Ian Samwell

Ian 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".

Life

He was born Ian Ralph Samwell in Lambeth, South London, and grew up in Harrow, and began writing poems and stories in his teens. In 1958, after seeing Harry Webb performing at the 2i's Coffee Bar in Soho, he auditioned for and joined Webb's group as a guitarist. Shortly afterwards, the group was renamed Cliff Richard and The Drifters (later The Shadows).

When the group won a recording contract with EMI's Columbia Records, Samwell composed the song, "Move It", inspired by Chuck Berry. The song was initially intended as the B-side of their debut single "Schoolboy Crush", but, at the insistence of television producer Jack Good, it was promoted as the A-side of the record. It reached Number 2 in the UK Singles Chart, and is generally accepted as the first rock and roll song to be written in the United Kingdom. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20030317/ai_n12680479/pg_1 Obituary by Spencer Leigh] ]

"Sammy" Samwell played rhythm guitar on "Move It", but was edged out of the band when Hank Marvin and Jet Harris joined. Instead, he was offered a songwriting contract, and wrote Richard's second hit single, "High Class Baby" together with several of Richard's other early songs such as "Dynamite". In 1959 he wrote "Say You Love Me Too", recorded by The Isley Brothers, the first song by an British songwriter to be recorded by an American R&B act.

From 1961, Samwell hosted lunchtime dance sessions at the Lyceum in London, using his own collection of black R&B records. Music historian Dave Godin said: "In some ways, the Lyceum was the first place that could merit the name discothèque". [ [http://www.djhistory.com/bb/displayStory.php?id=57&group=m_general DJ History: Bill: Writing ] ]

He wrote for many other British artists, including Joe Brown, Kenny Lynch, and Dusty Springfield. Several of his songs were recorded in Spanish language adaptations by the Mexican group, Los Teen Tops, [ [http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Teen_Tops es.wikipedia.org] ] and became popular in Latin America and the Spanish speaking world.fact|date = December 2007 He also worked as a record producer with Sounds Incorporated, Georgie Fame, John Mayall, and mod outfit the Small Faces, co-writing their 1965 hit single "Whatcha Gonna Do About It".

Samwell went on to work with many artists, particularly as a staff producer in the late 1960s and 1970s at the London office of Warner Brothers. He is best known in the United States for having discovered the band America and producing its self-titled debut album. The album spawned the hits "A Horse with No Name", "I Need You", and "Sandman". Samwell is also credited with crafting the acoustic flavour of that album and persuading Dewey Bunnell to change the name of his signature song from 'Desert Song' to "A Horse With No Name".

Samwell had a heart transplant in the 1990s, and died in Sacramento, California, in 2003. Richard re-recorded "Move It" in 2006, with the guitar part being played by Brian May of Queen.

References

External links

* [http://www.iansamwell.com/ Official website]