"Living Doll" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Cliff Richard and the Drifters | ||||
from the album Serious Charge (EP) | ||||
B-side |
| |||
Released | 10 July 1959 | |||
Recorded | 28 April 1959 | |||
Studio | EMI Studios, London | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 2:35 | |||
Label | Columbia DB4306 | |||
Songwriter(s) | Lionel Bart | |||
Producer(s) | Norrie Paramor | |||
Cliff Richard and the Drifters singles chronology | ||||
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"Living Doll" is a song written by Lionel Bart made popular by Cliff Richard and the Shadows (then still known as 'the Drifters') in 1959. It was the top selling single in the UK in 1959. [4] It has topped the UK charts twice: in its original version in 1959 (their first number 1 single) and a new version recorded in 1986 in aid of Comic Relief. It is one of the few songs released by a British singer to chart on the American Billboard charts before the British Invasion occurred.
"Living Doll" was written for the film Serious Charge . Lionel Bart had been approached by film producer Mickey Delamar to write songs for the film. The idea for the song came on a Sunday morning in October 1958 while reading a newspaper and seeing an advert for a child's doll. The doll was said to "kneel, walk, sit and sing". Bart recounted, "I was looking at the back pages and there was a small advert for a doll which could apparently do everything. I wrote the song in ten minutes." The song was written as an up-tempo light rock and roll song (rather than a ballad), and this is how Cliff Richard performs the song in the film. [1] [6]
Unbeknown to Richard, his contract to appear in the film required that there would be a single of one of the film's songs released. Richard recounts, "I remember passionately refusing to record 'Living Doll'. There was a day of telephone calls from Norrie Paramor, with me saying I hated the song and that it wasn't right for us." Richard did not like what he called its "pseudo-rock" beat. "It did not sound like real American rock 'n' roll to us" said Richard. Paramor told Richard "Change it. Do it any way you like, but do it". While sitting around one afternoon before a show, thinking about what they could do with the song, Bruce Welch (rhythm guitarist for Richard’s backing band, then known as The Drifters before renaming themselves The Shadows), while strumming a guitar, suggested they do it like a country song. Richard and the other band members agreed and duly rerecorded the song with the slower tempo. [1] [2] [3]
The song was recorded in April 1959 by Cliff Richard and the Drifters and produced by Norrie Paramor. It was first released in the UK in May 1959 on the Serious Charge (EP) soundtrack before being released as a single in July 1959. It was number 1 on the UK Singles Chart for six weeks from July, becoming the biggest selling single of 1959 in the UK with sales of 770,000. [7] Richard was awarded a Silver Disc on 1 November 1959, on the television show Sunday Night at the Palladium . [8]
It was a number 1 hit in several European countries, including Ireland, Norway and Sweden and top ten hit in numerous countries. In the US, it was Richard's first hit single, reaching number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100. It went on to sell over a million copies worldwide and earned the record company's internally awarded Gold Disc for the achievement. [5] [9] [10] [11] The Gold Disc was awarded to Richard on 17 January 1960, on the Sunday Night at the Palladium again, the night the show achieved its biggest audience and broke previous UK viewing records. [8] [12]
It was the first number 1 in the UK Singles Chart for Cliff Richard and the Drifters; although their debut single "Move It", released the previous year, is often cited as their first number 1, in fact that peaked at number 2.
The song also won writer Lionel Bart an Ivor Novello Award for best song. [13]
Paul McCartney found this song inspirational and referenced it in connection with his song, "Michelle." He wrote, "We'd just put out 'Michelle' and I remember one night at the Ad Lib club David Bailey hearing it and saying 'You've go to be joking - it is tongue in cheek, isn't it?' My reaction was: 'Piss off! That's a real tune,'....It came a bit out of left field, but those are often my favorites. I mean, one of Cliff Richard's best ones was 'Living Doll.' When he came out with that it was quite a shock, with its acoustics; but it was a well formed little song."
"Living Doll" | ||||
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Single by Cliff Richard and The Young Ones featuring Hank Marvin | ||||
B-side | "(All the Little Flowers Are) Happy" | |||
Released | 8 March 1986 | |||
Recorded | 29 January 1986 at Master Rock Studios, London | |||
Genre | Pop/Novelty song | |||
Length | 4:18 | |||
Label | WEA YZ 67 | |||
Songwriter(s) | Lionel Bart | |||
Producer(s) | Stuart Colman | |||
Cliff Richard singles chronology | ||||
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In 1986, 27 years after the first release, alternative comedy group The Young Ones approached Richard to record a comic version of "Living Doll" for the Comic Relief charity. Despite the apparent contrast between the anarchic comedians and the clean cut Richard, he agreed and their version again topped the UK Singles Chart, for three weeks from March 1986. [14] [15] The single was certified gold in the UK by the BPI in April 1986. [16] Shadows guitarist Hank Marvin was reunited with Richard on this recording for the first time since 1975.
When the song was performed in the 1986 television broadcast for Comic Relief, The Young Ones announced to the audience that Richard could not make the show and that well-known BBC presenter John Craven would be taking his place. They then introduced Craven, but it was Richard who appeared.[ citation needed ]
Performers:
Musicians:
Weekly charts
Chart (1959) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia (Kent Music Report) [17] | 9 |
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [18] | 16 |
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) [19] | 26 |
Canada (CHUM) [20] | 37 |
Finland (IFPI Finland) [21] | 11 |
France (IFOP) [22] | 34 |
Germany (Official German Charts) [23] | 19 |
Ireland ( Evening Herald ) [24] | 1 |
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [25] | 2 [A] |
Norway (VG-lista) [26] | 1 |
Spain (Promusicae) [27] | 10 |
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [28] | 1 |
UK Singles (OCC) [14] | 1 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [29] | 30 |
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
New Zealand (RMNZ) [47] | Gold | 10,000* |
United Kingdom (BPI) [48] | Gold | 709,000 [49] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Sir Cliff Richard is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart history, behind the Beatles and Elvis Presley.
Hank Brian Marvin is an English multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and songwriter. He is known as the lead guitarist for the Shadows.
The Shadows were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the pre-Beatles era from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard from 1958 to 1968, and have joined him for several reunion tours.
"Move It" is a song written by Ian Samwell and recorded by Cliff Richard and the Drifters. Originally intended as the B-side to "Schoolboy Crush", it was released as Richard's debut single on 29 August 1958 and became his first hit record, reaching number 2 on the UK Singles Chart. It is often described as Britain's first authentic rock and roll song. It is credited with being one of the first authentic rock and roll songs produced outside the United States. "Schoolboy Crush", written by Aaron Schroeder and Sharon Gilbert, had already been recorded in the US by Bobby Helms. Cliff Richard and the Drifters recorded their own version, which was intended to be the A-side of their debut single. However, when producer Jack Good heard "Move It", he insisted that Richard would have to sing that if he was to appear on Good's TV show Oh Boy! On the planned single, "Move It" was flipped to be the A-side and it went to number 2 in the charts, starting Cliff Richard on a career which included British hits through six decades.
"The Next Time" backed with "Bachelor Boy" was the first of three number one hit singles from the Cliff Richard musical, Summer Holiday. Both sides were marketed as songs with chart potential, and the release is viewed retroactively as a double A-side single. However, technically double A-sides were not regarded as such until 1965, so "The Next Time" was pressed as the A-side, with "Bachelor Boy" the B-side. The song was succeeded at number one by The Shadows' "Dance On!".
"Mean Streak" is a song by Cliff Richard and the Drifters, released in May 1959 as their fourth single. It peaked at number 10 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Travellin' Light" is a UK No. 1 single recorded by Cliff Richard and The Shadows and released in 1959. It was the follow-up single to Richard's first No. 1, "Living Doll" and remained at No. 1 for five weeks. "Travellin' Light" was also a Number 1 hit in Ireland and Norway, selling 1.59 million copies worldwide. It was Richard's last single of the 1950s and his first release after the Shadows had changed their name from the Drifters.
"The Young Ones" is a single by Cliff Richard and the Shadows. The song, written by Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett, is the title song to the 1961 film The Young Ones and its soundtrack album.
Cliff is the 1959 debut album of British singer Cliff Richard and his band the Drifters.
The Young Ones is a soundtrack album by Cliff Richard and the Shadows to the film of the same name. It is their first soundtrack album and Richard's sixth album overall. It was produced by Norrie Paramor, with music by Ronald Cass and Stanley Black. The album topped the UK Albums Chart for six weeks and charted for 42 weeks in total when the chart was a top twenty. The album became the first UK soundtrack to sell more than one million copies in total, combining UK and international sales.
Reunited is a 2009 studio album by British pop singer Cliff Richard and his original backing band the Shadows. The album celebrates the 50th anniversary of Cliff's first recordings and performances with The Shadows, and is their first studio collaboration for forty years. It features re-recordings of their hits from the late 1950s and early 1960s, plus three rock and roll era songs not previously recorded by them; "C'mon Everybody", "Sea Cruise" and the album's only single "Singing the Blues".
"When the Girl in Your Arms Is the Girl in Your Heart" is a 1961 hit by Cliff Richard written by the songwriting team of Sid Tepper and Roy Bennett who would contribute fifteen songs to the Cliff Richard canon including his career record "The Young Ones". Produced by Richard's regular producer Norrie Paramor, "When the Girl in Your Arms..." featured backing by the Norrie Paramor Orchestra. Richard's own group the Shadows backed him on the B-side "Got a Funny Feeling".
Wonderful Life is a soundtrack album by Cliff Richard with The Shadows to the 1964 film Wonderful Life. It is their third film soundtrack album and Richard's eleventh album overall. The album reached number 2 in the UK Albums Chart, spending 8 weeks in the top 3 and 23 weeks on in the top 20, but was a marked decline from their previous soundtrack album Summer Holiday that had spent 14 weeks at number 1.
Cliff's Hit Album is Cliff Richard's first compilation album and ninth album overall. It was released in July 1963 and reached number 2 on the UK Albums Chart. The album contains 14 songs from his singles released between August 1958 and May 1962. It includes all Richard's singles in this period that made the top 3 of the UK Singles Chart.
Serious Charge is the first EP by Cliff Richard and The Drifters, released in the UK in May 1959 as the soundtrack for the 1959 film of the same name and produced by Norrie Paramor. The EP is a 7-inch 45 RPM vinyl record, released in mono with the catalogue number Columbia SEG 7895. All four tracks were recorded on 28 April 1959 at Abbey Road Studios. It was released nearly a year before the first UK EP Chart was published.
Cliff Richard is the seventh studio album by Cliff Richard, released by Columbia Records on LP in 1965 and available in both mono and stereo. It is Richard's thirteenth album overall. The album peaked at number 9 in the UK Albums Chart.
"Nine Times Out of Ten" is a song by Cliff Richard and the Shadows, released as a single in September 1960. It peaked at number 3 on the UK Singles Chart and also received a silver disc for 250,000 sales.
"Livin' Lovin' Doll" is a song by Cliff Richard and the Drifters, released in January 1959 as their third single. Unlike their previous two top-ten singles, it only peaked at number 20 on the UK Singles Chart.
The Hit List, released with the subtitle The Best of 35 Years, is a compilation album by English singer Cliff Richard. Released in October 1994, the album reached number 3 in the UK Albums Chart and was certified platinum in the UK. The album celebrates Richard's 35th anniversary in the music industry and compiled all of Richard's top 5 UK hit singles, which coincidentally totalled 35 at the time. Two bonus tracks were also chosen by Richard for the album – "Miss You Nights", at the request of fans for a re-release, and "Green Light" a favourite of Richard's.
"The Time in Between" is a song by Cliff Richard and the Shadows, released as a single in August 1965. It peaked at number 22 on the UK Singles Chart.
Yes, well [the producers of Serious Charge] were doing a movie and they wanted somebody who was a new pop singer. And I guess they wanted a new pop singer because then they would be very cheap. And I was! I was really cheap. I mean, I was so happy to be asked to be in the movie, I would have done it for nothing. and that's what they paid me. [...] We didn't really like [Living Doll] very much. It's just a song. But we recorded it the way Lionel Bart had written it, which was... [Imitates original beat] And it was a sort of pseudo-rock. It didn't sound like real, American rock 'n' roll to us. And we didn't realize that in the contract, there was some small writing and it said there must be a single. And we said, 'Look, we can't release this record like this.' And one day, while we were on tour, Bruce Welch... Well, look, he was sitting by these two big, stone lions in a place called the Sheffield City Hall. And he was just going... [strums acoustic guitar] And he said, 'Why don't we do it like a country and western song?' And yeah, so we just went... [sings song].
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