Cliff Richard dominated the pre-Beatles British pop scene in the late ’50s and early ’60s. Several of his late-’50s recordings were genuinely exciting Presley-esque rockers — especially his first hit, “Move It” (1958) — and gave British teenagers their first taste of genuine homegrown rock & roll talent. Backed by the Shadows — clean-cut instrumental virtuosos who became legends of their own — Richard embarked on a truly awesome string of hit singles in Britain, scoring no less than 43 Top 20 hits between 1958 and 1969. In his homeland, Richard’s popularity was diminished only slightly by the rise of the Beatles. In the U.S., he hit the Top 40 three times (with “Living Doll” in 1959, “It’s All in the Game” in 1963, and “Devil Woman” in 1976). More recently, he released The Fabulous Rock ‘n’ Roll Songbook in 2013. Cliff Richard remains an institution in Britain, where he is one of the nation’s most popular all-around entertainers of all time. In Canada, Richard achieved moderate success in the 1980s with several albums reaching platinum status. He has remained a popular music, film, and television personality in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Northern Europe and Asia, and he retains a following in other countries. Cliff Richard continues to tour the world.
