in question was an unknown white singer
whose identity has never been conclusively
verifi ed. How Richard learned the song
is also a mystery considering the album
sessions took place less than four weeks
after the original version was recorded.
Whatever the explanation, Richard
delivered a supercharged version bringing
the album roaring out of the gate.
The Willie Dixon composition My Babe
follows. Recorded by Little Walter on
Chess Records in January 1955, the song hit
No.1 on the Billboard R&B chart and was
released in the UK as the lead track of a
Little Walter EP in October 1956. Although
My Babe didn’t chart, it immediately became
a favourite of British blues fans and gained
further traction with rock’n’roll fans after
Ricky Nelson’s version was released in the
UK in November 1958.
Down The Line was written and originally
recorded by Roy Orbison under the title Go!
Go! Go! as the B-side to his fi rst hit, Ooby
Dooby. Although it received little notice at
the time, a year later fellow Sun Records star
Jerry Lee Lewis recut the song under the
title Down The Line as the B-side to his hit
single Breathless. Lewis’ version attracted
Richard’s attention, becoming his favourite
Jerry Lee Lewis recording and a standard of
his own live performances.
I Got A Feeling was another perfect fi t
for Cliff Richard. Written by professional
songwriter Baker Knight and a No.27 hit
for Ricky Nelson in the UK in the autumn
of 1958, Richard upped the tempo and
delivered a harder rockin’ version than the
original. The Drifters follow it up with the
fi rst of their instrumentals, Jet Black, written
by bass player Jet Harris and debuting
on the album. The Drifters would soon
re-record a studio version for their second
single in June 1959.
Richard jumps back into the show with
Elvis Presley’s Baby I Don’t Care. Recorded
for the soundtrack of the movie Jailhouse
Rock, Presley’s version was fi rst released in
the UK on the Jailhouse Rock EP in April
- Richard demonstrates his mimicry of
Elvis’ phrasing with his hot version, ramping
up the tempo from the original.
Next up on the album is one of the two
songs Richard and The Drifters recorded
at a later, separate session without an
audience. Both songs were ballads, the
only two included on the album, and were
recorded at a different session, presumably
to ensure proper sound mix levels as well as
Paramor’s desire to use the Mike Sammes
Singers on backup vocals.
of the album, kicking off the performance
with the Little Richard classic, Ready Teddy.
Richard’s love of Little Richard was plainly
obvious considering the former “Harry
Webb” had been inspired to adopt the
name “Cliff Richard” partially as a tribute
to his rock’n’roll hero. Richard followed it
with Too Much, another Elvis Presley song.
Released in the UK in the spring of 1957, the
song became a No.9 hit for Presley and was a
fi xture in Richard’s live sets.
Similar to Apron Strings from the fi rst
night of recording, Don’t Bug Me Baby was
another rather obscure rockabilly single
from the US. Originally recorded by Milton
Allen for RCA, the record was only released
in the US. Presumably Richard learned the
song from an imported single.
Richard took a break from the mic as The
Drifters moved to the forefront again with
the instrumental Driftin’. Written by The
Drifters’ lead guitarist Hank Marvin, the
tune demonstrates an obvious Duane Eddy
infl uence. Shortly after the Cliff album,
The Drifters returned to Abbey Road to
re-record the song sans audience for the
B-side of the Jet Black single.
Richard re-takes the mic with a faithful
rendition of Buddy Holly’s That’ll Be TheThe fi rst ballad was a faithful cover of the
Ritchie Valens love song Donna. Released
in the US in late 1958, the record hit No.2 in
January 1959, and was popular in the UK,
although failed to chart. Richard’s version
particularly resonates considering a plane
crash in Clear Lake, Iowa took Valens’ life
only a few days prior to the session.TO CLOSE OUT the 9 May session
and side one of the album, Richard and
The Drifters ripped into his fi rst hit, Move
It. Written by former Drifters member
Ian Samwell, it was one of the fi rst truly
authentic British born and bred rock’n’roll
records to achieve huge chart success. The
song was originally slated as the B-side of
Richard’s fi rst single with a cover of the
Bobby Helms pop ditty Schoolboy Crush as
the A-side. Plans changed when television
producer Jack Good insisted Richard
perform Move It for his fi rst appearance on
the TV programme Oh Boy!. Good’s instincts
proved to be right on the money as Richard’s
hot performance sparked a nationwide
craze for the song, pushing it to No.2 on the
charts in the autumn of 1958.
The next night, Cliff and The Drifters
returned to Abbey Road to record side twoCLIFF
CLIFF RICHARD AND THE DRIFTERS1959 • COLUMBIA RECORDS
Apron Strings (George Weiss & Aaron Schroeder) 2:40
My Babe (Willie Dixon) 2:21
Down The Line (Roy Orbison) 1:59
I Got A Feeling (Baker Knight) 1:48
Jet Black (Jet Harris) 2:13
Baby I Don’t Care (Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller) 2:08
Donna (Ritchie Valens) 3:06
Move It (Ian Samwell) 2:09Ready Teddy (John Marascalco & Robert Blackwell) 1:47
Too Much (Lee Rosenberg & Bernard Weinman) 2:16
Don’t Bug Me Baby (Leon Luallen & Johnny Bragg) 2:16
Driftin’ (Hank Marvin) 2:46
That’ll Be The Day (Buddy Holly & Jerry Allison) 2:09
Be-Bop-A-Lula (Gene Vincent & Bill “Sheriff Tex” Davis) 2:13
Danny (Ben Weisman & Fred Wise) 2:54
Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On (Dave “Curly” Williams) 2:59
CLIFF RICHARD LEAD VOCALS HANK MARVIN LEAD GUITAR, VOCALS BRUCE WELCH RHYTHM GUITAR, VOCALS JET HARRIS
BASS GUITAR, VOCALS TONY MEEHAN DRUMS MIKE SAMMES SINGERS BACKGROUND VOCALS