"My Love"
Single by Petula Clark
from the album My Love
B-side"Where Am I Going?"
ReleasedDecember 1965
Recorded1965
GenrePop[1]
Length2:43
LabelPye 7N 17038 (UK)
Warner Bros. 5684 (US)
Vogue STU 42234 (DEN)
Songwriter(s)Tony Hatch
Producer(s)Tony Hatch
Petula Clark singles chronology
"Round Every Corner"
(1965) 		"My Love"
(1965) 		"A Sign of the Times"
(1966)

"My Love" is a 1965 single release by Petula Clark which, in early 1966, became an international hit, reaching No. 1 in the US; the track continued Clark's collaboration with songwriter and record producer Tony Hatch.

History

In November 1965, on a flight from London to Los Angeles, Tony Hatch was putting the finishing touches on his composition "The Life and Soul of the Party", which he planned to record with Clark in Los Angeles to serve as her next single. During casual conversation with the American sitting next to him, Hatch was advised that this song's title would be meaningless to the American public. Hatch then wrote lyrics for a song whose title – "My Love" – could not conceivably present any comprehension issue; the lyrics were completed during the flight and Hatch completed the music soon after landing in Los Angeles.

"My Love" was recorded at Western Studios[2] and featured the backing of the Wrecking Crew.[3] Petula Clark would recall: "We recorded three songs on that session...I liked the two other songs quite a lot, but I really didn't like 'My Love'...I thought it was a bit ordinary. I had got so used to these wonderful songs that Tony had been writing with all these different moods and I thought 'My Love' was just a bit flat."[4] Clark would describe how she tried to discourage Warner Bros A&R man Joe Smith from issuing "My Love" as a single: "He's a very small man physically...about the right height for me. I was able to get hold of his lapels, and I said to him, 'Joe, I don't care which [of the three songs] you put out, but just don't put out "My Love".' And he said: 'Trust me, baby.'"[4]

Reception

Smith did in fact agree to the release of "My Love" as a single, and it returned Clark to the top of the US charts for the first time since "Downtown", her breakthrough success. "My Love" spent 13 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching No. 1 on 5 February 1966,[5] and spending two weeks at that position.[6] This made Clark the first British female to have two US No. 1 hits.[7] Also a No. 1 hit on Canada's "RPM Play Sheet",[8] "My Love" returned Clark to the top ten on the UK's Record Retailer chart for the first time since "Downtown" two years previous, with a March 1966 peak of No. 4.[9]

Chart performance

Chart (1966) Peak
position
Australia[10] 4
Canada (RPM Play Sheet)[8] 1
Denmark[11] ≥9
Flanders[12] 14
Germany[12] 13
Ireland (IRMA)[13] 6
Malaysia[14] 4
Netherlands (Parool Top 20)[15] 11
Netherlands (Veronica Top 40)[16] 13
New Zealand (Listener)[17] 6
Singapore[18] 1
South Africa[18] 6
Switzerland[19] ≥8
UK New Musical Express[20] 4
UK Record Retailer[9] 4
US Billboard Hot 100[5] 1
US Billboard Easy Listening[21][22] 4
US Record World 100 Top Pops[23] 1
Wallonia[24] 35

Adaptations into other languages

Translated recordings by Clark also made "My Love" a hit in France, Italy, and West Germany, respectively as "Mon amour" (No. 12), "L'amore è il vento" (Love is the wind) (No. 24), and "Verzeih' die dummen Tränen" (Forgive the foolish tears) (No. 21).[25] "Mon amour" also reached No. 35 in Wallonia, in a tandem ranking with "My Love" and "Si tu prenais le temps".[24]

Cover versions

References

  1. ^ Scapelliti, Christopher (1998). "Petula Clark". In Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds.). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Detroit: Visible Ink Press. p. 240.
  2. ^ "EASTWEST Recording Studios - History". Archived from the original on 2010-02-10. Retrieved 2009-12-09.
  3. ^ Hal Blaine, David Goggin (1990). Hal Blaine & the Wrecking Crew (1st US ed.). Mixbooks. p. XVII. ISBN 0-918371-01-5.
  4. ^ a b "Petula Clark". Songfacts.com. Retrieved July 4, 2013.
  5. ^ a b Hot 100 - Petula Clark My Love Chart History, Billboard.com. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  6. ^ "Billboard Hot 100", Billboard, February 26, 1966. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  7. ^ Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits. New York: Billboard Books. p. 192. ISBN 0823076776. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
  8. ^ a b "R.P.M. Play Sheet", RPM Weekly, Volume 4, No. 25, February 14, 1966. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  9. ^ a b Petula Clark - Full Official Chart History, Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  10. ^ "Hits of the World", Billboard, March 26, 1966. p. 38. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  11. ^ "Hits of the World", Billboard, May 14, 1966. p. 36. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  12. ^ a b Petula Clark – My Love, Ultratop. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  13. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Petula Clark". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  14. ^ "Hits of the World", Billboard, June 4, 1966. p. 46. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  15. ^ Petula Clark – My Love, Dutch Charts. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  16. ^ Petula Clark – My Love, Media Markt Top 40. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  17. ^ "NZ Listener chart summary", Flavour of New Zealand. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  18. ^ a b "Hits of the World", Billboard, April 30, 1966. p. 48. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  19. ^ "Hits of the World", Billboard, April 9, 1966. p. 54. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  20. ^ "Hits of the World", Billboard, March 12, 1966. p. 40. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  21. ^ Adult Contemporary - Petula Clark My Love Chart History, Billboard.com. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  22. ^ "Billboard Top 40 Easy Listening", Billboard, February 12, 1966. p. 16. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  23. ^ "100 Top Pops", Record World, February 19, 1966. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  24. ^ a b Ultratop Singles 07/05/1966, Ultratop. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  25. ^ Petula Clark - Verzeih' die dummen Tränen, norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  26. ^ [1][dead link]
  27. ^ "God's Love Is Warmer – Gospel Choruses & Songs". 30 November 2014.
  28. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 172.
Categories