19581963: Success and stardom
Harry Webb became lead singer of a rock and roll group, The Drifters (not to be confused with the U.S. group of the same name). Before their first large scale appearance, at the Regal Ballroom in Ripley, Derbyshire, in 1958, they adopted the name "Cliff Richard and the Drifters". The four members were Webb, Ian "Sammy" Samwell on guitar, Terry Smart on drums and Norman Mitham on guitar. None of the other three played with the later and better known Shadows, although Samwell wrote songs for Richard's later career.
For his debut session, Norrie Paramor provided Richard with "Schoolboy Crush", a cover of an American record by Bobby Helms. Richard was permitted to record one of his own songs for the B-side; this was "Move It", written by the Drifters' Samwell on a number 715 Green Line bus on the way to Richard's house for a rehearsal.
There are a number of stories about why the A-side was replaced by the intended B-side. One is that Norrie Paramor's young daughter raved about the B-side; another was that influential TV producer Jack Good, who used the act for his TV show Oh Boy!, wanted the only song on his show to be "Move It".[4]
The single went to No. 2 on the UK charts. Music critics Roy Carr and Tony Tyler wrote that it was the first genuine British rock classic, followed by Johnny Kidd and the Pirates's "Shakin' All Over". John Lennon was quoted as saying that "Move It" was the first English rock record.
In the early days, Cliff Richard was marketed as the British equivalent to Elvis Presley. As did previous British rockers such as Tommy Steele and Marty Wilde, Richard adopted Presley-like dress and hairstyle. In performance he struck a pose of rock attitude, rarely smiling or looking at the audience or camera. His late 1958 and early 1959 follow-up singles, "High Class Baby" and "Livin' Lovin' Doll", were followed by "Mean Streak" which carried a rocker's sense of speed and passion, and Lionel Bart's "Living Doll". It was on "Living Doll" that the Drifters began to back Richard on record. By that time the group's lineup had changed with the arrival of Jet Harris, Tony Meehan, Hank Marvin, and Bruce Welch. The group was obliged to change its name to "The Shadows" after legal complications with the U.S. Drifters.
The Shadows were not a typical backing group. They would become contractually separate from Richard, and the group received no royalties for records backing Richard. In 1959, The Shadows (then still the Drifters) landed an EMI recording contract of their own, for independent recordings. That year, they released three singles, two of which featured double-sided vocals and one of which had instrumental A and B sides. In 1960, they recorded and released "Apache". Reaching the top of the charts in more than one country, the single set the Shadows on a path of their own. They thereafter had several major hits, including five UK No. 1s. The band also continued to appear and record with Richard and wrote many of his hits. On more than one occasion, a Shadows' instrumental replaced a Richard song atop the British charts.
Richard's fifth single "Living Doll" triggered a softer, more relaxed, sound. Subsequent hits, the No. 1s "Travellin' Light" and "I Love You" and also "A Voice in the Wilderness" and "Theme for a Dream" cemented Richard's status as a mainstream pop entertainer along with contemporaries such as Adam Faith and Billy Fury. Throughout the early sixties his hits were consistently in the top five.
Typically, The Shadows closed the first half of the show with a 30-minute set of their own, then backed Richard on his show-closing 45-minute stint. Tony Meehan and Jet Harris left the group in 1961 and 1962 respectively and later had their own chart successes. The Shadows added bass players and took on Brian Bennett on drums.
In the early days, Richard sometimes recorded without The Shadows in order to cater to other styles. Even after the Beatles' rise he continued to achieve hits, although more often with an orchestra rather than The Shadows: a revival of "It's All In The Game" and "Constantly". A session under the direction of Billy Sherrill in Nashville yielded two more top two hits: "The Minute You're Gone" and "Wind Me Up" in 1965.
Cliff Richard and The Shadows never achieved hit status in the United States. In 1960 they toured the U.S. and were well-received; however, lacklustre support and distribution from the record company proved costly, and the chance was lost. The band appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, which was crucial for The Beatles', but these performances did not help them gain success in North America.
I LOVE DOOWOP AND FARE DOOWOP .50'S.60'S & Golden Oldies SOUND.
ALL MY SONG IS FROM ..MY DOOWOP JUKEBOX GOLD !!
Michelle.