 | Move It
Cliff Richard
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Before The Beatles, there were only ever two authentic British rock鈥檔鈥檙oll records. One was 鈥楽hakin鈥 All Over鈥 by Johnny Kidd & The Pirates the other was 鈥楳ove It鈥, a certain teenager鈥檚 first single. The eighteen-year old in question was only just getting used to being called Cliff Richard when, in the late summer of 1958, he cut his debut single.
Only the year before, Cliff had lost his school prefect鈥檚 badge for playing truant to watch Bill Haley & The Comets perform. Now he had a rock鈥檔鈥檙oll trio of his own called the Drifters - whose guitarist Ian Samwell had written 鈥楳ove It鈥, his first-ever song, on a Green Line bus while travelling to visit Cliff in Chesham, Hertfordshire.
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It was strictly do it yourself type of music - but it was very limited...
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 | This is Sir Cliff鈥檚 鈥淚ts Alright Mama鈥. It鈥檚 a taut, edgy debut that augured well for a career, which like the King鈥檚, only too frequently ended up mired in slush. Sure, the lead guitar sound was dangerously thin and echoey, 鈥榖allet and calypso鈥 seemed lyrically middle-aged, and the production on this repetitive 12-bar tune rang hollow, but that drawling vocal and driving rhythm guitar made it a coffee bar smash.
Dominic King
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Cliff鈥檚 first single - 鈥楽choolboy Crush鈥, which had been a hit for Bobby Helms - was recorded with the Drifters at Abbey Road studios. This was a familiar pattern for fledgling British rock鈥檔鈥檙ollers - their best chance for success still lay in being the first to cover an established American hit.
The record label put all their marketing might behind 鈥楽choolboy Crush鈥, until Jack Good - the influential producer of TV's Oh Boy! - began raving about the B-side, 鈥楳ove It鈥, (鈥渢his disc could sell 50,000 on its first eight bars alone!鈥 he enthused). In September 1958, Cliff made his television debut singing 鈥楳ove It鈥 - and later that month the record reached #2, thus launching a unique 45 year rock鈥檔鈥檙oll career.
Today, Sir Cliff is the only act who can claim to have enjoyed hit records over six decades. But it all began with a staccato guitar figure, and Cliff Richard growling 鈥淐鈥檓on pretty baby, let鈥檚 move it and a groove it鈥︹
Patrick Humphries
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cliff Richard: The Biography by Steve Turner (Lion Books, 1993)
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Songwriting tips Make sure your demo does the song justice: ProductionWorking with others could improve your songs: Collaboration
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