Priscilla White was born in Liverpool on 27th May, 1943. Always keen on a career in show-business, the teenager started singing in some of the Liverpool clubs. In a city where music was very much a part of daily life, White was featured in a local music newspaper. The paper's editor mistakenly called her "Cilla Black", but the youngster loved the sound of it, and adopted it as her stage name!
After an unsuccessful audition, Black just continued to perform locally. Her manager Brian Epstein then introduced her to legendary record producer George Martin, who immediately signed her for Parlophone. This was in 1963. After just three weeks, Black's debut single, the Lennon-McCartney penned Love of the Loved, was released. It only reached No, 35 on the UK charts, but it was a start.
At the beginning of 1964, Black's follow-up effort, Anyone Who Had a Heart, was released. This did much better, and spent three weeks at No. 1! This was followed by another chart-topper, You're My World, which became a major international hit.
A string of successes followed, including It's For You, You've.Lost That Lovin' Feelin', Love's Just a Broken Heart, Alfie, Don't Answer Me, Step Inside, Love (hence the name of this post!), Surround Yourself With Sorrow, and Conversations, all of which broke into the Top Ten before the end of the decade.
The 1970's saw some big changes in the British music scene, and Cilla Black's popularity was beginning to wane. However, she did reach No. 3 in 1971 with Something Tells Me. Besides, this decline in popularity was only as a chart singer, and Black spent eight seasons on BBC television with her own show. Other television shows and sitcoms followed, and she became one of Britain's best-loved presenters, most notably hosting Surprise Surprise for eighteen years, and Blind Date for nineteen years.
Cilla Black OBE died at her holiday home in Spain, on 1st August, 2013. She was 72.
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