(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please refer down below)
Petula Clark - "My Love"
Hit Number 1: February 5, 1966
Stay at Number 1: 2 Weeks
Some unknown American on a plane flight could be the reason for "My Love" to have become a #1 hit. Tony Hatch, the same guy who wrote and collaborated with Petula Clark on her first #1 "Downtown", was putting the finishing touches on a new song called "The Life and Soul of the Party", which he planned to record with Clark for her next single. He was on a flight from London to Los Angeles, and struck up a conversation with the American who was sitting next to him on the flight. Hatch showed this guy the name of the song, and the guy apparently told him that the title would be meaningless to the American public, and it wouldn't sell very well. Maybe that dude was in a really crappy mood. Maybe he was just a jerk who thought he knew it all. Maybe he was actually on to something. Either way, Hatch gave up on "The Life and Soul of the Party", and instead proceeded to finish the lyrics to another song he had been working on. That song would be "My Love".
In the "My Love" session, Clark recorded two other songs, which she said she liked a lot. But she didn't like "My Love". In her own words she thought the song was "ordinary" and "just a bit flat". She apparently disliked the song so much, that she went to Warner Bros. A&R man Joe Smith to discourage him from releasing the song as a single. She said "Joe, I don't care which [of the three songs] you put out, but just don't put out "My Love". He apparently responded with "Trust me, baby". Well turns out he shouldn't have been trusted, because he would okay the release of "My Love" as a single, despite Clark's clear disliking of the song. But I bet Clark's feelings of the song changed after it hit #1 in America, making Clark the first female British artist to have two #1 hits in America. You can't trust Joe Smith baby, but Joe Smith knows what he's doing.
In a way, Clark was kind of right about the song. "Ordinary" is a great way of describing it. There's a lot of schmaltz going on, and it tries to be a fun little banger with absolutely no idea on how to be one. "Downtown" also hurts "My Love", cause "My Love" isn't as grand as "Downtown". It's a cheery generic song about love, without much else behind it. But there is one big thing that "My Love" has going for it: It's hard to ignore. I have listened to this song a few times today before I sat down to write about it, and each time I find myself patting my thighs, and keeping the beat. It's a gigantic smile of a song, that lacks the amazing instrumentation that "Downtown" had, but still gives us listeners enough to work with. It has an addictive enough chorus that keeps it from dropping into total obscurity. That has to count for something.
GRADE: 6/10
SONG REFERENCED:
MY INSPIRATION / MORE INFORMATION:
@ewueagles1 I think the greatness of "Downtown" kind of hurt it, but it's still a decent little song.
I really like this song. It's not "Downtown" for sure but it's catchy. But then again, I have a soft spot for Petula Clark having seen her live show in Las Vegas in the early 90's.