I have had a lot of musical heroes over my lifetime but my first-ever was British rock ‘n’ roller Cliff Richard.
I didn’t happen on Sir Cliff (he was eventually knighted) by accident. My oldest sister was a big fan and I believe she had even bought a couple of his singles.
Many an hour was spent by me on a tractor on our fields belting out my favourite tunes and two of those were called Bachelor Boy and Lucky Lips by the sexy Richard who was Britain’s answer to Elvis when he started out.
But as happened to other big stars at the time, Richard was bowled over by the Beatles and he never did become famous in the United States.
Like Elvis, Cliff Richard didn’t write his own songs but he became a wonderful interpreter of others’ songwriting visions. He even recorded some Beatles’ songs eventually.
Cliff Richard has a wonderful, resonant signing voice. But he cemeted his popularity with his stage show.
And now, thanks to the Internet and YouTube, I can watch those performances over and over and I do watch them.
Eventually, Richard became not just a rambunctious rock ‘n’ roller but also a crooner, a singer of ballads. My favourite of his is the old standard, All in the Game.
So it seems ironic to me, that after all these years, and having cast aside Cliff Richard so that I could concentrate on the Beatles, etc., I am back to my first musical love.
©2020 Jim Hagarty
