When I was a kid, Petula Clark songs were special. The records had a characteristic sound that was somehow European, but less obviously so than Shirley Bassey’s “Goldfinger,” which was produced by George Martin. I suppose the psychoacoustic effect of Petula Clark could have have been due to Tony Hatch’s production values, but at the center of it all was Petula, who was attractive to a wide audience, from pre-teens to their grandparents.
Petula Clark, who has had one of the most interesting careers of any singer, was something of a counterpoint to Julie Andrews. Clark and Andrews met in the 1940’s, and while both excelled in acting and singing, Andrews later specialized in musicals while Pet was a singer of Pop tunes.
Back in 1967 an audio essay by Canadian pianist Glenn Gould on the CBC included a segment on Petula Clark. Gould is more than a bit pretentious, but nevertheless this is worth hearing if for no other reason than it’s a critical consideration of Pet from her heyday on the charts, by a professional Classical musician.
[audio:http://ubu.wfmu.org/sound/gould_glenn/Gould-Glenn_The-Search-for-Petula-Clark_1967.mp3|titles=Glenn Gould: The Search for Petula Clark]Every so often I’ll be posting more video clips of the fascinating Petula Clark, picking up where I started with this scene from one of her first movies, I Know Where I’m Going! by Powell and Pressburger.
