Steve Wright on BBC Radio 2 promised back here that Petula Clark would be on his show, and indeed she was, last Monday. I missed Cilla Black’s appearance, unfortunately, and if you go back to my Cilla post, you’ll notice “Anyone Who Had A Heart” is almost conspicuous in its absence. That’s because Wright played it shortly before chatting with Petula, and I was saving it for now.
[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2008/JUN/SteveWrightCillaBlack.mp3]I let the recording run into the next song, to provide some flavor (excuse me, flavour) of the show. BBC Radio 2 is the only place I can go that gives me the same fun feeling I had as a kid listening to the legendary station Musicradio 77WABC in New York.
OK, so there’s Cilla Black’s cover of Dionne Warwick’s “Anyone Who Had A Heart,” produced by George Martin. That’s an excellent piece of work. Whether or not you consider this recording to be too close to the original, as a vocal it easily holds up in comparison to Petula Clark and Dusty Springfield. Clearly, based on this recording Cilla had the vocal chops, and with nothing else to go on I have to assume it was the way George Martin produced her that kept Cilla Black from greater popularity in America.
So let’s get to Petula’s chat with Steve Wright, shall we?
[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2008/JUN/SteveWrightPetulaClark.mp3]She doesn’t like being called “Pet”?? The last thing I said when I had my two minutes with her was, “Thank you, Pet.” Yikes! But… that was my one chance. Saying “Pet” isn’t supposed to convey to her that she’s thought of as a child star, because she never was one here. Well, what’s done is done, and there’s no taking it back. I’ll know better next time.
Joan, that’s sort of what happened to our mother! She was “Joan” on the birth certificate, but they pronounced it “Joanne.” It was very common to do that in the late 20s. My mother got so sick of it she changed it herself, fairly early on. During her acting years she preferred to be simply “Jo.”
OOPS! Well, Doug, I think Petula will forgive you 🙂 You could tell her Pet is your “pet” name for her! It’s better than being named Joan Ann, with Ann as a middle name-people read my written name as Joanne so often my mom wishes she’d named me Joanne. Joan got picked since the night before Mom watched Joan Rivers on the “Tonight” show. Good thing Tallulah Bankhead wasn’t on!
Interesting use of bassoon on the bridge! But that’s Martin for you. At times, he rivaled “Shoot Em Up” Phil Spector for the “Wall of Sound.” And Doug pulls a faux pas! How “show-bizzy” of Petula not liking to be called “Pet.” Will she every forgive you, Doug? Oh, no, another Morty Gunty guilt complex, coming up!