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Sign of the Times (Petula Clark song)

"Sign of the Times"
Signoftime.jpg
Single by Petula Clark
from the album My Love
B-side "Time for Love"
Released March 1966
Format Vinyl
Recorded 1966
Genre British Invasion, Pop, Vocal
Length 2:55
Label Pye 7N 17071 (UK)
Warner Bros. (US)
Vogue STU 42223 (DEN)
Songwriter(s) Tony Hatch
Jackie Trent
Producer(s) Tony Hatch
Petula Clark singles chronology
"My Love"
(1965)
"Sign of the Times"
(1966)
"I Couldn't Live Without Your Love"
(1966)
"My Love"
(1965)
"A Sign of the Times"
(1966)
"I Couldn't Live Without Your Love"
(1966)

"Sign of the Times", also known as "A Sign of the Times", is a song performed by Petula Clark and released from her album My Love in March 1966. It was the follow-up to her #1 US hit "My Love," which had been the title selection from the aforementioned album, and it continued her association with writer/producer Tony Hatch and songwriter Jackie Trent. However, "A Sign of the Times" had a more percussive sound than had been evident on Clark's previous singles, or than would become evident on her later ones. Clark discussed the song with Carl Wiser for Songfacts.com in 2013. "I loved it. It had a slightly different feel. 'A Sign of the Times,' I suppose you might expect some big political statement or something, but it was just a straight-ahead love song. I think Tony rather liked finding titles that made you think, like 'Don't Sleep in the Subway.' People would think, is it about drugs? Is it about this? And these were just straightforward songs. I like 'Sign of the Times.' I think it's a good song."

The song was recorded at the Pye Studios in Marble Arch in a session which featured guitarist Big Jim Sullivan and the Breakaways vocal group.

Clark introduced "A Sign of the Times" on The Ed Sullivan Show broadcast of 27 February 1966. The single would debut on the Billboard Hot 100 dated 26 March 1966 and reached its peak of #11 that 23 April. It peaked at #2 on Billboard's "Easy Listening" survey.

Beginning with her American breakout, "Downtown," Clark's singles had all had higher chart peaks in the US than in the UK. (The 1966 #23 UK hit "You're the One" was not released in the US.) "A Sign of the Times" became the most extreme example of this discrepancy by spending only one week – that of 23 April 1966 – in the UK Top 50 at #49. Although this trend was reversed with Clark's next single: "I Couldn't Live Without Your Love" (UK #6/US #9), Clark's last two 1966 single releases: "Who Am I?" (US #21) and "Colour My World" (US #16) both failed to rank in the UK Top 50.


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