Born November 15, 1932, in Epsom, Surrey (England). Petula Clark began as a singing child prodigy. Promoted and tutored by an enthusiastic father, she had started singing professionally at the age of seven and she became a familiar singing voice on wartime radio. By the end of the 1940s she was an established singing artist and she also appeared as an actress in several films of the era. She was still a youthful artist when she made her first hit record, 'The Little Shoemaker' in 1954. A series of UK chart hits followed. This was matched by her popularity in France where she made many concert appearances and recorded in French. By the end of the 1950s she had made a decision to live and work mainly in France (680 Route de Rochebrune - 7410 Megève) because she still suffered from her pre-pubescent image in the UK. She was soon to marry Frenchman, Claude Wolff an executive at the Vogue record company.
She was awarded the CBE in the 1998 Queens New Year Honours List for her services to music.
While in France, Petula Clark worked for a short time as a secretary at the Firestone offices.
Ranked #85 on VH1s 100 Greatest Women of Rock N Roll
She was considered for roles in the films Paradise, Hawaiian Style , Valley of the Dolls and Airport .
First British solo artist to win a Grammy (for the Tony Hatch -penned "Downtown" in 1964). When the song topped the American charts, she became the first British female pop singer in the rock era to have a number one hit single in the United States. Her collaboration with Hatch produced another Grammy winner titled, "I Know a Place" and the chart-topper "My Love" , further making her the first British female vocalist to have two number one hits on the US charts. Other memorable songs have included, "Sailor" , "My Friend the Sea" , "Round Every Corner" , "I Couldnt Live Without Your Love" , "This is My Song" (from A Countess from Hong Kong ), "Dont Sleep in the Subway" , "The Other Mans Grass (is Always Greener)" , "Dont Give Up" , "My Guy" , "Natural Love" , etc.
At nearly 73 she continues to perform regularly. Her 2005 schedule includes two lengthy stints in Branson, Missouri (performing with Andy Williams in his Moon River Theater), a mini-Canadian tour and scattered dates throughout the UK and US.
She has written dozens of songs, under both her own name and the pseudonym "Al Grant." The best known is "Youre the One," which was a major hit for fellow Warner Brothers recording artists The Vogues.
She has recorded well in excess of 1000 songs.
She composed the score for and starred in a musical drama entitled "Someone Like You" in Londons West End in the early 1990s. The show was set in post Civil War West Virginia during the days of Reconstruction, and centered on a womans search for her neer-do-well traveling preacher husband.
She has sold more than 70 million records worldwide, making her the best-selling British female vocalist in history.
In August 1981, she opened in "The Sound of Music" in Londons West End with what was then the largest advance sale in British theatre history. What was originally intended to be a six-month run was extended to thirteen in order to accommodate public demand. During the week she took a break and her understudy played the role, the box office dropped a whopping 75%.
In 1968 Clark and singer Harry Belafonte were singing a duet on her show when she touched Belafontes arm. A representative for the shows sponsor, Chrysler Corp., saw it and ordered the director to have them re-tape the duet and not to have Clark touch his arm, the rationale being that viewers in the South would be outraged to see a white woman touching a black man, and the South was a big market for Chryslers cars. Clark redid the scene, but when she found out the reason why, she and her husband - the shows producer - stormed into the control booth, ordered the director to destroy the second take and keep the original one. As expected, when the show was aired a few weeks later, many stations in the South wouldnt show it, and Chrysler received many letters from outraged Southerners saying they would never buy a Chrysler product again because of the companys sponsorship of the show.
In 1969 she was in the Queen Elizabeth Hotel, room 1742 in Montreal, Canada, and was part of the chorus when John Lennon recorded the song "Give Peace a Chance".
Her favorite songs are "Black Coffee" by Peggy Lee , "Ive Got You Under My Skin" by Frank Sinatra , "Hallelujah" by Michael McDonald , "This Masquerade" by The Carpenters , "Life In The Fast Lane" by Eagles , "Something" by The Beatles , "Wouldnt It Be Nice" by The Beach Boys and "Love For Sale" by Clare Teal. Of all the songs she has recorded, her favorites are "To Memphis" and her duet with Dusty Springfield , "Corner Of The Sky". (Source: BBC Radio 2 "Tracks of My Years").
In 1949 began her recording career with "Put On Your Own Shoes, Lucy".
In 1962 had UK hit with "Chariot, the original version of "I Will Follow Him", a later hit for Peggy March.
Even though they never divorced she and her husband Claude Wolff have lived separate lives for over twenty years but still remain friends.
[on her life as a child star in the 1950s] Because of the circles I,mixed in, professionally, I knew about things that children in those,days were shielded from. Yet, at the same time, I was still very young,in my own experiences of life. It was all rather peculiar and,confusing.
