Day. As with the Ritchie Valens cover from
side one, the song carried extra meaning
in light of Holly’s recent demise. The
Drifters then moved back to the spotlight
with a revved-up version of Gene Vincent’s
Be-Bop-A-Lula. It’s an unusual track for a
band primarily known for instrumentals,
featuring harmony lead vocals from Hank
Marvin and Bruce Welch, and inspired by
The Everly Brothers’ arrangement of the
song for their 1958 debut album.
Danny was the second ballad from the
follow-up, audience-free session. As with
Donna, cheers from the audience were
overdubbed onto the beginning and end
of the song to integrate it into the live
recordings. Danny was written by American
songwriters Ben Weisman and Fred Wise
as the theme song for the proposed Elvis
Presley fi lm, A Stone For Danny Fisher. Elvis
recorded the song on 11 February 1958 for
the movie’s soundtrack, but after the fi lm’s
title was changed to King Creole, Danny
was dropped from the movie. Demos of the
song continued to circulate and eventually
made their way to the UK where Richard
picked up the tune, along with fellow Brit
rock’n’roller Marty Wilde who recorded
his own version shortly after the Cliff
album sessions. Elvis’ version was fi nally
released in 1978, on the album, A Legendary
Performer – Volume 3.
TO CLOSE OUT the second night of
performances, Richard turned to another
favourite from Jerry Lee Lewis, Whole
Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On. Originally recorded
by American R&B artist Big Maybelle,
Lewis’ version became his fi rst hit single,
reaching No.3 in the US and No.8 in the
UK in the spring of 1957. Richard’s version
captures the energy of Lewis’ version while
toning down its lasciviousness, and The
Drifters successfully transpose the piano-
driven rocker to guitars through their
hot arrangement.
In addition to the 16 songs featured on the
fi nal album, four more songs were originally
scheduled for recording. The Elvis song One
Night was defi nitely recorded during one of
the sessions but was dropped from the fi nal
album. It would eventually appear on the
1997 Cliff Richard compilation album, The
Rock’n’Roll Years 1958-1963. Paperwork has
surfaced indicating the Conway Twitty hit,
It’s Only Make Believe, The Weavers’ Kisses
Sweeter Than Wine and the Eddie Fontaine
rocker, Nothin’ Shakin’ (But The Leaves On
The Trees) were scheduled for the sessions,
but master tapes have never been located.
DRIFTIN’ TO
THE SHADOWS
ENTER THE UK’S GREATEST INSTRUMENTAL GROUPCliff was not only the long-player introduction of Cliff Richard to the world, but also the
full-length introduction of one of the fi rst truly great British rock’n’roll bands, The Shadows.
Formed in March 1958, the original line-up of “The Drifters” included guitarist Norman
Mitham, drummer Terry Smart and singer and guitarist Harry Webb (who would soon change
his name to “Cliff Richard”). Ian Samwell joined the group a month later, just as the mania
for their live appearances began to take off , a process that transformed the rechristened “Cliff
Richard And The Drifters” into stars.
After the chart success of Richard’s fi rst single, Move It, in the autumn of 1958, it became
clear the group needed a stronger guitar player than Mitham. Richard’s manager, Johnny
Foster, found two — Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch — who were playing as a duo in Soho’s 2i’s
coff ee bar. Samwell moved to the bass for a few months, but it was not his forte. Luckily, in
the wake of the success of Move It (which Samwell wrote), he found success as a songwriter,
so there were few hard feelings when he was asked to step aside.
His replacement was Jet Harris, a 19-year-old wunderkind who had worked with Marvin
and Welch in previous bands and already established himself as a top-notch jazz and
rock’n’roll musician. In late December 1958, the missing piece of the transformed Drifters
arrived, when another teenage musical prodigy, Tony Meehan, replaced Smart on drums.
The group signed their own recording contract with Columbia Records in January 1959, and
began recording a series of rock’n’roll instrumentals. Their fi rst single, Feelin’ Fine, sold
poorly in both the UK and the US but attracted the attention of the US vocal group, The
Drifters, who fi led suit over their ownership of the name. Based on a suggestion from Harris,
the group changed their name to The Shadows in the summer of 1959 and made their
recording debut under the moniker in October 1959 on the Cliff Richard single Travellin’ Light.
In July 1960, the group scored their fi rst No.1 hit in the UK, Apache, launching a string of hit
singles over the next three decades.Released in April 1959, Cliff was an
immediate hit, rising to No.4 on the UK
chart. The album was also popular in
France, as Dance With Cliff Richard and
released with an alternative cover. Although
all the tracks for Cliff were recorded in
stereo on Abbey Road’s BTR3 two-track
tape machine, the album was released in
mono only. Stereo mixes, which differed
from the mono version primarily in the
amount of crowd noise, appeared only on
the Cliff No.1 and Cliff No.2 EPs, which each
contained fi ve tracks culled from the album.
The full stereo mix of the album was not
released until EMI’s 1998 reissue on CD.
Despite its lack of original tunes, Cliff
was 16 tracks of pure, unrelenting
rock’n’roll, establishing Cliff Richard as
the UK’s fi rst “authentic” rocker. Before
Richard’s rise to the top of the chart, the
majority of British attempts at recording
rock’n’roll relied on teen idols primarily
recruited for their good looks, established
studio musicians and gimmicky songs
bordering on parody. The breakout success
of Cliff Richard confi rmed British singersand bands could rock as hard as their
American counterparts. The Drifters/
Shadows’ eventual success as a chart-
busting instrumental act inspired hundreds
of British youth to form their own
rock’n’roll combos.
Unfortunately, Cliff Richard’s fi rst album
of undiluted rock’n’roll also proved to be his
last. Producer Norrie Paramor suspected
Richard was capable of bigger chart success
with mainstream pop, and the runaway
success of the pop single Living Doll in
the summer of 1959 confi rmed his theory.
Richard’s second album, Cliff Sings, released
in November 1959, inaugurated the practice
of splitting his albums between rock’n’roll
songs backed by the recently rechristened
Shadows and pop songs backed by the
Norrie Paramor Orchestra.
Although Cliff Richard recorded more
classic examples of British rock’n’roll, he
would never again capture lightning in a
bottle in the same manner as his fi rst LP.
Sixty years later, Cliff still brings rock’n’roll
excitement to life with the simple drop of
a needle. 9