More Information About Oldies...Great Music at its peak in the 70s!

1970s

Oldies stations as we know them today did not really come into existence until the early 1970s. In the 1970s, KOOL-FM in Phoenix, Arizona became one of the first radio stations to play oldies music, at that time focusing on the 1950s and early 1960s. KOOL is still playing oldies today.

In the 1960s very few Top 40 Radio stations played anything older than a few years old. In the late 1960s a few FM stations adopted Top 40 formats that leaned towards adults who did not want to hear the same 30 songs over and over again but also did not want to hear easy listening music featured on MOR radio stations. They mixed in oldies with their current product and played new music only several times per hour. These radio stations were often referred to as "Golden" or "Solid Gold" stations. Some AM radio stations also began to employ this format. There were also syndicated music format packages such as Drake-Chenault's "Solid Gold" format, frequently used on FM stations that needed separate programming from their AM sisters due to the new FCC rules on simulcasting, that functioned as a hybrid of oldies and the adult contemporary and softer rock hits of the day. The popularity of the movie American Graffiti is often credited with helping to spur the 1950s nostalgia movement of the early 1970s, and it was out of this 1950s nostalgia movement that some of these stations, such as WHND/WHNEWCBS-FM in New York, WQSR Baltimore, and WROR in Boston, sprang up and were classified as Oldies stations and not Adult Top 40 stations. These stations, however, did play current product sparingly (one or two per hour) throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s; WCBS-FM, for example, played current hits under the moniker "Future Gold" as late as the late 1980s, and WLNG on nearby Long Island featured a roughly 50/50 mix of current hits and oldies from the early 1960s until about 1999. WGAR in Cleveland and KRLA 1110 in Los Angeles were other examples of Top 40 stations with heavy oldies orientations; KRLA was in fact promoted in the 1970s as the "Elvis-to-Elton" station. "Honey Radio" in Detroit,

Most of these "Solid Gold" stations began to either evolve into other formats or abruptly drop the format altogether from the late 1970s to early 1980s. Most AM solid Gold stations simply flipped to other formats. Some FM stations evolved into Adult Contemporary stations such as WROR Boston, WFYR Chicago, for example. Other FM stations simply moved into other formats like Rock, Top 40, Urban, or Country. In the early 1980s many Adult Contemporary stations began mixing in more oldies into regular rotation. Many of these stations had oldies shows on Saturday nights.

1980s and 1990s

Gradually, beginning in 1982, both AM and FM stations began flipping to a full-time oldies format playing "All Oldies All The Time". These stations played strictly music from 1955 to 1973 focusing on the 1964 to 1969 era. By the mid to late 1980s stations like WDRC-FM Hartford, WODS Boston, WOGL Philadelphia, KLUV Dallas, WWSW Pittsburgh, WJMK Chicago, and many others sprang up. Some had as few as 300 songs while sations like WODS and WOGL had as many as 1500 songs in regular rotation. By 1989, most large and medium markets had at least one Oldies station. By 1990, most were on FM.

This period also saw the rise of syndicated radio shows specifically aimed at an oldies format. They included "Soundtrack Of the 60's" with Murray the K, "Dick Clark's Rock, Roll & Remember", "Live From the 60's with the Real Don Steele", "Cruisin America With Cousin Brucie", and "American Gold with Dick Bartley". Most of these shows were 3 hours in length and featured much of the same music from the 50's, 60's & 70's that was in rotation at affiliate stations. All but a few of these shows had ended their run by the mid 1990's.

From 1986 to 1990 several solid gold stations evolved into full-time oldies stations by eliminating current and recent product, gradually eliminating 1980's songs, and even limited 1970's songs severely. KRTH and WQSR both did this in the late 1980s into the early 1990s. WCBS-FM, however continued playing current product in regular rotation until 1988. After that, they continued playing it once an hour between 11 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. until 2001. WCBS-FM also played several 1990's songs per shift during these over night hours. They continued also to play between one 1980's song every couple hours to as many as two per hour day and night. WCBS-FM also played between three and five songs per hour from the 1970s. They indeed played more 1970's music than any other notable oldies station. At the same time, WCBS-FM featured slightly more pre 1964 songs than the average station playing as many as five of those per hour.

Oldies stations continued to be late 1960s based throughout the 1990s. WCBS-FM was an exception. Most AM oldies stations also disappeared by the early 1990s except in markets where there was no FM oldies outlet. The format fared well with no end in sight.

Decline of oldies formats

In 2000, oldies stations began to notice their demographics were getting older and harder to sell. Still, at that time few stations dumped the format altogether. A few went for a flavor-of-the-month format called "Jammin' Oldies". But most continued to hang on to the format initially.

Since the turn of the century, stations have begun to limit selections from the '50s and early '60s. At the same time these stations began playing songs from as late as 1979 and even a few 1980s songs. WCBS-FM New York slightly cut back on the pre-1964 oldies and slightly increased the 1970s and 1980s songs early in 2001. They also eliminated the overnight currents and recurrents at the same time along with some specialty shows.

In 2002, many oldies stations began dropping pre-1964 music from their playlists, since the earlier music tended to appeal to an older demographic that advertisers found undesirable – hence, the addition of music from the 1970s and early 1980s. WCBS-FM canceled their "Doo Wop Shop" program and began playing only one pre-1964 oldie per hour; by 2003, there were fewer than 50 songs from the 1950s and early 1960s in the regular rotation. Many other oldies stations eliminated their early rock-era catalog altogether, and rare exceptions included mainstay songs such as "Louie Louie" by The Kingsmen and "Stand by Me" by Ben E. King.

From 2003 to 2006, many FM oldies stations – including KRTH, WOGL and KLUV – evolved into classic hits (see below), classic rock, or gold-based adult contemporary formats (e.g. WHTT-FM in Buffalo, New York). Others simply dumped the format altogether.

The changes in selection have created some confusion over the definition of oldies", while many stations have adjusted their logos to accommodate their new formats. Stations that continue to use the term "oldies" in their on-air positioning generally do not play music made after 1979 (with some exceptions) and still may play one pre-1964 oldie an hour. Still, that is not always true. WODS in Boston still calls themselves "Oldies 103.3" but plays almost nothing from before 1964 (with the exception of their Sunday morning "Elvis Hour", during which they frequently play a number of Elvis' early recordings) and a moderate amount of early 1980s music. But most stations that do play post-1975 music have generally dropped the word "oldies" from their positioners, using identifiers such as "Super Hits", "Classic Top 40" or "The Greatest Top 40 Hits of All Time" (a la WRIT in Milwaukee and KLUV in Dallas/Fort Worth), or "Classic Gold" (a la the former format of CFCO in Chatham, Ontario, which has since switched to country music, or the now-defunct "Classic Gold" oldies-radio network in the United Kingdom). Many^[who?] say "Greatest Hits of the 60s and 70s". WSRZ-FM in Sarasota, Florida dropped their "Oldies 108" advertising nomenclature in favor of "Your Home Town Station" while expanding their playlist up to 1980. They still have their "Cruise In" segment for late '50s  and early '60s music. KQQL in Minneapolis – St. Paul and WLDE in Fort Wayne, Indiana, are two other examples of oldies stations which have relegated early and mid-1960s music to weekend specialty shows.

In 2003 Clear Channel's WSAI-AM launched the first "Real Oldies" branded station. It was created by Programmer Dan Allen and featured mostly the songs from the beginning of rock through the Summer of Love, 1967. It was a recreation of the WSAI that dominated Cincinnati ratings in the 1960s and early 70's and returned original WSAI DJs to the air, such as Dusty Rhodes, Jack Stahl, Ted McAllister and Casey Piotrowski. Unlike the 300 songs normally played, the Real Oldies format featured a very wide playlist and spawned clones all around the country. Soon, other radio stations such as WWKB in Buffalo, WCOL-AM in Columbus, and WRLL in Chicago adopted the "Real Oldies" moniker. Most of these "Real Oldies" stations were on the AM dial and featured legendary personalities from the '60s-'70s golden Top 40 era (for example, WLS legend Larry Lujack was part of the WRLL air staff).

Veteran New York radio programmer Scott Shannon developed a format known as the "True Oldies Channel," distributed via satellite by ABC Radio, which features some of the music featured on "Real Oldies" stations as well as hits of the 60s and very early '70s, but generally nothing after 1975. The most high-profile "True Oldies Channel" affiliate is probably WLS-FM in Chicago, which adopted the "True Oldies" approach in the wake of WJMK's change to Jack FM. However, WLS-FM has slowly been adding more local personalities (including veteran radio personalities Greg Brown and Dick Biondi), and now only airs 'True Oldies' from 10am-3pm weekdays, overnights, and weekends. WIFO-FM Jesup, GA airs the True Oldies Channel during weekends as a contrast to its normal weekday country programming, and it is well received. True Oldies has also evolved to include more 1970's music and less pre-1964 product, and at times plays 1980s material.

Many stations have since dropped the oldies format because of low ad revenue despite high ratings. On June 3, 2005, New York's WCBS-FM, an oldies-based station for over three decades, abruptly switched to the Jack FM format, resulting in a tremendous outcry from oldies fans in the Big Apple and a huge decline in revenue followed. WJMK in Chicago (WCBS-FM's sister station) switched to Jack FM on the same day. Some point to the demise of WCBS-FM and WJMK as a sign that the oldies format is in danger, for many of the same reasons that the adult standards and smooth jazz formats are disappearing. However, WJMK had been struggling for many years, and was in much worse shape than most other major-market oldies stations. In addition, unlike New York City (with the possible exception of WMTR (AM) in nearby New Jersey), the Chicago market has not technically been without an oldies station since, due to the existence of the aforementioned WRLL and now WLS-FM.

Yet another reason for the discontinuance of oldies stations in recent years is the attraction of a more lucrative format as an attempt to lure younger listeners. In 2001, Baltimore's WQSR (105.7 FM) and WXYV (102.7 FM) swapped frequencies, with WXYV being flipped from CHR/Top-40 to hip-hop at the same time, and WQSR retaining its oldies format. These two stations have since changed formats again, with 105.7 going to talk and eventually to sports radio, and 102.7 being a Jack FM station. In 2004, WWMG ("Magic 96.1") in Charlotte, North Carolina, switched to a Rhythmic CHR format and was renamed "96.1 The Beat". A new oldies station, nicknamed "Oldies 106.1" and carrying the WOLS callsign, was created to serve the Charlotte area, but has since been flipped to Spanish-language programming.

The oldies format returned to WCBS-FM on July 12, 2007 in an updated form featuring music from 1964 to 1989 (and without the word "Oldies", but rather "Greatest Hits" in the on-air positioning), with songs such as "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper, "Gloria" by Laura Branigan, and "We Built This City" by Starship in rotation (though it should be pointed out that the original WCBS-FM played current hits mixed in with its oldies as late as the late 1980s and the three songs mentioned here during most of their years). Also included on the returning format as well are a sprinkling of pre-1965 hits and a selected number of classic oldies from the pre-1964 period. Thus far, the resurrected WCBS-FM has been well received. Still, WCBS-FM is positioned as "Classic Hits" rather than Oldies.

Other oldies radio stations

The oldies format remains one of the most popular formats on radio in markets where it is still active. Some of the most successful major-market oldies stations today really lean Classic Hits and include KRTH "K-Earth 101" in Los Angeles, XHPRS-FM "105.7 the Walrus" in Tijuana-San Diego, KOLA 99.9 in Riverside-San Bernardino, 103.3 WODS in Boston, 98.1WOGL in Philadelphia, WMJI "Majic 105.7" in Cleveland, and KLUV in Dallas. WLS-FM in Chicago, however is similar to the way oldies stations sounded several years back. They still play one or two pre-1964 songs an hour during the day and as many as 4 an hour at night. However, to illustrate the continued decline in the format, San Francisco's KFRC moved toward Classic Hits in 2005 and dropped this format entirely in 2006 in favor of the Rhythmic AC "MOViN" format which left most of Northern California without an oldies station until the debut of KCCL (K-Hits 92.1) in Sacramento in January, 2007. (It should be pointed out, however, that KFRC had already evolved its format and positioning to classic hits at the time it changed to "Movin".) But KFRC was not gone for long. On May 17, 2007 with Free FM hot talk format failing on 106.9 KIFR CBS relaunched KFRC with a rock leaning classic hits format on 106.9. But KFRC was not back for long either. On October 27, 2008, 106.9 KFRC FM became an all news 740 KCBS AM simulcast. KFRC now only airs on 106.9 FM HD-2 and online at KFRC.com. But KFRC came back again. On January 1, 2009, KFRC returned on the radio at 1550 AM, as true oldies.

KZQZ (1430 AM), which airs in St. Louis, Missouri, has held onto the traditional oldies format. KZQZ, which began playing oldies in March 2008, plays a wide variety of top 40 Billboard hits from the 1950s, 1960s, and the early 1970s.

On August 27, 2009, Grand Rapids, Michigan station WGVU-AM became the first public radio station to feature an all-oldies format.

Jones Radio Networks, Waitt Radio Networks and Dial Global (formerly part of Westwood One) also offered 24-hour satellite-distributed oldies formats; the first two companies have been taken over by Dial Global's owner and the formats' futures are uncertain. ABC Radio actually offers two (and had three if Timeless was counted): in addition to the "True Oldies Channel," there is the much longer-running and more established "Oldies Radio" format (formerly known as "Pure Gold" during the time in the Satellite Music Network), which focuses mainly on the decade from 1965 to 1975 with some older and newer material.

In North America, satellite radio broadcasters XM and Sirius launched in 2001 and 2002, respectively, with more than a dozen oldies radio channels, with XM offering separate stations for each decade from the '40s to the '90s, and Sirius doing the same for the '50s through the '80s. These companies also offered specific genre channels for disco and dance hits, garage rock, classic rock, classic country, and vintage R&B and soul hits.^[6][7] These pay radio channels boasted thousands of songs in their libraries, ensuring far less repetition than traditional broadcast stations. (In November 2008, following a merger of Sirius and XM, the two services shifted to a unified group of "decades" channels, with the playlists for most cut back to reflect a more conventional style of oldies programming.) Music Choice similarly offers an interruption-free oldies station.

source:Wikipedia

Jim Reeves-James Travis Reeves -A Great Oldies' Singer.

James Travis Reeves (August 20, 1923–July 31, 1964) was an American country and pop music singer-songwriter popular in the 1950s and 1960s who also gained a wide international following for his pioneering smooth Nashville sound. Known as Gentleman Jim, his songs continued to chart for years following his death at age 40 in a private airplane crash. He is a member of the Country Music and Texas Country Music Halls of Fame.
Jim Reeves was born in Galloway, Texas a small rural community near Carthage. Winning an athletic scholarship to the University of Texas, he enrolled to study speech and drama, but dropped out after six weeks to work at the shipyards in Houston. Soon he returned to baseball, playing in the semi-professional leagues before signing with the St. Louis Cardinals farm team in 1944 as a right-handed pitcher. He stayed in the minor leagues for three years before severing his sciatic nerve on the pitching mound which ended his athletic career.
Reeves began to work as a DJ, and sang live between songs. In the late 1940s, he was signed to a couple of small Texas-based record labels, but with no success. Influenced by such Western swing artists as Jimmie Rodgers and Moon Mullican, as well as popular crooners Bing Crosby, Eddy Arnold and Frank Sinatra, it was not long before he got a foothold in the music industry. He was a member of Moon Mullican's band and made some early Mullican-style recordings like "Each Beat of my Heart" and "My Heart's Like a Welcome Mat" from the late 1940s to the early 1950s.
He eventually landed a job as an announcer on KWKH-AM in Shreveport, Louisiana, home to the popular Louisiana Hayride. His musical break came when singer Sleepy LaBeef was late for a performance on the Hayride, according to former Hayride emcee Frank Page, and Reeves was asked to fill in. (Other accounts—including Reeves himself, in an interview on the RCA album Yours Sincerely—name Hank Williams as the absentee.)

Initial success in the 1950s

Reeves' first country hits included "I Love You" (a duet with Ginny Wright), "Mexican Joe", "Bimbo" and other songs on both Fabor Records and Abbott Records. He recorded only one album for Abbott, 1955's Jim Reeves Sings (Abbott 5001). Eventually he tired of the novelty bracket he had been forced into, and left for RCA Victor. In 1955, Reeves was signed to a 10-year recording contract by Stephen Sholes, who produced some of Reeves' first recordings at RCA and signed Elvis Presley for the label that same year.
In his earliest RCA recordings, Reeves was still singing in the loud style of his first recordings, considered standard for country and Western performers at that time. He softened his volume, using a lower pitch and singing with lips nearly touching the microphone, but ran into some resistance at RCA; until in 1957, with the support of his producer Chet Atkins, he used this style on his version of a demo song of lost love, written from a woman's perspective (and intended for a female singer). "Four Walls" not only took top position on the country charts, but went to number eleven on the popular charts. Reeves had not only opened the door to wider acceptance for other country singers, but also helped usher in a new style of country music, using violins and lusher background arrangements soon called the Nashville sound.
Reeves became known as a crooner because of his warm, velvety voice. His songs were remarkable for their simple elegance highlighted by his rich light baritone voice. Songs such as "Adios Amigo", "Welcome To My World", and "Am I Losing You?" demonstrated this approach. His Christmas songs have been perennial favorites, including "Silver Bells", "Blue Christmas" and "An Old Christmas Card".

Early 1960s and international fame

Reeves scored his greatest hit with the Joe Allison composition "He'll Have to Go", a huge hit on both the pop and country music charts, which earned him a platinum record. Released in late 1959, it reached number one on Billboard's Hot C&W Sides chart on February 8, 1960, where it stayed for 14 consecutive weeks. Country music historian Bill Malone noted that while it was in many ways a conventional country song, its arrangement and the vocal chorus "put this recording in the country pop vein." In addition, Malone lauded Reeves' vocal styling—lowered to "its natural resonant level" to project the "caressing style that became famous"—as why "many people refer to him as the singer with the velvet touch." In 1975, RCA producer Chet Atkins told an interviewer, "Jim wanted to be a tenor but I wanted him to be a baritone... After he changed his voice to that smooth deeper sound, he was immensely popular."
Reeves' international popularity during the 1960s, however, at times surpassed his standing in the United States, helping to give country music a worldwide market for the first time.

South Africa

In the early 1960s, Reeves was more popular than Elvis Presley in South Africa and recorded several albums in Afrikaans. In 1963, he toured and starred in a South African film, Kimberley Jim. The film was released with a special prologue and epilogue in South African cinemas after Reeves' passing, praising him as a true friend of the country. The film was produced, directed and written by Emil Nofal.^{[citation needed]}

British Isles

Reeves toured Britain and Ireland in 1963 between his tours of South Africa and Europe. Reeves and The Blue Boys were in Ireland from May 30 to June 19, 1963; with a tour of US military bases from June 10 to June 15, when they returned to Ireland. They performed in most counties in Ireland, though Reeves occasionally cut performances short because he was unhappy with the piano. In a June 6, 1963 interview with Spotlight magazine, Reeves expressed his concerns about the tour schedule and the condition of the pianos, but said he was pleased with the audiences.
He planned to record an album of popular Irish songs, and had three number one songs in Ireland in 1963 and 1964: "Welcome to My World", "I Love You Because", and "I Won't Forget You". Reeves had 11 songs in the Irish charts from 1962 to 1967. He recorded two Irish ballads, "Danny Boy" and "Maureen".
He was permitted to perform in Ireland by the Irish Federation of Musicians on the condition that he share the bill with Irish show bands, becoming popular by 1963. The British Federation of Musicians would not permit him to perform there because no agreement existed for British show bands to travel to America in exchange for the Blue Boys playing in Great Britain. Reeves, however, appeared on British radio and TV programs.

Norway

Reeves visited Njårdhallen, Oslo on April 16, 1964 with Bobby Bare, Chet Atkins, the Blue Boys and The Anita Kerr Singers. They held two concerts; the second was televised and recorded by the Norwegian network (NRK - Norsk Rikskringkasting). The complete concert, however, was not recorded, including some of Reeves' last songs. There are reports he performed "You're the Only Good Thing (That's Happened to Me)" in this section. The program was re-run many times over the years.
His first hit in Norway, "He'll Have to Go", reached No. 1 one in the Top Ten and stayed on the chart for 29 weeks. "I Love You Because" was his biggest hit in Norway, reaching No. 1 in 1964 and staying on the list for 39 weeks. His albums spent 696 weeks in the Norwegian Top 20 chart, making him among the most popular artists in the history of Norway.

Fatal aircraft accident

On July 31, 1964, Reeves and his business partner and manager Dean Manuel (also the pianist in Reeves' backing group, The Blue Boys) left Batesville, Arkansas en route to Nashville in a single-engine Beechcraft Debonair aircraft, with Reeves at the controls. The two had secured a deal on some property (Reeves had also unsuccessfully tried to buy property from the LaGrone family in Deadwood, Texas, north of his birthplace of Galloway).
While flying over Brentwood, Tennessee, they encountered a violent thunderstorm. A subsequent investigation showed that the small plane had become caught in the storm and Reeves suffered spatial disorientation. It was later believed he was flying the plane upside down and assumed he was increasing altitude to clear the storm. The plane faded from radar screens at around 5:00 p.m. CDT and radio contact was lost. When the wreckage was found some 42 hours later, it was discovered the plane's engine and nose were buried in the ground due to the impact of the crash. The crash site was in a wooded area north-northeast of Brentwood roughly at the junction of Baxter Lane and Franklin Pike Circle, just east of US Interstate 65, and southwest of Nashville International Airport where Reeves planned to land. Coincidentally, both Reeves and Randy Hughes, the pilot of Patsy Cline's ill-fated plane, were trained by the same instructor.
On the morning of August 2, 1964, the bodies of Reeves and Manuel were found in the wreckage and at 1:00 p.m. (local time) radio stations across the United States formally announced Reeves' death. Thousands turned out to pay their last respects at his funeral on August 4. The coffin, draped in flowers from fans, was driven through the streets of Nashville and then to Reeves' final resting place near Carthage, Texas.
Jim Reeves' last RCA recording session had produced "Make the World Go Away", "Missing You", and "Is It Really Over?" When the session ended with some time left on the schedule, Jim suggested that he record one more song. He taped "I Can't Stop Loving You", in what turned out to be his last RCA recording. He made one later recording, however, at the little studio in his home. In July, 1964 Reeves recorded "I'm a Hit Again", using just an acoustic guitar as accompaniment. That recording was never released by RCA but appeared in 2003 on a collection of Reeves songs, after RCA had sold its rights to Reeves' recordings.

Legacy

Reeves was elected posthumously to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1967, which honored him saying, "The velvet style of 'Gentleman Jim Reeves' was an international influence. His rich voice brought millions of new fans to country music from every corner of the world. Although the crash of his private airplane took his life, posterity will keep his name alive because they will remember him as one of country music's most important performers."
In 1998, he was inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in Carthage, Texas, where the Jim Reeves Memorial is located. The inscription on the memorial reads, "If I, a lowly singer, dry one tear, or soothe one humble human heart in pain, then my homely verse to God is dear, and not one stanza has been sung in vain."

Posthumous releases

Reeves' records continued to sell well, both earlier new albums, after his death. His widow, Mary, combined unreleased tracks with previous releases (placing updated instrumentals alongside Reeves' original vocals) to produce a regular series of "new" albums after her husband's death. She also operated The Jim Reeves Museum in Nashville from the mid-1970s until 1996. On the fifteenth anniversary of Jim's death Mary told a country music magazine, "Jim Reeves my husband is gone; Jim Reeves the artist lives on." ^[3]
In 1966, Reeves' record "Distant Drums" went to No. 1 in the British singles chart and remained there for five weeks, beating competition from The Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" and "Eleanor Rigby" (a double-sided "A" release), and the Small Faces' hit, "All Or Nothing" as well as holding off various recordings from living artists already in the UK charts from the coveted No. 1 spot. The song remained on the UK charts for 45 weeks and topped the US country music chart. Originally, "Distant Drums" had been recorded merely as a "demo" for its composer, Cindy Walker, under the impression it was for her personal use and had been deemed "unsuitable" for general release by Chet Atkins and RCA Records. In 1966, however, RCA determined that there was a market for the song because of the war in Vietnam. It was named Song of the Year in the UK in 1966 and Reeves became the first American artist to receive the accolade.
Reeves' compilation albums containing well-known standards continue to sell well. The Definitive Collection reached No. 21 in the UK album charts in July 2003, and Memories are Made of This hit No. 35 in July 2004. Bear Family Records produced a 16-CD boxed set of Reeves' studio recordings and several smaller sets, mainly radio broadcasts and demos. In 2007, the label released a set entitled Nashville Stars on Tour, containing audio and video material of the RCA European tour in April 1964 in which Reeves features prominently.
Since 2003, the US-based VoiceMasters has issued over 80 previously unreleased Reeves recordings, including new songs as well as newly overdubbed material. Among them was "I'm a Hit Again", the last song he recorded in his basement studio just a few days before his death. VoiceMasters overdubbed this track in the same studio in Reeves' former home (now owned by a Nashville record producer). Reeves' fans repeatedly urged BMG or Bear Family to re-release some of the songs overdubbed in the years after his death which have never appeared on CD.
A compilation CD The Very Best of Jim Reeves reached No. 8 on initial release in the UK album chart in May 2009, to later reach its peak of No. 7 in late June, his first top 10 album in the UK since 1992.

India and Sri Lanka

Reeves had a large fan following in both India and Sri Lanka since the 1960s, and is likely the all-time most popular English language singer in Sri Lanka. His Christmas carols are especially popular, and music stores continue to carry his CDs or audio cassettes. Two of his songs, "There's a Heartache Following Me" and "Welcome to My World", were favorites of Indian guru Meher Baba, leading Baba follower Pete Townshend of The Who to record his own version of "Heartache" on his first major solo album Who Came First in 1972.
Robert Svoboda, in his trilogy on aghora and the Aghori Vimalananda, mentions that Vimalananda, considered Reeves a gandharva, i.e. in Indian tradition, a heavenly musician, who had taken birth on Earth. He had Svoboda play Reeves' "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" at his cremation.

Tributes

Tributes were penned to Reeves in Britain and Ireland after his death. "A Tribute to Jim Reeves" was written by Eddie Masterson and recorded by Larry Cunningham and The Mighty Avons and in January 1965 it was on the UK Charts and Top Ten in Ireland.
In the UK, "We'll Remember You" was written by Geoff Goddard but not released until 2008 on the Now & Then: From Joe Meek To New Zealand double album by Houston Wells.
Reeves remains a popular artist in Ireland and many Irish singers have recorded tribute albums. A play by author Dermot Devitt, Put Your Sweet Lips, was based on Reeves' appearance in Ireland at the Pavesi Ballroom in Donegal town on June 7, 1963 and reminiscences of people there.
Blind R&B and blues artist Robert Bradley (of Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise) paid tribute to Reeves in the album description of his release, "Out of the Wilderness". Bradley is quoted as saying, "This record brings me back to the time when I started out wanting to be a singer-songwriter, where the music did not need the New York Philharmonic to make it real...I wanted to do a record and just be Robert and sing straight like Jim Reeves on ‘Put Your Sweet Lips a Little Closer to the Phone.'"
English comedian Vic Reeves took his stage name from Reeves and Vic Damone, two of his favorite singers.

Source: Wikipedia

Let Me Introduce You To....Mr. Johnny Tillotson!

Johnny Tillotson (born April 20, 1939, Jacksonville, Florida) is an American singer and songwriter. He enjoyed his greatest success in the early 1960s, when he scored several Top Ten hits including "Poetry In Motion" and the self-penned "It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin'." He also sang "Yellow Bird" an adaptation of the Haitian song Choucoune.He was the son of Doris and Jack Tillotson, a country music disc jockey, and was raised from the age of 9 in Palatka, Florida. He began to perform at local functions and on his father's radio station as a child, and while attending Palatka Senior High School developed a local reputation as a talented singer.^[2] He became a regular on the Toby Dowdy regional TV show in Jacksonville, and then had his own TV show on WDGA-TV.^[3] In 1957, while studying at the University of Florida, he entered a national talent contest and won through to the final round in Nashville, Tennessee, where he was heard by Archie Bleyer, owner of the independent Cadence Records.^[4] Bleyer signed Tillotson to a three-year contract, and issued his first single, "Dreamy Eyes" / "Well I'm Your Man" in September 1958. Both songs had been written by Tillotson, and both made the Billboard Hot 100, "Dreamy Eyes" peaking at # 63. After graduating in 1959 with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism and Communications, Tillotson moved to New York City to pursue his music career.^[1][2][5]
From late 1959, a succession of singles - "True True Happiness," "Why Do I Love You So," and a double-sided single covering the R&B hits "Earth Angel" and "Pledging My Love" - all reached the bottom half of the Hot 100. His biggest success came with his sixth single, the up-tempo "Poetry in Motion", written by Paul Kaufman and Mike Anthony, and recorded in Nashville with session musicians including saxophonist Boots Randolph and pianist Floyd Cramer. Released in September 1960, it went to # 2 on the Hot 100 in the US, and # 1 on the UK Singles Chart in January 1961. On Bleyer's advice, Tillotson focused primarily on his recording career, but also appeared on television and began to be featured as a teen idol in magazines. His follow-up record, "Jimmy's Girl," only reached # 25 in the US charts and # 43 in the UK; after that, "Without You" returned him to the US Top Ten but failed to make the UK charts. He also toured widely as part of Dick Clark's Cavalcade Of Stars.
Early in 1962, Tillotson recorded a song he had written himself, "It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin'," inspired by the terminal illness of his father. It became one of his biggest hits, reaching # 3 in the US pop chart and becoming the first of his records to make the country music charts, where it peaked at # 4. It earned him his first Grammy nomination, for Best Country & Western Recording, and was later recorded by over 100 performers including Elvis Presley and Billy Joe Royal, whose version was a country hit in 1988. Tillotson then recorded an album, It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin', on which he covered several country standards including Hank Locklin's "Send Me the Pillow You Dream On" and Hank Williams' "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)," which also became hit singles. He continued to record both country-flavored and pop songs in 1963, and "You Can Never Stop Me Loving You" and its follow-up, the Willie Nelson song "Funny How Time Slips Away," both made the Hot 100. He also appeared in the 1963 movie Just for Fun.^[1]
With the demise of the Cadence label, he formed his own production company and leased his recordings to MGM Records, starting with his version of the recent country # 1 song by Ernest Ashworth, "Talk Back Trembling Lips," which became Tillotson's last top ten hit, reaching # 7 in January 1964. He earned his second Grammy nomination for "Heartaches by the Number," nominated for Best Vocal Performance of 1965. He also sang the theme song for the 1965 Sally Field television comedy Gidget. While his fortunes waned with changing musical tastes in the late 1960s, he continued to record, before moving to California in 1968 to embark on an acting career in a variety of minor roles. He appeared in the 1966 camp comedy The Fat Spy starring Jayne Mansfield, which was featured in the 2004 documentary The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made (#46).
In the 1970s, he recorded for the Amos, Buddah, Columbia and United Artists labels.^[2] He also turned to nightclub work, appearing at the Copacabana in New York and in major hotels in Las Vegas and elsewhere, and continued to tour in Europe and the Far East. In 1996, he estimated that he was performing 230 days a year.

 ^{Source:Wikipedia}

You Wanna Know Who Is Perry Como?

Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with it in 1943. "Mr. C", as he was nicknamed, sold millions of records for RCA and pioneered a weekly musical variety television show, which set the standards for the genre and proved to be one of the most successful in television history. His combined success on television and popular recordings was not matched by any other artist of the time.
A popular television performer and recording artist, Perry Como produced numerous hit records with record sales so high the label literally stopped counting at Como's behest. His weekly television shows and seasonal specials were broadcast throughout the world and his popularity seemingly had no geographical or language boundaries. He was equally at ease in live performance and in the confines of a recording studio. His appeal spanned generations and he was widely respected for both his professional standards and the conduct in his personal life. In the official RCA Records Billboard Magazine memorial, his life was summed up in these few words: "50 years of music and a life well lived. An example to all." One of the many factors in his success was Como's insistence on his principles of good taste; if he considered something to be in bad or poor taste, it wasn't in the broadcast or show. While his performance of "Ave Maria" was a tradition of his holiday television programs, Como refused to sing it at live performances, saying, "It's not the time or place to do it.", even though it was the number one request of his audiences.
Composer Ervin Drake said of him, "... [o]ccasionally someone like Perry comes along and won't 'go with the flow' and still prevails in spite of all the bankrupt others who surround him and importune him to yield to their values. Only occasionally."
Como received 3 Emmys (2 in 1956 and 1 in 1958), a Christopher Award (1956) and shared a Peabody Award with good friend Jackie Gleason in 1956. He was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame in 1989  and received a Kennedy Center Honor in 1987. Posthumously, Como received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002; he was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2006 and the Hit Parade Hall of Fame in 2007. Como has the distinction of having 3 stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame-one each for his work in radio, in television, and in music.  Bing Crosby once described him as, "the man who invented casual".

source: Wikipedia

My Favourite of favourites! Sir Cliff Richard!

Sir Cliff Richard, OBE (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born English musician and actor.
With his backing group The Shadows, Richard, originally positioned as a rebellious rock and roll singer in the Elvis Presley style, dominated the British popular music scene in the pre-Beatles period of the late 1950s and early 1960s. His 1958 hit single "Move It" is often described as Britain's first authentic rock and roll song, and John Lennon once claimed that "before Cliff and the Shadows, there had been nothing worth listening to in British music."  A conversion to Christianity and subsequent softening of his music later led to a more middle of the road pop image, sometimes venturing into gospel.
Over a 52-year career, Cliff Richard has become a fixture of the British entertainment world. He has amassed hundreds of gold and platinum discs and awards, including three Brit awards and two Ivor Novello awards, making him one of the most successful singers of all time. He has had more than 130 singles, albums and EPs make the UK Top 20, more than any other artist. He holds the record (with Elvis Presley) as the only act to make the UK singles charts in all of its first six decades (1950s–2000s). He has achieved 14 UK number one singles (or 18, depending on the counting methodology) and is the only singer to have had a number one single in the UK in five consecutive decades: the 1950s through to the 1990s (discounting digital downloads and counting only CDs, he also had a UK number one single in the 2000s). He is the biggest selling singles artist of all time in the UK, with total sales of over 27 million and UK album sales of over 18 million. In his spare time, Sir Cliff Richard is an amateur dirt bike jumper, and is planning to take part in a competition in 2011^{[citation needed]}.
Richard has never achieved the same impact in the United States despite eight US Top 40 singles, three of which peaked in the Top 10, including the million selling "Devil Woman" and "We Don't Talk Anymore" (with the latter, becoming the first act to reach the Hot 100's top 40 in the 1980s who had also been in that chart's top 40 in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s). In the USA his singles sales stand at around 10 million while his album sales are about 5 million. In Canada Cliff achieved moderate success in the 1980s with a couple of albums gaining platinum status, he has sold around 2 million records there. He has remained a popular music, film, and television personality in Australia (where he has sold more than 5 million records), New Zealand, South Africa, Europe (especially in Germany, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Holland and Belgium) and Asia (especially Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong), and he retains a following in other countries also. He has sold more than 260 million records worldwide.

1940–58: Childhood

Webb was born on 14 October 1940 at the King George Hospital, Victoria Street, in Lucknow, British India, to Anglo-Indian  parents Rodger Oscar Webb, a manager for a catering contractor that serviced the Indian Railways, and Dorothy Marie Webb (née Dazely). He was baptised Harry Rodger on 2 November 1940 at St Thomas's Church, Dehradun, India. The family lived in a modest house with other Anglo-Indians at Maqbara, close to the main shopping centre of Hazratganj. Webb's father was 17 years senior to his mother. Rodger Webb was educated at Christ Church School, Lucknow. The Anglo-Indians living at Maqbara often were employed as musicians; a band from there played at the Royal Cafe Restaurant, Lucknow, and another at the Mohmmad Bagh club, which was the officers' military club serving the large garrison at Lucknow.  Dorothy Marie's mother served as the dormitory matron at the La Martinier Girls' School. Anglo-Indians did not enjoy any social status in India and were looked down upon by the British.
In 1948, following Indian independence, the family moved to England. The Webbs moved from comparative wealth in India, where they had servants and lived in a company-supplied flat at Howrah near Calcutta, to the semi-detached house of Harry's grandmother in Carshalton, Surrey. In 1949 his father obtained employment in the credit control office of Thorn Electrical Industries and the family moved in with other relatives in Hertfordshire until a three-bedroom council house in Cheshunt was allocated to them in 1950. Harry then attended Riversmead School (which was later renamed Bishopslea School) from 1952 to 1957. As a member of the top stream he stayed on beyond the mimimum leaving age to take GCE Ordinary Level examinations and he gained a pass in English. He then started work as a filing clerk for a company called Atlas Lamps. A development of flats, Cliff Richard Court, has been named after him in Cheshunt.
Webb became interested in skiffle. His father bought him a guitar at 16 and he formed the Quintones vocal group in 1957. He then sang in the Dick Teague Skiffle Group.

1958–1963: Success and stardom

Harry Webb became lead singer of a rock and roll group, The Drifters (not to be confused with the U.S. group of the same name). Before their first large-scale appearance, at the Regal Ballroom in Ripley, Derbyshire in 1958, they adopted the name "Cliff Richard and the Drifters". The four members were Webb (now going under the stage name "Cliff Richard"), Ian "Sammy" Samwell on guitar, Terry Smart on drums and Norman Mitham on guitar. None of the other three played with the later and better known Shadows, although Samwell wrote songs for Richard's later career.
For his debut session, Norrie Paramor provided Richard with "Schoolboy Crush", a cover of an American record by Bobby Helms. Richard was permitted to record one of his own songs for the B-side; this was "Move It", written by the Drifters' Samwell on a number 715 Green Line bus on the way to Richard's house for a rehearsal. For the "Move It" session Paramor used the session guitarist Ernie Shears on lead guitar and Frank Clark on bass.
There are a number of stories about why the A-side was replaced by the intended B-side. One is that Norrie Paramor's young daughter raved about the B-side; another was that influential TV producer Jack Good, who used the act for his TV show Oh Boy!, wanted the only song on his show to be "Move It".
The single went to No. 2 on the UK charts. Music critics Roy Carr and Tony Tyler wrote that it was the first genuine British rock classic, followed by Johnny Kidd and the Pirates' "Shakin' All Over". John Lennon was quoted as saying that "Move It" was the first English rock record.
In the early days, Cliff Richard was marketed as the British equivalent to Elvis Presley. Like previous British rockers such as Tommy Steele and Marty Wilde, Richard adopted Presley-like dress and hairstyle. In performance he struck a pose of rock attitude, rarely smiling or looking at the audience or camera. His late 1958 and early 1959 follow-up singles, "High Class Baby" and "Livin' Lovin' Doll", were followed by "Mean Streak", which carried a rocker's sense of speed and passion, and Lionel Bart's "Living Doll". It was on "Living Doll" that the Drifters began to back Richard on record. It was his fifth record,and became his first number 1 single . By that time the group's lineup had changed with the arrival of Jet Harris, Tony Meehan, Hank Marvin, and Bruce Welch. The group was obliged to change its name to "The Shadows" after legal complications with the U.S. Drifters as "Living Doll" entered the American top 40, licensed by ABC-Paramount. "Living Doll" was used in Richard's debut film Serious Charge, but as a country standard, rather than a rock and roll standard.
The Shadows were not a typical backing group. They would become contractually separate from Richard, and the group received no royalties for records backing Richard. In 1959, The Shadows (then still the Drifters) landed an EMI recording contract of their own, for independent recordings. That year, they released three singles, two of which featured double-sided vocals and one of which had instrumental A and B sides. In 1960, they recorded and released "Apache". Reaching the top of the charts in more than one country, the single set The Shadows on a path of their own. They thereafter had several major hits, including five UK No. 1s. The band also continued to appear and record with Richard and wrote many of his hits. On more than one occasion, a Shadows' instrumental replaced a Richard song at the top of the British charts.
Richard's fifth single "Living Doll" triggered a softer, more relaxed, sound. Subsequent hits, the No. 1s "Travellin' Light" and "I Love You" and also "A Voice in the Wilderness" and "Theme for a Dream" cemented Richard's status as a mainstream pop entertainer along with contemporaries such as Adam Faith and Billy Fury. Throughout the early sixties his hits were consistently in the top five.
Typically, The Shadows closed the first half of the show with a 30-minute set of their own, then backed Richard on his show-closing 45-minute stint. Tony Meehan and Jet Harris left the group in 1961 and 1962 respectively and later had their own chart successes for Decca. The Shadows added bass players and took on Brian Bennett on drums.
In the early days, Richard sometimes recorded without The Shadows in order to cater to other styles. Even after the Beatles' rise he continued to achieve hits, although more often with an orchestra rather than The Shadows: a revival of "It's All In The Game" and "Constantly". A session under the direction of Billy Sherrill in Nashville yielded two more top two hits: "The Minute You're Gone" and "Wind Me Up" in 1965.
Cliff Richard, and in particular The Shadows, never achieved star status in the United States. In 1960 they toured the U.S. and were well-received; however, lacklustre support and distribution from a revolving door of American record labels proved an obstacle to long-term success Stateside despite several chart records by Cliff including the aforementioned "It's All In The Game" on Epic, via a renewed linking of the worldwide Columbia labels after Philips ended its distribution deal with CBS. To the Shadows' chagrin, Apache reached #1 in the U.S. via a cover version by Danish guitarist Jorgen Ingmann which was virtually unchanged from their worldwide hit, save a sound effect Ingmann added evoking whooshing arrows in flight created by flicking his fingers on the fretboard. Cliff and the band appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, which was crucial for The Beatles, but these performances did not help them gain sustained success in North America.
Richard and The Shadows appeared in six feature films, including a rather odd debut in the 1959 film Serious Charge but most notably in The Young Ones, (the title song being his biggest hit up to "Mistletoe and Wine"), Summer Holiday (which featured a slimmed-down Richard with visible dancing skills), Wonderful Life and Finders Keepers. These films created their own genre known as the "Cliff Richard musical" and led to Richard being named the number one cinema box office attraction in Britain for both 1962 and 1963. The irreverent 1980s TV sitcom The Young Ones took its name from Richard's 1962 movie, and also made references to the singer. In 1966, Richard and the Shadows appeared as marionettes in the Gerry Anderson film Thunderbirds Are GO. In the summer of 1963 Cliff and the Shadows appeared for a season in Blackpool, where Cliff had his portrait modelled by Victor Heyfron, M.A.

1964–1975: Changing circumstances

As with the other existing rock acts in Britain, Richard's career was affected by the sudden advent of The Beatles and the Mersey sound in 1963 and 1964. However, his popularity was established enough to allow him to weather the storm and continue to have hits in the charts throughout the 1960s, albeit not at the level that he had enjoyed before. Nor did doors open to him in the U.S. market; he was not considered part of the British Invasion, and despite four Hot 100 hits (including the top 25 "It's All In The Game") between August 1963 and August 1964, the U.S. public had little awareness of him. However, he continued having international hits, including 1967's "The Day I Met Marie", which reached #10 in the UK Singles Chart and #5 in the Australian charts, and is considered a quintessential summer hit, due to its summery nature.
Although baptised as an Anglican, Richard did not appear to practise the faith in his early years. However, in 1964, he became an active Christian and this conversion has become an important aspect of his life. Standing up publicly as a Christian affected his career in several ways. Initially, he believed that he should quit rock 'n roll, feeling he could no longer be the rocker who had been called a "crude exhibitionist" and "too sexy for TV" and a threat to parents' daughters. However, by the time Richard converted, his image had become tamer because of his film roles and well-spoken manners on radio and TV. Richard intended at first to 'reform his ways' and become a teacher, but Christian friends advised him not to abandon his career just because he had become a Christian. Soon after, Cliff Richard re-emerged, performing with Christian groups and recording some Christian material. He still recorded secular songs with the Shadows, but devoted a lot of his time to Christian work, including appearances with the Billy Graham crusades. As time progressed, Richard balanced his faith and work, enabling him to remain one of the most popular singers in Britain as well as one of its best-known Christians. He was a leading figure in the Nationwide Festival of Light during 1971, protesting against the commercial exploitation of sex and violence in Britain, and advocating the teaching of Christ as the key to recovering moral stability in the nation.^{[citation needed]}
Cliff Richard's first serious acting role took place in the 1967 film Two a Penny, released by Billy Graham's World Wide Pictures, in which he played a young man who gets involved in drug dealing while questioning his life after his girlfriend changes her attitude. He released the live album "Cliff in Japan", which featured Olivia Newton-John as backing singer and John Farrar on guitar (Farrar would later be Newton-John's producer).
Also in 1968 he sang the UK's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest: "Congratulations" by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter; it lost by just one point to Spain's "La La La". According to John Kennedy O'Connor's The Eurovision Song Contest — The Official History, this was the closest result yet in the contest and Richard locked himself in the toilet to avoid the nerves of the voting. In May 2008 a Reuters news report claimed that voting in the competition had been fixed by the host country's dictator leader, Francisco Franco, to ensure that the Spanish entry won, allowing them to host the contest the following year (1969). In particular, it is claimed that Spanish TVE television executives offered to buy programmes in exchange for votes.^[11][12] This has not been proved beyond doubt, but it is thought likely.^{[by whom?]} The story was widely covered and featured on UK Channel 4 News as a main story, with Jon Snow interviewing author and historian John Kennedy O'Connor about the matter.^[13] Eurovision later ended voting by national juries in a bid to eradicate such alleged scams. Nevertheless, "Congratulations" was a huge hit throughout Europe and yet another No. 1 in April 1968.
After the Shadows split in 1968, Richard continued to record. He had already become accustomed to the Shadows' absence, and was able to record in a variety of settings. Although many of his earliest fans regretted that Richard had tried out songs which were not strictly in the rock 'n roll genre, most had got used to his habit of recording rockier material with the Shadows, while producing more middle-of-the-road material at other times; this versatility extended Richard's career prospects.

 

Portrait by Allan Warren

During the 1970s, Richard took part in television shows, such as It's Cliff, many of which also starred Hank Marvin and Una Stubbs, and which included A Song for Europe. These shows, for a time, branded Cliff Richard as a television personality more than a recording artist. He began 1970 by appearing live on the BBC's review of the sixties music scene, Pop Go The Sixties, which was broadcast across Britain and Europe on January 1. He performed "Bachelor Boy" with The Shadows and "Congratulations" solo. In 1972, he made a short BBC television comedy film called The Case with appearances from comedians and his first ever duets with a woman, Olivia Newton-John. In 1973 he starred in the film Take Me High.
In 1973 he sang the British Eurovision entry "Power to All Our Friends"; the song finished third, close behind Luxembourg's "Tu Te Reconnaîtras" and Spain's "Eres Tú". This time, Richard took Valium in order to overcome his nerves and his manager was almost unable to wake him for the performance. Richard also hosted the BBC's qualifying heat for the Eurovision Song Contest, A Song for Europe, in 1970, 1971 and 1972 as part of his BBCTV variety series. He presented the Eurovision Song Contest Previews for the BBC in 1971 and 1972.

1976–1994: Comeback

In 1976 the decision was made to repackage Cliff Richard as a "rock" artist. That year he produced the landmark album I'm Nearly Famous, which included the successful but controversial guitar-driven track "Devil Woman" (Richard's first true hit in the United States) and the ballad "Miss You Nights". Richard's fans were excited about this revival of a performer who had been a part of British rock from its early days. Many music names such as Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, and Elton John were seen sporting I'm Nearly Famous badges, pleased that their boyhood idol was getting back into the heavier rock in which he had begun his career.
Notwithstanding this, Richard continued to release Gospel-tinged albums in parallel with his rock and pop albums, for example: Small Corners from 1978 contained the single "Yes He Lives". Despite his 1976 comeback, this single failed to chart in the United Kingdom. In 1980, the singer officially changed his name by deed poll from Harry Webb to Cliff Richard. On December 31, 1976, he performed his latest single "Hey, Mr. Dream Maker" on BBC1's A Jubilee Of Music, celebrating British pop music for Queen Elizabeth II's impending Silver Jubilee.
In 1979, Richard teamed up with the producer Bruce Welch for the pop hit single "We Don't Talk Anymore", which hit #1 in the UK and #7 in the U.S. Brian Ferry added hummed backing vocals to the song. The record gave Richard the distinction of becoming the first act to reach the Hot 100 in the 1980s who had also reached the Hot 100 in each of the three previous decades. The song was quickly added onto the end of his latest album Rock 'n' Roll Juvenile. It was his first time at the top of the UK singles chart in over ten years, and the song would become his biggest-selling single ever. The accompanying music video was the sixth to appear on American cable channel MTV when it debuted on August 1, 1981.
At long last he had some extended success in the United States following "Devil Woman". The follow-up "Dreaming" also reached the top ten, peaking at #10. His 1980 duet "Suddenly" with Olivia Newton-John, from the film Xanadu, was a Top 20 hit in America, peaking at #20. Richard continued with a string of top ten albums, including I'm No Hero, Wired for Sound, Now You See Me, Now You Don't, and, marking his 25th year in show business, Silver. The singles chart also saw his most consistent period of top twenty hits since the mid 1960s, with three of them on the Hot 100 at the same time at the end of 1980. His 1985 single "She's So Beautiful" reached No. 17 in the UK. 1987 saw Richard record his Always Guaranteed album, which became his best selling album of all new material. It contained the two top ten hit singles "My Pretty One" and "Some People". Richard concluded his thirtieth year in music by reaching number one on the British singles chart with "Mistletoe and Wine", while simultaneously holding the number one positions on the album and video charts with the compilation Private Collection summing up his biggest hits from 1979-1988. "Mistletoe and Wine" was his biggest seller to that point.
In 1986, Richard teamed up with The Young Ones to re-record his smash hit "Living Doll" for the charity Comic Relief. Along with the song, the recording contained comedy dialogue between Richard and The Young Ones. The release went to No. 1. That same year he opened in the West End as a rock musician called upon to defend Earth in a trial set in the Andromeda Galaxy in the multi-media Dave Clark musical Time. Two Richard singles, "She's So Beautiful" and "Born To Rock 'n Roll", were released respectively in 1985 and 1986 from the concept album recorded for Time.
Further top ten albums included Stronger in 1989, which included the UK No. 2 hit "Best Of Me", and UK No. 3 "Just Don't Have The Heart" written and produced by Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman, and From a Distance in 1990. Later that year, Richard scored his second UK Christmas No. 1 single with "Saviour's Day". Richard unsuccessfully bid for the Christmas No. 1 spot again with "We Should Be Together" and "Healing Love" in 1991 and 1993 respectively – the latter being taken from his No. 1 studio album Cliff Richard – The Album. The next few years saw Richard concentrate on bringing the musical Heathcliff to the stage. The production was a resounding success,^{[citation needed]} but the time it took seemed to take a toll on his reinvigorated chart status. Back in the UK during the next years and throughout the 1980s, Richard remained one of the best-known music artists in the country. In the space of a few years he worked with Elton John, Mark Knopfler, Julian Lennon, Freddie Mercury, Stevie Wonder, Phil Everly, Janet Jackson, Sheila Walsh, and Van Morrison. Richard also reunited with Olivia Newton-John. In 1989, he filled the Wembley Stadium for a few nights with a spectacular titled "The Event". Meanwhile, The Shadows later re-formed (and again split). They recorded on their own, but also reunited with Richard in 1978, 1984, and 1989–90 for some concerts. On 14 June 2004 Cliff Richard joined the Shadows on-stage at the London Palladium. The Shadows had decided to re-form for one final tour of the UK, with this concert heralded as their final ever concert as "Cliff and the Shadows."

1995–2009: Sir Cliff Richard

Cliff Richard was knighted on 25 October 1995, the first rock star to be so honoured (Bob Geldof had received his honorary knighthood a full nine years earlier, but not being a British subject, he is not permitted to use the title 'Sir', whether in the UK or abroad). Richard was knighted ahead of Paul McCartney (1997), Elton John (1998), Mick Jagger and Tom Jones.
In 1996 he famously led the Wimbledon Centre Court crowd in singing during a rain delay when asked by Wimbledon officials to entertain the crowd. Richard was not aware this performance was being televised by the BBC and after singing six of his golden greats, TV presenter Des Lynam commented on this and added jokingly "we'll probably get one hell of a bill". The performance was front page headlines on many of the major British newspapers the following day.
In 1998, Richard demonstrated that radio stations were refusing to play his music by releasing his latest single "Can't Keep This Feeling In" on a white label under the pseudonym of Blacknight. The single was well regarded and featured on playlists until the true artist was revealed. In 1999, controversy again arose regarding radio stations refusing to play his releases when EMI, Richard's label since 1958, refused to release his latest song, "Millennium Prayer". Richard took it to an independent label, Papillon, which released the charity recording (in aid of Children's Promise). The single went on to top the UK chart for three weeks, becoming his fourteenth No. 1 and the third-highest-selling single of his career. Richard's next album, in 2001, was a covers project, Wanted, followed by another top ten album, Cliff at Christmas. The holiday album contained both new and older recordings, including the single "Santa's List", which reached No. 5 in 2003.
Cliff Richard finished number 56 in the 2002 100 Greatest Britons list, sponsored by the BBC and voted for by the public.
Richard decamped to Nashville, Tennessee for his next album project in 2004, employing a writers' conclave to give him the pick of all new songs for the album Something's Goin' On. Though the collection was critically well-received, it had disappointing sales. Nevertheless it was yet another top ten album, and produced three top fifteen singles: "Something's Goin' On", "I Cannot Give You My Love", with Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees, and the lively "What Car". Richard did not hide his disappointment with the album's lacklustre sales, and it was speculated that it might have been his last ever album of original songs.
Two's Company, an album of duets released in 2006, was another top 10 success and included newly-recorded material with Brian May, Dionne Warwick, Anne Murray, Barry Gibb and Daniel O'Donnell, plus some previously recorded duets with artists such as Phil Everly, Elton John and Olivia Newton-John. Two's Company was released to coincide with the UK leg of his latest world tour, "Here and Now", which included a number of lesser known but fan-favourite songs such as "My Kinda Life", "How Did She Get Here", "Hey Mr. Dream Maker", "For Life", "A Matter Of Moments", "When The Girl In Your Arms", "Every Face Tells A Story", "Peace In Our Time" and the Christmas single "21st Century Christmas", which debuted at No. 2 on the UK singles chart.
Richard's mother, Dorothy Webb, suffered from dementia. In a September 2006 interview with the Daily Mail, he spoke about the difficulties he and his sisters had in dealing with their mother's condition. On 18 October 2007 a statement on the star's website read, "We are sad to report that Cliff's mother, Dorothy, passed away early on 17 October; she was 87."
Another compilation album, Love... The Album was released on 12 November 2007. Like Two's Company before it, this album includes both previously released material and newly recorded songs, namely "Waiting For A Girl Like You", "When You Say Nothing At All", "All Out Of Love", "If You're Not the One" and "When I Need You" (the last was released as a single, reaching number 38; the album peaked at number 13). The concept of the project has divided fans who anticipate an album of new material.
2008, Richard's 50th year in music, saw the release of the 8 CD box set And They Said It Wouldn't Last (My 50 Years In Music).

50th Anniversary Tour, Wembley

50th Anniversary Tour, Wembley

In September, a single celebrating his 50 years in pop music, titled "Thank you for a Lifetime" was released. On 14 September 2008 it reached No. 3 on the UK music charts.
On 2 November 2008, British newspaper The Mail on Sunday gave away a free promotional CD entitled 50th Anniversary containing 12 tracks picked by Sir Cliff himself.
On 11 November 2008, Cliff Richard's official website announced that 20 years after their latest concert together, Cliff and The Shadows would reunite to celebrate their 50th anniversary in the music business. A month later they performed at the Royal Variety Performance. In 2009 Cliff and The Shadows will bring their partnership to an end with the "Golden Anniversary concert tour of the UK". A new album by Cliff Richard and the Shadows was released in September 2009. Titled Reunited, It was their first studio project in forty years. The 28 tracks recorded comprise 25 re-recordings of their earlier classics, with three "new" tracks, originally from that era (and earlier), the single "Singing the Blues", along with Eddie Cochran's "C'mon Everybody" and the Frankie Ford hit "Sea Cruise". The tracks are to be spread across the single and its bonus tracks, a limited edition version of the album, as well as a standard CD release. The album charted at number 6 in the UK charts in its opening week and peaked at number 4. The reunion tour is to continue into Europe in 2010.
In June 2009 it was reported by Sound Kitchen Studios in Nashville that Cliff was to return there shortly to record a new album of original recordings of jazz songs. He was to record fourteen tracks in a week. He also stated his intention to record with bluegrass singer Alison Krauss.

2010: Bold As Brass – 70th Birthday

Sir Cliff performed "Congratulations" at the 70th birthday celebrations of Queen Margrethe II in Denmark on 13 April 2010. His performance was a show-stopper and the Queen appeared delighted. 
In October 2010 Cliff Richard will celebrate his 70th birthday. To mark the occasion Richard will be performing a series of six concerts at the Royal Albert Hall, London. Tickets for the concerts went on sale on 7 March and sold out within a few hours. To accompany the concerts a new album of cover versions of swing standards, Bold as Brass, is to be released on 11 October. The album, an ode to the early jazz and big band era of the 20s and 30s, features songs like "I've Got You Under My Skin", "They Can't Take That Away From Me" and "I Just Want To Make Love To You". The album was recorded in Nashville and produced by Grammy Award-winning Michael Omartian.

Source:Wikipedia