Dave Sampson

Dave Sampson & the Hunters made five singles and an EP in the early '60s that were very much in the Cliff Richard & the Shadows mold, with their imitation of the tamer elements of Elvis Presley and Ricky Nelson, as well as the cleanly echoing, almost surf-Hawaiian sound of the guitars. The Richard comparison did not arise from coincidence, as Sampson got his EMI contract with Richard's help. Sampson's debut single, "Sweet Dreams," got into the British Top 30 in 1960, but none of his subsequent efforts charted. Sampson wasn't without his virtues -- he wrote a couple of his singles, including "Sweet Dreams," and had occasional brushes with a polished rockabilly sound. Yet on the whole, his talent was only passable, and much of the material he was given was too innocuous to make a lasting impact before his last single in 1962. ~ Richie Unterberger