmony by the Bay State boys.
The G-Clefs will be remembered for their four hit records spanning the mid fifties until the early sixties-two rapid rockers and two wonderful ballad songs. The music the group put together is part of that memorable sound track of what the world was like when it first discovered rock 'n roll music. The G-Clefs were a part of that musical mosaic that we will remember always.
Ka-Ding Dong
The G-Clefs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
G-Clefs
Pekaed #24 on September 15, 1956
Diamonds Peaked #35 on September 29, 1956
Hilltoppers Peaked #38 on October 6, 1956
triangle
Oh, well I met a little girl about a week ago
And I felt that I oughta let her know
Since then my heart has broke the string
It goes ding-dong, ding-dong, da-ding-dong, ding-dong-ding
My heart goes ding-dong-ding when I'm near you
It goes ding-dong-ding 'cause I want you
It goes ding-dong-ding 'cause I need you
It goes ding-dong ding-dong
Well, you know I love you, love you. little girl
And if you'll only kiss me it will give me the world
All around my heart where the feeling is
Because ding-dong, ding-dong, da-ding-dong, ding-dong-ding
My heart goes ding-dong-ding 'cause I want you
It goes ding-dong-ding 'cause I need you
It goes ding-dong-ding 'cause I want you
It goes ding-dong ding-dong
{instrumental break}
Now, don't be afraid of me, little girl
'cause I love you more than the whole wide world
You know I wouldn't harm a pretty, beautiful thing
Because-a-ding-dong, ding-dong, da-ding-dong, ding-dong-ding
My heart goes ding-dong-ding when I'm near you
It goes ding-dong-ding 'cause I want you
It goes ding-dong-ding 'cause I need you
It goes ding-dong (SPOKEN: "Try it again") ding-dong
(SPOKEN: "one more time")
The G-Clefs's song Ka-Ding Dong is a classic love song that features simplistic yet delicate lyrics. The song is about a young man who has fallen in love with a girl and can't help but feel the joy that comes with being in love. The lyrics begin by the young man introducing himself and telling the girl that he has fallen for her, and since then, his heart has broken the string, and every time he is near her, it goes ding-dong. He loves her deeply, and if she only kisses him, he would consider it as if he got the whole world.
Throughout the song, the young man continues to express his love for the girl and reassure her that he won't harm her. He is in awe of her beauty and infatuated with her, making his heart go ding-dong every time he is with her. The instrumental break in the song adds a nice touch to its overall delivery, making it catchy and lovable to the ears. The guy wants the girl to try again (ding-dong) and one more time (ding-dong), showing how he wants her to get as close to him as possible so they can continue to feel their love.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, well I met a little girl about a week ago
I met a girl recently and I want to tell her something important.
And I felt that I oughta let her know
I feel like I need to confess something to her.
Since then my heart has broke the string
Ever since I met her, my heart has been beating uncontrollably.
It goes ding-dong, ding-dong, da-ding-dong, ding-dong-ding
My heart beats in a pattern like a bell - ding, dong, da-ding, dong, ding-dong.
My heart goes ding-dong-ding when I'm near you
Whenever I'm close to you, my heart beats rapidly like a bell.
It goes ding-dong-ding 'cause I want you
I want to be with you and it's causing my heart to beat in a bell-like pattern.
It goes ding-dong-ding 'cause I need you
I need you in my life, which is causing my heart to beat like a bell.
Well, you know I love you, love you. little girl
I want you to know that I love you so much.
And if you'll only kiss me it will give me the world
A kiss from you will make me the happiest person in the world.
All around my heart where the feeling is
I feel the love all around my heart.
Because ding-dong, ding-dong, da-ding-dong, ding-dong-ding
My heart beats like a bell because of the love I feel for you.
Now, don't be afraid of me, little girl
Please don't be scared of me, my love for you is pure.
'cause I love you more than the whole wide world
My love for you is bigger than anything in this world.
You know I wouldn't harm a pretty, beautiful thing
I would never do anything to hurt you, my love.
Because-a-ding-dong, ding-dong, da-ding-dong, ding-dong-ding
My heart still beats like a bell because of the love I have for you.
(SPOKEN: "Try it again")
Let's do it all over again.
It goes ding-dong ding-dong
My heart is still beating like a bell for you.
(SPOKEN: "one more time")
One last time, let's do it again.
Writer(s): Ronnie Jordan, J. Mc Dermott
Contributed by Andrew Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Milton Kanfer
Bought this at Slim's at Times Square records around '63.
alan spagnolia
Beats the "Diamonds" version by a million - to -one !! FANTASTIC !!!!
Girardi 1963.
Nope.
Richard Smith
The J. McDErmott listed as writer is former great DJ on WHIL in Medford is Jack McDermott.
Regina Hyde
Did the Pilgrim label have any more hits?
john thrussell
This is more rock and roll irember this
louis hubbard
hit senstion
Joseph Tisdale
No comprende.
Joyce Rosic Smith
Neither did we ,loved it anyway!