Bachelor Boy

"Bachelor Boy"
Single by Cliff Richard and The Shadows
A-side	"The Next Time" (double A-side)[1]
Released	December 1962
Format	7" single
Recorded	16 November 1962, EMI Studios, London
Genre	Pop
Length	2:02
Writer(s)	Bruce Welch, Cliff Richard[1]
Producer(s)	Norrie Paramor[1]
Cliff Richard and The Shadows singles chronology
"It'll Be Me/Since I Lost You" (1962) "The Next Time/Bachelor Boy" (1962) "Summer Holiday" (1963)

"Bachelor Boy" (written by Bruce Welch and Cliff Richard) was a double 'A' side with "The Next Time" the first of three number one hit singles from the Cliff Richard musical, Summer Holiday.^[1] It was followed at number one by The Shadows "Dance On!".^[2] The single spent three weeks at No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart in January 1963.^[1]

The song was also included on the January 1963 album Summer Holiday. The film was the most successful box-office attraction of the year.

The song is about some advice a father passes to his son, to "remain a bachelor boy until (his) dying day". Richard later commented when he wrote this song he "never expected it to be prophetic". While Richard has never married, the song itself does not rule out marriage, with the final verse stating "I'll get married, have a wife and a child... but until then I'll be a bachelor boy...".

References

1. Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 68. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.
2. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 145–6. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.

External links

• In-depth Song Analysis at the Cliff Richard Song Database (cliffrichardsongs.com)
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics