CoronaVinyl Day 169 (C): These Are My Songs by Petula Clark

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Today's CoronaVinyl category is "C," and until this morning, I don't think I realized I owned three Petula Clark albums.  Clark's storied career began as a child, when she was a BBC radio performer during World War II.  She then acted both on stage and screen from the mid '40s to the late '50s, although she started to switch her focus to music in the mid '50s.  In the '60s, she became an international pop star, recording hit songs in multiple languages.

Between 1954 and 1968, Clark had 19 Top 40 songs on the UK pop charts, including 11 Top 10 songs and two #1s.  In the U.S., between 1964 and 1968, she had 15 Top 40 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, including six Top 10s and two #1s.  She also had 17 Top 10 hits in France, including four #1s.  In Italy, she had 7 Top 10 songs, including four #1s.  In Germany, she had four Top 10s and two #1s.

Released in 1967, These Are My Songs is a bit of a misnomer.  While it refers to the hit song "This Is My Song" -- which was written by Charlie Chaplin! -- most of the songs on the album are covers, including covers of The Young Rascals' "Groovin'" and Scott McKenzie's "San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair)."  Her most recognizable song on the album -- for me, anyway -- is "Don't Sleep In the Subway," which was a Top 5 hit for her in the U.S.  Most of the songs are kind of dreamy '60s pop songs, often with strings and/or woodwinds behind her.

The album wasn't available on Spotify, but there is a YouTube playlist with the entire album that I embedded below.

Favorite song from Side 1:  "Resist"

"Resist" is one of the few songs on the album written by Clark -- under the pseudonym Al Grant -- and it's a little more upbeat that some of the other songs on Side 1, which is why I chose it.

Favorite song from Side 2:  "Don't Sleep In the Subway"
This is a nice little '60s pop song about some dude who apparently gets in big enough fights with his lady that he leaves and sleeps underground.