"High Class Baby" 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 November 1958 as their second single. It peaked at number 7 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.

Recording and reception

"High Class Baby" was written by

Ian Samwell Ian Ralph "Sammy" Samwell (19 January 1937 – 13 March 2003) was an English musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the writer of Cliff Richard's debut single "Move It", whilst a member of his backing group, (known ...

about actress Julie Cracknell, mother of singer Sarah Cracknell, who had spurned his advances. Both sides were recorded on 3 October 1958 at

EMI Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music compan ...

(later renamed Abbey Road Studios), two days before Cliff Richard and the Drifters went on tour for the first time. Like with "

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 ...

", producer Norrie Paramor hired session musicians Ernie Shear and Frank Clarke to play on the record. However, Richard has said that "it didn't compare in any way to "Move It"" and that he cried when he got home, believing that his career was over. "Don't Bug Me Baby", originally by little-known American singer Milton Allen, was intended to be the follow-up to "Move It". However, it was shelved in favour of "High Class Baby" after a disjointed recording of it and because it was felt that "High Class Baby" had a more "British sound" to it. "Don't Bug Me Baby" was later re-recorded for Richard's album ''

Cliff In geography and geology, a cliff or rock face is an area of Rock (geology), rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. ...

''. After its release, "High Class Baby" was banned by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, as the lyrics mention a

Cadillac Cadillac Motor Car Division, or simply Cadillac (), is the luxury vehicle division (business), division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Its major markets are the United States, Canada and China; Cadillac models are ...

car, which the BBC saw as a breach of advertising regulations. Reviewing for '' Disc'',

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 ...

described "High Class Baby" as "a furious rock number that will rattle the teeth in your head; it is put out like a machine-gun gone " and has "plenty of twangy guitar in the rhythm backing".

Track listing

# "High Class Baby" – 2:09 # "My Feet Hit the Ground" – 1:59

Personnel

– vocals *

– guitar * Ernie Shear – guitar * Frank Clarke – upright bass * Terry Smart – drums

Charts

Cover versions

* In 1961, a Spanish-language version, titled "Presumida", by Mexican band Los Teen Tops was a number-one hit in Mexico.

References

{{authority control 1958 singles 1958 songs Cliff Richard songs Songs written by Ian Samwell Columbia Graphophone Company singles Song recordings produced by Norrie Paramor Songs banned by the BBC