Recorded - October 16, 1964
Released - November, 1964 (UK and US)
#1 for weeks of January 23 and 30, 1965.
It's funny how I just got through saying how 1965 was the first year that artists, not pop stars, dominated the charts. Well, our first couple of songs on this list are definitely pure pop, although unlike previous years, that actually isn't a bad thing. One misconception that can be made by younger rock fans looking back on the 1960's is that Britain was strictly about rock music in terms of what was popular. In reality, Britain had a pop scene that was sometimes even more stylistically behind the times than America's was. Some of these British pop singers had begun their career as early as the 1950's. Example A in terms of this more poppy style is certainly Petula Clark.
Mrs. Clark released her first musical work as early as 1949. Many of her work was sung in other languages such as French, German, and Italian. In fact, she had quite a few #1 hits in France alone. Her chart record is interesting due to the fact that she would go quite a few releases not charting at all and then suddenly have a top 10 UK hit. Then, in early 1965, she struck gold on both sides of the Atlantic with "Downtown". The single reached an impressive #2 on the UK charts, ("I Feel Fine" was at #1), and managed to reach #1 here in the US.
Of course, "Downtown" wasn't even remotely written by Petula, it was fully composed and produced by Tony Hatch, the man who had and would continue to produce some of her best known 1960's work. Despite this being an authentic British single, there is nothing even remotely uniquely British about it musically and lyrically. Tony Hatch had written the song after taking a trip to New York City. Thus, the song may as well be an advertisement for the big apple.
Musically, the song has a very Hollywood-esque arrangement. In fact, the song could easily have been used as the opening credits for a film of the same name. The song builds from a simple piano ballad to a powerful and instantly catchy chorus. There are strings and brass a plenty and even a brief horn solo as the song fades out. Petula sings with enough gusto that you'd forget she was in her mid 30's when this song was recorded. Do I think this song deserved to be such a big hit? Well, yes and no.
On the plus side, the song is very catchy with many musical and vocal hooks. Despite this style not being what I'd usually care to listen to, I find myself always enjoying it whenever it is played. However, it is also a pure commercial pop song, not written by the artist who it was sung by. Because of this, the song comes across more as an advertisement for a tourist bureau than a song written from the heart. In the end, perhaps that's why "Downtown" became such a big hit. New York radio DJ's must have been more than thrilled to play a British song written about their hometown.
Final Verdict - Despite being a bit overly-commercial sounding, "Downtown" is a well crafted and sung pop song that has managed to still sound quite fresh to this very day.
Coming Up Next - "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" by The Righteous Brothers.
Until Next Time - All the lights are bright on Dr. Rock -
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