Downtown (album)
Encyclopedia
Downtown is an album by Petula Clark
(her first album licensed to Warner Brothers Records) following the success of her single of the same title
. The album's tracks were all produced, arranged and conducted by Tony Hatch
and were recorded at the Pye Studios in Marble Arch
with the session personnel including drummer Bobby Graham
, guitarist Big Jim Sullivan
and the Breakaways
vocal group; the "Downtown" track included guitarists Vic Flick
and Jimmy Page
in addition to Sullivan.
Most of the album's tracks pre-dated the title cut, with almost all of the sides Hatch had produced from their inaugural collaboration: the 1963 single "Let Me Tell You Baby", being included.
Downtown entered the Billboard 200
on 13 February 1965 for a 36 weeks chart run with a #21 peak.Despite Clark's subsequent album releases being more focused on the hit sound Hatch had devised for Clark with the "Downtown" single, the Downtown album would remain Clark's most successful US album release. Downtown did not rank in the UK album charts which were then limited to the Top Twenty.
Petula Clark
Petula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...
(her first album licensed to Warner Brothers Records) following the success of her single of the same title
Downtown (Petula Clark song)
"Downtown" is a pop song composed by Tony Hatch which, as recorded by Petula Clark, became an international hit – No. 1 in the US and No. 2 in the UK – at the end of 1964.-Original recording:...
. The album's tracks were all produced, arranged and conducted by Tony Hatch
Tony Hatch
Anthony Peter "Tony" Hatch is an English composer, songwriter, pianist, music arranger and producer.-Early life and early career:...
and were recorded at the Pye Studios in Marble Arch
Marble Arch
Marble Arch is a white Carrara marble monument that now stands on a large traffic island at the junction of Oxford Street, Park Lane, and Edgware Road, almost directly opposite Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park in London, England...
with the session personnel including drummer Bobby Graham
Bobby Graham
Bobby Graham was an English session drummer, composer, arranger and record producer. Shel Talmy, who produced The Kinks, David Bowie and The Who, described Graham as "the greatest drummer the UK has ever produced."...
, guitarist Big Jim Sullivan
Big Jim Sullivan
Big Jim Sullivan is an English musician, whose career started in 1959. He is best known as a session guitarist. In the 1960s and 1970s, Sullivan was one of the most "in-demand" studio musicians in the UK, and performed in more than one thousand charting singles over his career...
and the Breakaways
The Breakaways
The Breakaways were an English female vocal trio, formed in 1962. Britain's premiere session vocalists throughout the 1960s, The Breakaways also recorded a handful of little known girl group singles.-Career:...
vocal group; the "Downtown" track included guitarists Vic Flick
Vic Flick
Victor Harold Flick is an English guitarist, most famous for playing the guitar riff in the "James Bond Theme".-Biography:...
and Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
in addition to Sullivan.
Most of the album's tracks pre-dated the title cut, with almost all of the sides Hatch had produced from their inaugural collaboration: the 1963 single "Let Me Tell You Baby", being included.
Downtown entered the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
on 13 February 1965 for a 36 weeks chart run with a #21 peak.Despite Clark's subsequent album releases being more focused on the hit sound Hatch had devised for Clark with the "Downtown" single, the Downtown album would remain Clark's most successful US album release. Downtown did not rank in the UK album charts which were then limited to the Top Twenty.
- 1 A collection of standardsStandard (music)In music, a standard is a tune or song of established popularity.-See also:* Blues standard* Jazz standard* Pop standard* Great American Songbook-Further reading:* Greatest Rock Standards, published by Hal Leonard ISBN 0793588391...
entitled This is Petula Clark! had been released on the ImperialImperial RecordsImperial Records is a United States based label started in 1947 by Lew Chudd and reactivated in 2006 by label owner EMI.- The independent and Liberty Records years :...
label in 1959 and was reissued as Uptown with Petula Clark after she achieved fame in the States.
| Side One | ||
| Title | Songwriting credit | Background info |
|---|---|---|
| "True Love Never Runs Smooth" | Hal David Hal David Harold Lane "Hal" David is an American lyricist. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York. David is best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach.-Career:... (lyrics) Burt Bacharach Burt Bacharach Burt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick... (music) |
Clark's precedent single (UK) to "Downtown" (Pye Pye Records Pye Records was a British record label. In its first incarnation, perhaps Pye's best known artists were Lonnie Donegan , Petula Clark , The Searchers , The Kinks , Sandie Shaw and Brotherhood of Man... 7N15668/ 1964), her fifth single (UK) produced by Tony Hatch; US hit (#21) for Gene Pitney Gene Pitney Eugene Francis Alan Pitney, known as Gene Pitney , was an American singer-songwriter, musician and sound engineer. Through the mid-1960s, he enjoyed success as a recording artist on both sides of the Atlantic and was among the group of early 1960s American acts who continued to enjoy hits after the... in 1963 |
| "Baby It's Me" | Mark Anthony (pseudonym for Tony Hatch Tony Hatch Anthony Peter "Tony" Hatch is an English composer, songwriter, pianist, music arranger and producer.-Early life and early career:... ) |
Clark's second single (UK) produced by Hatch (Pye 7N15573/ 1963). |
| "Now That You've Gone" | Petula Clark, Hubert Ballay, Norman Newell Norman Newell Norman Newell, OBE was born in Plaistow, Essex , and was a successful British record producer in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as co-writer of many notable songs... |
Recorded for Downtown album: an English rendering (by Newell) of the Clark/Ballay French language composition "Puisque Tu Pars" (album Les James Dean: Pye VRL 3001/ 1964); released as a single by Connie Stevens Connie Stevens Connie Stevens is an American actress and singer, best known for her roles in the television series Hawaiian Eye and other TV and film work.-Early life:... (WB Warner Bros. Records Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies... 5610: #53/ May 1965) |
| "Tell Me (That It's Love)" | Tony Hatch, Petula Clark | Recorded for the Downtown album |
| "Crying Through a Sleepless Night" | Mark Anthony (pseudonym for Tony Hatch) |
B-side of "Thank You", Clark's third single (UK) produced by Hatch (Pye 7N15606/ 1964) |
| "In Love" | Harvey Fuqua Harvey Fuqua Harvey Fuqua, was an African-American rhythm and blues singer, songwriter, record producer, and record label executive.Fuqua founded the seminal R&B/doo-wop group the Moonglows in the 1950s... , Bobby Lester |
Clark's fourth single (UK) produced by Hatch (Pye 7N15639/ 1964), first recorded in 1955 by the Moonglows The Moonglows The Moonglows were an American R&B and doo-wop group based in Cleveland, Ohio.-Early years:Originally formed in their native Louisville, Kentucky as the Crazy Sounds, the group moved to Cleveland, where disc jockey Alan Freed renamed them 'the Moonglows'... |
| Side Two | ||
| Title | Songwriting credit | Background info |
| "Music" | Tony Hatch | Recorded for Downtown album |
| "Be Good to Me" | Tony Hatch, Petula Clark | B-side of "Let Me Tell You Baby" (Pye 7N15551/ 1963), Clark's first single (UK) produced by Hatch |
| "This is Goodbye" | Tony Hatch, Petula Clark, Georges Aber | B-side of "Baby It's Me" (Pye 7N15573/ 1963), Clark's second single (UK) produced by Hatch |
| "Let Me Tell You Baby" | Mark Anthony (pseudonym for Tony Hatch) |
Clark's first single (UK) produced by Hatch (Pye 7N15551/ 1963) |
| "You Belong to Me You Belong to Me (1952 song) "You Belong to Me" is a pop music ballad from the 1950s. The singer reminds his/her lover that, whatever exotic locales and sights he/she experiences, "you belong to me." It is credited to three writers: Pee Wee King, Chilton Price, and Redd Stewart... " |
Pee Wee King Pee Wee King Julius Frank Anthony Kuczynski , known professionally as Pee Wee King, was an American country music songwriter and recording artist best known for co-writing "The Tennessee Waltz".... , Redd Stewart Redd Stewart Henry Ellis Stewart , better known as Redd Stewart, was an American country music songwriter and recording artist who co-wrote "The Tennessee Waltz" with Pee Wee King in 1948.-Biography:... , Shilton Price |
Recorded for Downtown album;, #1 US/ UK hit for Jo Stafford Jo Stafford Jo Elizabeth Stafford was an American singer of traditional pop music and jazz standards and occasional actress whose career ran from the late 1930s to the early 1960s... in 1952 |
| "Downtown Downtown (Petula Clark song) "Downtown" is a pop song composed by Tony Hatch which, as recorded by Petula Clark, became an international hit – No. 1 in the US and No. 2 in the UK – at the end of 1964.-Original recording:... " |
Tony Hatch | Recorded 16 October 1964; original release (UK): Pye 7N15722; US release: WB Warner Bros. Records Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies... 5494 |
External links
- http://www.petulaclark.net/discography.html official discography