English musician, songwriter and producer (1937-2003)
Ian Samwell
Born
Ian Ralph Samwell
(1937-01-19)19 January 1937
Lambeth, South London, England
Died
13 March 2003(2003-03-13) (aged 66)
Sacramento, California, U.S.
Nationality
British
Other names
Sammy
Occupations
Musician
singer-songwriter
record producer
guitarist
Years active
1958–2003
Known for
Record producing/songwriting, "Move It", America, Hummingbird, John Mayall, Small Faces
Musical career
Labels
Decca
EMI
A&M
Island
Warner Bros. Records
Immediate
Formerly of
the Drifters
Musical artist
Ian Ralph Samwell (19 January 1937 – 13 March 2003) was an English musician, singer-songwriter and record producer.[1] He is best known as the writer of Cliff Richard's debut single "Move It",[2] 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".[2] He also worked with rock bands, such as Small Faces, The Grateful Dead, Frank Zappa, Joni Mitchell,[3] John Mayall and Hummingbird.
Samwell wrote for many other British artists, including Joe Brown, Elkie Brooks, Kenny Lynch and Dusty Springfield.[1] Several of his songs were recorded in Spanish by the Mexican group, Los Teen Tops and were released in Latin America and the Spanish-speaking territories of the world. He also worked as a record producer with Sounds Incorporated, Georgie Fame, John Mayall and the mod band The Small Faces,[1] co-writing their 1965 hit single "Whatcha Gonna Do About It".[3]
^ abcCite error: The named reference Larkin50 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ abMindy, Giles (20 March 2003). "Ian Samwell, the father of British rock". Newsreview.com.
^ ab"Ian Samwell Obituary". The Guardian. 27 March 2003. Retrieved 13 January 2010.
Ian Ralph Samwell (19 January 1937 – 13 March 2003) was an English musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the writer of...
guitar (1941), IanSamwell on guitar and Harry Webb (before he became Cliff Richard) on guitar and vocals. They had no bass player. Samwell wrote their debut...
"Move It" is a song written by IanSamwell and recorded by Cliff Richard and the Drifters (the English band that would later become "The Shadows"). Originally...
Samwell is a surname or given name, and may refer to: David Samwell (1751–1798), Welsh naval surgeon and poet IanSamwell (1937–2003), English musician...
[citation needed] He co-wrote Richard's 1961 hit; "Gee Whizz It's You" with IanSamwell. With Welch, Brian Bennett, and John Rostill, he wrote hits for Cliff...
chorus. A "waterfall"-type solo completes the arrangement. Produced by IanSamwell on the day of final recording at Morgan Studios, when at first the group...
sounded like "cliff face", which suggested "Rock". It was "Move It" writer IanSamwell who suggested the surname "Richard" as a tribute to Webb's musical hero...
that had gone undetected for some time. Isaac Guillory was produced by IanSamwell, Jeff Dexter, Jim Fairs, and was released in 1974 by Atlantic Records...
Drifters (later renamed the Shadows) was written by original guitarist IanSamwell. It was released in August 1958, and was the first British rock and roll...
recorded its debut album, Rhythm and Blues at the Flamingo. Produced by IanSamwell and engineered by Glyn Johns, the album was released in place of a planned...
Somebody to Love". The lyrics were co-written by the Drifters band member IanSamwell (who wrote one of the first British rock'n'roll records, "Move It") and...
The next spring Mayall obtained his first recording date with producer IanSamwell. The band, with Martin Hart at the drums, recorded two tracks: "Crawling...
"You Can Never Stop Me Loving You" is a song written by IanSamwell and Jean Slater, and released in 1963 by Kenny Lynch. Lynch's version spent 14 weeks...
John Lee Hooker at a club in Southend-on-Sea. Hooker introduced her to IanSamwell, who arranged for Don Arden to manage her. She signed with Polydor and...
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