"Livin' Lovin' Doll" is a song by

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...

and the Drifters (who would later become

the Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters between 1958 and 1959) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the pre-Beatles era from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. They served as the bac ...

), released in January 1959 as their third single. Unlike their previous two top-ten singles, it only peaked at number 20 on the ''

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a " rock inkie", the ''NME'' would become a maga ...

'' chart.

Background and recording

Richard hated singing the ''

Serious Charge ''Serious Charge'' (U.S.: ''A Touch of Hell'', also known as ''Immoral Charge'') is a 1959 British film, directed by Terence Young and starring Anthony Quayle, Sarah Churchill, Andrew Ray and Irene Browne. It was produced and co-written by ...

'' film version of " Living Doll" as it was much faster than the eventual single. In order to try to prevent it from being released as a single, producer

Norrie Paramor Norman William "Norrie" Paramor (15 May 1913 – 9 September 1979) was a British record producer, composer, arranger, pianist, bandleader, and orchestral conductor. He is best known for his work with Cliff Richard and the Shadows, both togethe ...

decided to write a song with a similar title. So, together with his friend

Bunny Lewis Bridges Georges McGibbon Lewis (12 November 1918 – 7 September 2001) professionally known under pen name Bunny Lewis, also known professionally under various pseudonyms was a London-based manager, record producer and composer and music manager ...

, they wrote "Livin' Lovin' Doll" using the pseudonyms Johnny May and Jim Gustard so that no one would realise who was behind it. Like with the previous two singles, Paramor hired session musicians Ernie Shear to play lead guitar and Frank Clarke to play upright bass if needed. Recently joined members of the Drifters,

Hank Marvin Hank Brian Marvin (born Brian Robson Rankin, 28 October 1941) is an English multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and songwriter. He is known as the lead guitarist for the Shadows. Early life and career Marvin was born as Brian Robson Rankin at ...

Bruce Welch Bruce Cripps (born 2 November 1941), known professionally as Bruce Welch, is an English guitarist, songwriter, producer, singer and businessman best known as a founding member of the Shadows. Early life Bruce Welch was born in Bognor Regis in ...

and

Jet Harris Terence "Jet" Harris (6 July 1939 – 18 March 2011) was an English rock and roll musician. He was an original member of Cliff Richard's backing band the Shadows, serving as the bass guitarist from the group's inception until April 1962, aft ...

, would then play rhythm and bass guitars. However, Richard wasn't happy with Shear playing lead instead of Marvin. According to Marvin, Richard felt that Shear "wasn't really into rock 'n' roll" and "tended to do the same thing every time". Marvin did a take on lead guitar, describing his version as "a bit more original", and Richard was much happier with it. Paramor agreed and that was the last time he booked in session musicians for the group. The flip slide "Steady with You" was written by former Drifters member Ian Samwell and was recorded on 19 November. It has been described as Richard's first ballad and was a lot slower than his usual rock and roll songs. Along with the usual personnel of Marvin, Welch, Harris and Terry Smart, the track includes piano by Paramor and backing vocals by the Mike Sammes Singers.

Reception

"Livin' Lovin' Doll" failed to achieve the same success as the group's previous two singles, "

Move It "Move It" is a song written by Ian Samwell and recorded by Cliff Richard and the Drifters (the English band that would later become the Shadows). Originally intended as the B-side to "Schoolboy Crush", it was released as Richard's debut single ...

" and "

High Class Baby "High Class Baby" is a song by Cliff Richard and the Drifters (who would later become the Shadows), released in November 1958 as their second single. It peaked at number 7 on the ''New Musical Express'' chart. Recording and reception "High Cla ...

". In order to satisfy public demand for the release of "Living Doll", Richard re-recorded it as a slowed-down version and released it in July as the group's fifth single. Reviewing for ''

Disc Disc or disk may refer to: * Disk (mathematics), a two dimensional shape, the interior of a circle * Disk storage * Optical disc * Floppy disk Music * Disc (band), an American experimental music band * ''Disk'' (album), a 1995 EP by Moby Other ...

'',

Don Nicholl Donald Nicholl (August 9, 1925 – July 5, 1980) was an English screenwriter and producer who later worked in the United States. Early life Nicholl was born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, Sunderland, England. He worked as a journalist, columnis ...

gave it 3 out of 5 stars, describing it as "a number which must have been tailored for him. Cliff chants it with a swift beat, while the Drifters supply their usual backing". Nicholl also wrote that "Steady with You" is "a beat ballad lowed downin treacly romantic fashion" and that Richard "handles it with considerable aplomb".

Track listing

# "Livin' Lovin' Doll" – 2:08 # "Steady with You" – 2:21

Personnel

– vocals *

– lead guitar *

– rhythm guitar *

– bass guitar * Terry Smart – drums

Charts

References

{{authority control 1958 songs 1959 singles Cliff Richard songs Columbia Graphophone Company singles Song recordings produced by Norrie Paramor