My Love (Petula Clark song)
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| "My Love" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Petula Clark | ||||
| from the album My Love | ||||
| B-side | "Where Am I Going?" | |||
| Released | December 1965 | |||
| Recorded | 1965 | |||
| Studio | Western Studios, Los Angeles | |||
| Genre | Pop[1] | |||
| Length | 2:43 | |||
| Label | Pye 7N 17038 (UK) Warner Bros. 5684 (US) Vogue STU 42234 (DEN) | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Tony Hatch | |||
| Producer(s) | Tony Hatch | |||
| Petula Clark singles chronology | ||||
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"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.
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 |