Color My World by Petula Clark - Songfacts

Color My World

Album: Color My World/Who Am I? (1967)
Charted: 16
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Songfacts®:

  • During the mid 1960s, Petula Clark and her main songwriter, Tony Hatch, mostly recorded in London, but occasionally she would lay down some tracks in LA or New York. Petula recalled to us that on those occasions there would be a kind of excitement, because, "Hey, we've got Tony Hatch and Petula Clark in the studio!"

    This song was recorded in New York and Petula was surprised that the drummer, who was the city's top stickman, appeared to be nervous. She recalled to us: "I looked at him and I said, 'What's wrong?' He said, 'I don't know if I can get that London sound.' I said, 'What London sound?' He said, 'Well, you know, that sound...' I said, 'No, I don't actually.' I said, 'Why don't you just play it? That will be fine.'"
  • The song proved fairly successful in the US, peaking at #16, but flopped in Clark's native UK. The accompanying Colour My World album was similarly overlooked upon its January 1967 release. However after a month the original edition of the LP was withdrawn in the UK because of the chart success of "This Is My Song" and was re-issued with "This Is My Song" and "The Show Is Over" replacing her covers of "England Swings" and "Reach Out I'll Be There." It went onto become one of Clark's highest charting UK albums.
  • Despite its failure in the charts, the song gained a high profile in the UK by virtue of being used by BBC Television as the theme song for the July 1967 launch of its color service.
  • A version by Reneé Cologne was used as a jingle in US television commercials for M&M's in 2004. Four years later, UK furniture retailer DFS used the original Petula Clark song in a UK television advertising campaign.
  • The song featured, with some additional lyrics, in the stage musical Priscilla Queen of the Desert, which debuted October 6, 2006. It also appears on the 2007 cast recording.

Comments: 3

  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn January 15th 1967, Petula Clark performed "Color My World" on the CBS-TV program 'The Ed Sullivan Show'*...
    At the time the song was at #16 on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart, and that was also its peak position the chart...
    {See the next post below}...
    * On the same 'Sullivan' show the Rolling Stones performed their altered version of "Let's Spend the Night Together."
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn December 18th 1966, "Color My World" by Petula Clark entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; and on January 15th, 1967 it peaked at #16 (for 2 weeks)and spent 9 weeks on the Top 100...
    It reached #10 in Australia and on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Tracks chart...
    The song appeared on her 'Color My World/Who Am I' album, the album peaked at #49 on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart, it remained on the chart for over a half-year (27 weeks).
  • Zabadak from London, EnglandReleased in the UK as COLOUR My World.
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