Petula Clark

When Grammy-winning artist Petula Clark met poet-songwriter-singer Rod McKuen in France during the 1960s, they became fast friends. Petula, of course, was one of the biggest music stars in the world and in the midst of a long string of hits in both English and French. For his part, McKuen was a huge fan of Petula, naming her his favorite female vocalist; and by the mid-1970s, they had performed together on several television programs. Inspired by Petula’s recorded versions of his dramatic environmental anthem "The Wind of Change" and the tender ballad "I Think of You," McKuen resolved to put together an entire album of his compositions for Petula just like he had done with Frank Sinatra on his 1969 release A Man Alone.

When Grammy-winning artist Petula Clark met poet-songwriter-singer Rod McKuen in France during the 1960s, they became fast friends. Petula, of course, was one of the biggest music stars in the world and in the midst of a long string of hits in both English and French. For his part, McKuen was a huge fan of Petula, naming her his favorite female vocalist; and by the mid-1970s, they had performed together on several television programs. Inspired by Petula’s recorded versions of his dramatic environmental anthem "The Wind of Change" and the tender ballad "I Think of You," McKuen resolved to put together an entire album of his compositions for Petula just like he had done with Frank Sinatra on his 1969 release A Man Alone.

When Grammy-winning artist Petula Clark met poet-songwriter-singer Rod McKuen in France during the 1960s, they became fast friends.

When Grammy-winning artist Petula Clark met poet-songwriter-singer Rod McKuen in France during the 1960s, they became fast friends.

With her strong, bell-like voice, perfect timing, clear diction and unique phrasing – not to mention natural acting talent – Petula is the perfect duet partner, especially for warm male voices like Dean Martin, Perry Como, Matt Monro, Andy Williams and even Michael McDonald.However, Petula shows she can also blend quite nicely with the ladies too. She and Peggy Lee team up on a powerhouse rendition of "I'm A Woman" and Peggy mentioned years later how much she adored working with Petula. Probably most historic on this album of material – nearly all of which is not available elsewhere – is the pairing of two 1960s icons – Petula with Dusty Springfield. Legendary producer Brooks Arthur signed off on the completion of Dusty's unfinished 1974 recording of "Corner of The Sky" – the soulful favorite from the Broadway musical "Pippin'" (written by Stephen Schwartz), with Petula singing the missing parts as well as harmonizing with Dusty. An incredible moment in pop music.

On reading the story of Petula Clark for the purposes of these short notes we couldn’t help but be astounded by the length and breadth of her achievements! She truly is a National Treasure and should actually be treated as one while she is still with us at the grand old age of 91 years of age! Born in Ewell in 1932 Petula was thrust upon the showbiz world at the incredible young age of seven by her enthusiastic father who not only tutored her but took charge of promotions as well! At age nine she made her radio debut and was singing for the troops during the war and by the end of the 1940s was an established singing star. She had early hits in the 1950s and of course went on to much greater success in the sixties with “Down Town”, “This Is My Song” and “Don’t Sleep In The Subway” and many other classics. In the 1950s she became a singing sensation on the continent especially in France where she had married a French man and would settle down to live. In 1965 she conquered America, (something even Cliff never did) with “Downtown” and “I Know A Place” and in fact Pet was to hit the Top 40 fifteen times in three years! Petula was also a film star appearing in many films in the 50s and 60s working with the likes of Alec Guiness, Anthony Newley and Peter Ustinov. Our five classic albums feature the early career of the wonderful Petula Clark and includes her very early hit “The Little Shoemaker”. Beautiful singing, playing and orchestration by the likes of Billy May make these albums essential listening for those who enjoy classic songs sung by a wonderful and perhaps under-rated singer and now living legend, poised as she then was, at the beginning of yet another chapter in a wildly successful singing career Miss Petula Clark! As with all AVID releases, we hope you enjoy this classic set and check out our extensive catalogue for more great music across Pop, Easy Listening, Rock n Roll, Jazz, and many other musical genres.

On reading the story of Petula Clark for the purposes of these short notes we couldn’t help but be astounded by the length and breadth of her achievements! She truly is a National Treasure and should actually be treated as one while she is still with us at the grand old age of 91 years of age! Born in Ewell in 1932 Petula was thrust upon the showbiz world at the incredible young age of seven by her enthusiastic father who not only tutored her but took charge of promotions as well! At age nine she made her radio debut and was singing for the troops during the war and by the end of the 1940s was an established singing star. She had early hits in the 1950s and of course went on to much greater success in the sixties with “Down Town”, “This Is My Song” and “Don’t Sleep In The Subway” and many other classics. In the 1950s she became a singing sensation on the continent especially in France where she had married a French man and would settle down to live. In 1965 she conquered America, (something even Cliff never did) with “Downtown” and “I Know A Place” and in fact Pet was to hit the Top 40 fifteen times in three years! Petula was also a film star appearing in many films in the 50s and 60s working with the likes of Alec Guiness, Anthony Newley and Peter Ustinov. Our five classic albums feature the early career of the wonderful Petula Clark and includes her very early hit “The Little Shoemaker”. Beautiful singing, playing and orchestration by the likes of Billy May make these albums essential listening for those who enjoy classic songs sung by a wonderful and perhaps under-rated singer and now living legend, poised as she then was, at the beginning of yet another chapter in a wildly successful singing career Miss Petula Clark! As with all AVID releases, we hope you enjoy this classic set and check out our extensive catalogue for more great music across Pop, Easy Listening, Rock n Roll, Jazz, and many other musical genres.

The most commercially successful female singer in British chart history, Petula Clark was born November 15, 1932 in Epsom, England. Trained to sing by her soprano mother, Clark embarked on a stage career at the age of seven; soon she was a fixture on British radio programs, and began hosting her own regular show, Pet's Parlour a series spotlighting patriotic songs designed to boost the morale of wartime audiences at the tender age of 11. After entertaining British troops alongside fellow child stars Julie Andrews and Anthony Newley, Clark made her film debut with A Medal for the General in 1944. By the dawn of the '50s she was a superstar throughout the U.K., with a résumé of close to two-dozen films; 1954's "The Little Shoemaker" was her first Top 20 single, while 1960's "Sailor" was her first chart-topper.