25 Essential 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 British male 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 well over 250 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 introduce an artist to those unfamiliar with their work and to honor 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. John Lennon later praised “Move It” as the first English record that came close to matching American rock and roll, and it 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 soon change their name 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, who soon became The Shadows, and released in 1959.

# 23 – Travellin’ Light

“Travellin’ Light” was Cliff Richard and The Shadows’ second straight number-one single in the U.K. in 1959. It did not 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 1962.

# 19 – The Next Time

“The Next Time,” recorded with The Shadows, was released in 1962 and reached number one on the United Kingdom music charts in January 1963 as part of the “The Next Time/Bachelor Boy” single. In the U.S., “Bachelor Boy” later reached number 99 on the Billboard Hot 100.

# 18 – Summer Holiday

“Summer Holiday” was recorded with The Shadows and hit number one on the United Kingdom music charts in 1963.

# 17 – The Minute You’re Gone

“The Minute You’re Gone” was recorded in Nashville with American session musicians and hit number one on the United Kingdom music charts in 1965.

# 16 – Congratulations

A huge Cliff Richard 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, peaking at number eight. 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, peaking at number six.

# 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 four in the UK.

# 12 – Devil Woman

Everyone in the U.S. knows this one. It was Cliff Richard’s biggest hit in the U.S. It reached number six on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1976. It was actually bigger in the U.S. 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 U.S., peaking at number seven on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

# 10 – Dreamin’

“Dreamin'” was another big hit on the U.S. charts. The song peaked at number ten on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1980 and was also a top-10 hit in the UK, peaking at number eight.

# 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 Heart,” 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 1992.

# 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 Richard’s last top-10 hit of his career.