Little Peggy March: "I Will Follow Him"

April 15, 1963 (4 weeks)

Before cementing her place in North American pop music with the smash "Downtown", veteran singer Petula Clark had been releasing pop singles since 1949. While she didn't spend the entirety of the first fifteen years of her career toiling in obscurity, her fortunes were very up and down. While she did have four Top 10 hits in the UK between 1954 and 1957, she then went into a lengthy dry spell before her version of "Sailor" went all the way to number one in the early part of '61. It was at around this time that she began to exploit her facility with singing in a number of languages, something she had already began doing in French with some success. A Francophone version of "Sailor" took her to number two on the France's singles charts with "Garde-moi la derniere danse" (aka "Save the Last Dance for Me") giving her another big hit there. Clark's next big French language hit, "Romeo", would top the charts in La Republique. She would go on to record her next hit in German and Italian, as well as English and French. 

In France, "Chariot" went to number two, while in Germany, "Cheerio" got to number six and in Italy, "Sul mio carro" went all the way to number one. So far, so good. (In various languages it was also a sizable hit in some other European countries) But in the UK, it stalled outside of the charts altogether. Though she still hadn't cracked North America, there wasn't going to be much hope for a record that failed to chart in her homeland — no matter what those Continental types thought. Yet, people still believed in this orchestrated pop song. The by-now thirtysomething Clark was out of the question but someone else could be found to make it the hit it deserved to be. And this was where Little Peggy March enters the picture.

"I Will Follow Him" is the English version of "Chariot"/"Cheerio"/"Sul mio carro" but only in terms of it having the same melody and arrangement; in terms of lyrical content, it really doesn't resemble its cousins at all. The French song is about taking a chariot to the ends of the Earth and the freedom that goes with it; in English, it's basically about, well, following "him", whoever "he" may be. As its use in the nineties Whoopi Goldberg comedy Sister Act indicates, "he" could be God or Christ but it doesn't have to be. It could be a guy Little Peg has a crush on, one who may or may not be into her. This being the sixties it could also have been a guru or cult leader she was determined to follow. Whatever the case may be, what began as a song about liberation was somehow transformed into submission.

Peggy March's version is good in its own way but Petula Clark's various readings in four different Western European languages (is it asking too much for a Spanish version as well?) dampen it somewhat — and this is only partially down to the wonky English "translation". Its other weak link is the backing vocals. When Tom Breihan states that "if you hear "I Will Follow Him" when you're in the wrong mood, it is instant headache material", it is that mix of  ceaseless "de-de-de, de-de-de..." from the men and "I love him, I love him..." from the women that it is the element most like to trigger a migraine. Also, the clash between those relatively relaxed verses and the shrillness of the chorus is too much to take. Yet, the whole thing isn't a complete waste of time: March sings with a surprising amount of maturity and the steady beat drives the tune along at a nice pace.

It is only in terms of age that March has Clark beat. The former had only turned fifteen a month prior to "I Will Follow Him" reaching number one on the CHUM charts which plays into the naivete of the song. You can buy the idea of her following a slightly older guy (perhaps a joke who plays for the high school basketball and football teams and is never seen without his lettermen jacket) around town, all wide-eyed and keen to make the best impression on him. I imagine a sweet girl in a nice dress, her hair done up perfectly, perhaps carrying around a basket of chocolate chip cookies to share with him if the opportunity presents itself. But this scenario just seems sad in the hands Clark who was twice March's age. While a faithful translation of "Chariot" could've been an appropriate anthem for suburban housewives seeking careers and options that went beyond TV dinners and baking Duncan Hines devil's food cake, a grown woman blindly following some doofus — religious or secular — is beyond sad.

Petula Clark ought to have been considered ahead of her time in terms of recording pop songs in a variety of languages. Turns out, the practice would soon become a relic as English really began to take over. Music fans on the Continent didn't seem to mind either. In fact, one of the most popular singers throughout the sixties in Germany was Peggy March. By then, she had grown up, the "Little" had been dropped from her stage name and her prominence in the US had declined. Good on those Europeans for always appreciating those that America has left behind.

Score: 5