The Shadows - Apache (1960)

The five years leading up to the music chart domination by The Beatles has been widely regarded as the “Before-Beatles” period. This group, also known as Cliff Richard and the Shadows, was the top UK group of that era. As John Lennon once said, “Before Cliff and the Shadows, there had been nothing worth listening to in British music.” Originally known as The Drifters, they had sixty-nine UK hit songs over a span of twenty-one years, with their most successful years occurring between 1960 and 1963. The group has featured numerous members and broken up on four occasions. As of their latest break-up in 2010, the group is still currently disbanded.

This song was written by the English songwriter Jerry Lordan. He initially gave the song to Bert Weedon, but was unhappy with the result. With that version’s release on hold, Lordan next taught the song to this group, who he was on tour with at the time. They were the first group to release the song (July 1960) and it went to number one in seven countries. Since, the song has found continued success from being covered or sampled by artists such as Jørgen Ingmann, the Incredible Bongo Band, The Sugarhill Gang, Sir Mix-A-Lot, and many others. Because the melody is now associated with classic hip hop, it’s nice to remember its roots.



The Shadows - Apache (1960)

Loading the ABLYAM player...(Might not work on mobile devices)

Lyrics:

(instrumental)