PHANTOM SWAY

    • Groovy Friday – Petulapalooza

    It’s Friday!

    Petula Clark was known as the First Lady of the British invasion.  Her name is so familiar that it seems perfectly normal until you ask yourself “How many Petulas have I met?”

    She was born with the far more common name of Sally Clark.  She started her career quite by accident at the age of nine during the Second World War and she enjoyed modest success in Great Britain and Europe during her early career.  She was fluent in French and appeared in many French films as a child actress.  In the early 1960s, she made her home in Paris.  When her English recording career stalled, she teamed with producer/composer Tony Hatch, who had been working on a melody that eventually became the song “Downtown.”  She recorded it and the rest is history.

    “Downtown” was an enormous hit and brought Petula international fame.  She followed it up with 15 consecutive Top 40 hits including, “I Couldn’t Live Without Your Love,” “This Is My Song,” “Don’t Sleep in the Subway” and “My Love.”

    In the spirit of Petulapalooza, here are three more of her hits, all with groovy dancing.

    I wish the quality of these clips was better.  If it was up to me, “Groovy Friday” would be nothing but HD clips.  But that’s just not going to happen.

    First up, it’s “I Know a Place” which is pretty much a re-working of “Downtown.”

    Here’s her hit “Color My World.”  Pay no attention to the title given it, “I Know a Place.”

    Now the grooviest nugget of all, “A Sign of the Times.”  What a voice.

    Petula still performs and she released a new album just a year ago.  Not bad for 84.

    Have a groovy weekend!

    Groovy Friday extra!

    How can I not give you this?  From The Dean Martin Show in 1967, it’s Petula heading “Downtown.”  It’s a bit less groovy, but much higher quality.

    André Dupuy
    Latest posts by André Dupuy (see all)