Fantastic lesser known singer - Cliff Richard

I would like to talk about a singer not really well known to the US, but worldwide known for over 50 yrs! So, that alone should make you more curious about who he is, right? Ever heard of Cliff Richard? Some of you remember him with "Devil Woman" and "We don't talk anymore"....but not many. And in my opinion it is a shame.

I am not telling you all the details about him and his career. You will be able to read all that in the links provided. But I am telling you about my experiences whenever I listen to his music in my car and have someone riding along with me, hearing his music or when I introduce his voice to others. The question that I always get "Who is that?". My first response to it is to ask if they like his voice and off course they do! Then I start telling them about him and 50 yrs on stage and selling more records than Elvis Presley impresses.

Cliff Richard is a singer who has been around before The Beatles and it's a shame that history is so set in the minds of many, believing that The Beatles were those who made history in music, when it really belongs to Cliff Richard and The Shadows, who were there before The Beatles and set the first stone for The Beatles. Without Cliff Richard and The Shadows I wonder if The Beatles ever would have gotten to their fame.

Cliff Richard, together with his band The Shadows brought the first Rock'n'Roll music to the UK. In 1958 he set off with "Move it" for his first great hit...and many more to follow. I wasn't around at that time. But my father was and I learned many years later that he listened to the music of The Shadows, just to throw the records away when he was growing up (and I was shocked when he told me that). Records were not considered valuable for a while.

I almost missed out on Cliff Richard, because I had a strange mindset of my own when he had his "We don't talk anymore hit" in 1979 - but I am sure glad I learned a bit more to become curious and since I never stopped listening to him....So that adds up to 33 yrs for me! And I have been lucky enough to see him on stage and acting on stage in London to perform "Heathcliff" - his version of "Wuthering Height" by Emily Bronte. Together with Tim Rice, an outstanding songwriter he produced an on-stage musical that was a personal desire of his for years.

What makes him so special to me? It's his voice first of all. He has an incredible voice, up to this very day in his 70" - not many artists keep such a great voice as they get older. A proof is his most recent work of the "Soulicious" album. Cliff can sing anything - he started off with Rock'n'Roll, moved into Pop music, can perform in musicals, even can sing acapella and performs all kind of music styles. How many are so diverse? He stands up for his strong believe in God, even in his music and produced some really beautiful songs here.

He produced a couple of movies in the 60" when musical movies were very popular. They are still fun to watch and I would say "Summer Holiday" is the one that will be popular forever, especially in the UK. You will hear this song every summer and I don't think there is a single person alone in the UK who does not know this song - I guess it has become a traditional song by now....

Cliff's good looks might have helped him along his career as it common. But it did not play a primary role for me, while I did not mind his look at all! It would not have been any benefit if I never would have liked his voice.

I just feel like it is a shame that Cliff Richard never became famous here in the US. At the time he was ready to take the steps forward to get grounded in the US, his father passed away and everything got cancelled...and he never made the move again. Well, he didn't have to because he had fans all over the world already - just not in the US. I wished I could get everybody to know this great talented man here in the US, it doesn't really matter that he's already 71 to me, because he's still great.

There are too many great songs to name. I would recommend some and do more search yourself and you will hopefully be pleasantly surprised about this great artist! I can say "Thanks for a life time of music - Cliff" because I will listen to his music for the rest of my life!