IAN “SAMMY” SAMWELL
Ian “Sammy” Samwell (19 January 1937 – 13 March 2003) was an English musician, songwriter and record producer, best known as the writer of Cliff Richard’s debut hit “Move It” and his association with the rock band America with whom he had his biggest commercial success with their hit single “A Horse with No Name”. He also worked with rock bands and artists, such as the Small Faces, The Grateful Dead, Frank Zappa, Joni Mitchell, John Mayall, and Hummingbird. (More from Wikipedia)
“Move It” was an original song by bandmember Ian “Sammy” Samwell and was first released as the “B” side, with the “A” side being a cover of a song by American artist Bobby Helms called “Schoolboy Crush”. “Move It” went to #2 on the UK charts in 1958 and is widely regarded as the first authentic British rock and roll song. John Lennon has been quoted as saying (from Wikipedia): “Before Cliff [Richard] and the Shadows, there had been nothing worth listening to in British music.” Cliff Richard is the third top-selling singles artist in British history, behind only the Beatles and Elvis Presley.
(November 2014)
