"Concrete and Clay" is a 1965 hit single recorded by the UK pop group Unit 4 + 2. It reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart in April 1965. The song was written by group members Tommy Moeller and Brian Parker. It was also a top 40 hit for Eddie Rambeau in 1965.

Background

Recorded with the help of session musicians and featuring ("+2") Russ Ballard and Bob Henrit, the lyrics detail the indestructible love of the singer and his lover. The arrangement has a pronounced Latin influence, using acoustic guitars and a baião beat. These distinctive elements helped boost "Concrete and Clay" to the No. 1 position on the UK Singles Chart in April 1965.

Chart performance

American record producer Bob Crewe, best known for his work with the Four Seasons, had heard the Unit 4 + 2 hit version of "Concrete and Clay" while on a trip to the UK. As a result, Crewe had a cover version of "Concrete and Clay" cut by Eddie Rambeau, a staff writer at Crewe's music publishing firm, which was the inaugural release for Crewe's own DynoVoice Records. Although the Rambeau version's release pre-dated the US release of the Unit 4 + 2 version by one week, both singles debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 dated 8 May 1965; Unit 4 + 2 at No. 96 and Rambeau at No. 98, with both singles making a similar chart ascent over the next four weeks. The original eventually peaked at No. 28 while Rambeau's version reached No. 35. In Canada's RPM Magazine the two versions were co-charted, both reaching number 1 on May 17, 1965.

Unit 4 + 2

Eddie Rambeau

Other cover versions

International cover versions

The success of "Concrete and Clay" in 1965 resulted in international cover versions that same year, with renderings in:

Popular culture