My mixtape had a lot of Petula Clark on it. We've already covered "My Love" and I think in the next few installments, I'll get through all the other appearances Ms. Clark made on my tape. This is "Sign of the Times," which was initially recorded as part of an album featuring (and entitled) "My Love." "Sign of the Times" was released as a single in March of '66 after she introduced it on (where else?) The Ed Sullivan Show on February 27, 1966. Here is that appearance…
It was a big enough hit that she returned to Ed's stage and performed it again on August 14 of that year, this time with dancers, choreography and costuming that my friend Shelly Goldstein will love…
Wikipedia quotes Petula as saying of it, "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 [Hatch, its writer/producer] 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."
In 2018, Shelly and I went to see Petula Clark perform an amazing live show at the age of 86. Yes, she sang "Sign of the Times" and yes, she sounded just like she did on the Sullivan show…and yes, it's a good song.