Mike Smith became a sensation with teenage girls all over the world in the 60’s as the lead singer and keyboardist for the Dave Clark Five.  Thursday, Smith died from complications from pneumonia.  Smith had been hospitalized due to a spinal cord injury for most of the past five years.  Smith was 64-years-old and is survived by his wife.

He was admitted to the intensive care unit Wednesday morning with a chest infection, a complication from a spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed below the ribcage with limited use of his upper body. Lewis said he was injured when he fell from a fence at his home in Spain in September 2003.

Smith had been in the hospital since the accident, and was just released last December when he moved into a specially prepared home near the hospital with his wife.

“These last five years were extremely difficult for Mike. I am incredibly saddened to lose him, his energy and his humor, but I am comforted by the fact that he had the chance to spend his final months and days at home with his loving wife Charlie,” Lewis said.

DC5 was the first English band to tour the United States.  They were one of the few early bands that were able to compete with the Beatles for a small stretch.

The Dave Clark Five will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 10th.