This Is My Song (1967 song)

This Is My Song was originally composed by Charlie Chaplin as the instrumental theme for his 1967 film A Countess from Hong Kong, starring Marlon Brando and Sophia Loren. When he added lyrics, he decided to offer the song to Al Jolson to record, unaware the entertainer had long been deceased. Finally convinced of the fact only after seeing a photograph of Jolson's tomb, Chaplin presented it instead to his neighbor in Switzerland, British singer Petula Clark. She recorded it in French, Italian, and German, but found the English lyrics to be insipid and overly sentimental, and only after considerable pressure agreed to release it in that language as well. The song became an immediate international best-seller; in her native UK, she topped the charts for the first time in six years, in Canada the French and English versions occupied the #1 and #2 slots, and it was a huge hit in the USA, the Netherlands, Australia, and Rhodesia, as well. To this day, Clark includes the song - usually in a mix of English and French - in her concert repertoire.

Related Topics:
Charlie Chaplin - 1967 - A Countess from Hong Kong - Marlon Brando - Sophia Loren - Al Jolson - Singer - Petula Clark - UK - Canada - USA - Netherlands - Australia - Rhodesia

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