25 Essential Cliff Richard Songs

Cliff Richard Songs

Feature Photo: Hans Peters / Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Our Top 10 Cliff Richard Songs list looks back at the career of one of the United Kingdom’s most popular artists of all time. Most music fans in the United States do not realize how popular Cliff Richard has been and still is in the United Kingdom. We are talking about popularity on the level of Elvis Presley, The Beatles, and the Rolling Stones. While Cliff Richard never achieved that level of popularity in the United States, he is one of the most loved artists of all time in the United Kingdom. Cliff Richard has sold more singles in the United Kingdom than any other solo artist. Even more than the native British Sir Elton John, who is dearly loved by the British and just about everyone else in the world. Sir Cliff Richard has sold over 260 million records worldwide. The dude knew how to record a hit single.

Composing a top 10 songs list for an artist of Cliff Richard’s stature is pretty much impossible. There are just too many songs. We can’t even fit just his number-one records on the list, because he had 14 in Great Britain. So we had no choice but to expand our standard top 10 list to 25. Even at 25, we are missing so many, but these lists are always designed to serve as introductions to an artist for those unfamiliar with their work and as a tribute to those who are.

Our list of the top 25 Cliff Richard songs is presented chronologically. It includes some of his earliest material with his group, The Shadows, which is essential for showcasing Cliff Richard’s musical story. However, we will also provide a list of Shadows songs in a subsequent article to highlight their great importance in the history of UK Rock.

# 25 – Move It

We open up our Top 25 Cliff Richard songs list with the first single release of his career. This great rocker is often cited as one of the first great rock and roll singles released in the United Kingdom. It also stood as one of John Lennon’s favorite songs and served as an inspiration to the future Beatles, who would turn the world upside down. The song was released in 1958. It hit number two on the United Kingdom music charts. The song was recorded with The Drifters (not the U.S. Doo Wop group), who would change their name soon to the Shadows

# 24 – Living Doll

“Living Doll” was Cliff Richard’s first number-one hit single in the UK and a top-30 hit in the U.S. It was recorded with the Drifters(Shadows) and released in 1959.

# 23 – Travellin’ Light

“Travellin’ Light” was Cliff Richards and The Shadows’ second straight number-one single in the U.K. in 1959. It did not even chart in the U.S.

# 22 – Please Don’t Tease

“Please Don’t Tease” was recorded with The Shadows and hit number one on the United Kingdom Music Charts in 1960.

# 21 – I Love You

“I Love You” was recorded with The Shadows and hit number one on the United Kingdom Music Charts in 1960.

# 20 – The Young Ones

“The Young Ones” was recorded with The Shadows and hit number one on the United Kingdom Music Charts in 1961.

# 19 – The Next Time

“The Next Time,” recorded with The Shadows, reached number one on the United Kingdom Music Charts in 1962 and broke the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 99.

# 18 – Summer Holiday

“Summer Holiday” was recorded with The Shadows and hit number one on the United Kingdom Music Charts in 1962.

# 17 – The Minute You’re Gone

“The Minute You’re Gone” was recorded with The Shadows and hit number one on the United Kingdom Music Charts in 1965.

# 16 – Congratulations

A huge Cliff Richards song, it hit number one in the United Kingdom in 1968 and represented Britain in the Eurovision Song Contest of 1968.

# 15 – Big Ship

I love this one. It was released as a non-album single in 1969 and was a top-10 hit in the United Kingdom. The horns are killer on this one.

# 14 – Goodbye Sam, Hello Samantha

“Goodbye Sam, Hello Samantha” was released as a single in 1970. It was a perfect pop song for the era and a top 10 single in the UK.

# 13 – Power To All Our Friends

One of Cliff Richard’s biggest hits and another song from the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973. The song hit number three in the UK.

# 12 – Devil Woman

Everyone in the U.S. knows this one. It was Cliff Richards’ biggest hit in the U.S. It reached the top 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1976. It was actually bigger in the US than in the UK, peaking at number nine on the UK Music charts.

# 11 – We Don’t Talk Anymore

“We Don’t Talk Anymore” was a number one hit in the United Kingdom in 1979. It was also a top 10 hit in the US, peaking at number seven on the U.S. Billboard music charts.

# 10 – Dreamin’

Dreamin’ was another big hit on the US charts. The song broke the US Billboard Top 10 in 1980 and was also a top 10 hit in the UK.

# 9 – Wired for Sound

“Wired for Sound” hit number four in the UK Charts in 1981.

# 8 – Please Don’t Fall in Love

“Please Don’t Fall in Love” hit number seven on the United Kingdom music charts in 1983.

# 7 – Mistletoe and Wine

“Mistletoe and Wine” was a great holiday song by Cliff Richard. It was a massive hit in the UK, reaching number one in 1988. This man had so many number ones.

# 6 – The Best of Me

“The Best of Me” hit number two in the UK in 1989

# 5 – I Just Don’t Have the Heart

This excellent dance style tune, “I Just Don’t Have the Hear,t” was a number three single in the UK in 1989

# 4 – Saviour’s Day

“Saviour’s Day” hit number one in the United Kingdom in 1990.

# 3 – I Still Believe in You

“I Still Believe in You” hit number seven in the United Kingdom in 1999.

# 2 -The Millennium Prayer

“The Millennium Prayer” hit number one in the United Kingdom in 1999.

# 1 – Thank You for a Lifetime

This is the perfect way to end this Cliff Richard songs list. Thank You For A Lifetime was a thank you message from Cliff Richard to his fans. The song was released in 2008. It hit number three on the UK Music Charts. It stands so far as Cliff Richards’ last top 10 hit of his career.