Search - Petula Clark, Peter Knight :: Anthologie V.1

Petula takes rock'n'roll to France

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 11/03/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Petula recorded these tracks in 1961 and 1962, a period when she was red-hot in France. Although this is regarded as her rock'n'roll period, there is a good sprinkling of ballads for those who enjoy the romantic songs.Among the tracks here are four of her five French #1 hits. Ya ya twist was an adaptation of Lee Dorsey's Ya ya. Chariot sold a million - Petula recorded a version with English lyrics called I will follow him, but it was Little Peggy March who took it up the charts in Britain and America. Coeur Blesse is a translation of John D Loudermilk's little-known song Torture. Romeo is a song of German origin which Petula had translated into both English and French - it was a huge hit in Britain as well. The only other French #1 hit came in 1967 with C'est ma chanson (This is my song) which is on volume five of this series.In addition to the four #1 hits, A london was a French #9 hit and Les beaux jours reached #10 in France - it was a translation of Ramblin' rose, which was a British top five hit for Nat King Cole, though I'm not sure who had the American hit.There are other translations of familiar songs here, too - Je chante doucement (Battle hymn of the republic), Bye bye mon amour (written by Gene Pitney but a huge international hit for Ricky Nelson), Tout au long du calendrier (Neil Sedaka's Calendar girl) and Claquez vos doigts (the R+B classic Snap your fingers). Jolie is a cover of Gently, which appeared on Elvis Presley's 1960 album.These are all brilliant, but my favorite is L'enfant do. This translation of Leadbelly's Cotton fields is my favorite version of this song. Although not released as a single in France, it went to #1 in Singapore. It really rocks !!!!!There are many excellent songs of French origin, some of Petula co-wrote. This collection, more than any other, explains Petula's popularity, not only in France but also in Quebec and other French-speaking communities around the world."