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Petula Clark – ‘Ma Fete a Moi’

Administrator — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 16:48:59 +0000

For the next couple of weeks, I’ll be posting YouTube stuff since, well, I’m moving, and the vinyl is currently in a buncha boxes. Please keep on coming!

Here comes another somewhat foreign post, but its Petula Clark. Yes, the woman who brought us the tune ‘Downtown’ also sang songs in French. In fact, you could call her the “British Nana Mouskouri.”

After the success of her French recordings, she ventured into German, Spanish and even Italian songs that garnerd her worldwide acclaim. She even did some songs penned by Serge Gainsbourg. I wonder what would have happened if she took the place of Bridgit Bardot or Jane Birkin? Maybe songs like ‘” or “” would have sounded a bit mroe innocent.

In any case, soon after the success of her European tunes, a composer approached her with an English song that was originally intended for The Drifters, that song soon became her signature hit, ‘Downtown.’

Let’s take a look back at this scopitone of Ms Clark performing one of those French songs.

Jacques Brel – ‘Mathilde’

Administrator — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 16:43:29 +0000

Now comes my first foreign post. I only recently became fascinated with French Pop music in the past couple of years. I had a Serge Gainsbourg CD since I felt his music was good bachelor pad stuff, and it worked. Soon I was into more traditional French musicians like Edith Piaf and Yves Montand. However, only recently did I stumble upon Jacques Brel after some reading up on Scott Walker and how Brel was a huge influence.

Brel was the quintessential French Cabaret singer from the 50’s until his death in the late 70’s. For those who love Edith Piaf and those other classic torchlight French singers, Jacques is the man.

He was such an influence not only to Scott Walker, but his songs were also performed in English by people like Shirley Bassey, Glen Campbell, John Denver, Robyn Hitchcock, Cyndi Lauper, Nana Mouskouri, Olivia Newton-John, Dusty Springfield, Bobby Vinton and Andy Williams.

Grab a glass of pernod or cafe creme, light up one of your cherished Gauloises and engulf yourself in the dark-yet-lovely poetry of Jacques Brel Brel.