Sailor (song)

Lyricist Norman Newell would recall that his publisher phoned him on a Friday requesting he write English lyrics for Lolita's hit "Sailor (Your Home is the Sea)": although Newell agreed to prepare the lyrics over the weekend the assignment slipped his mind until a messenger arrived Monday morning to pick up Newell's work. (Norman Newell quote:) "I sent [the messenger] to the canteen and wrote the lyric [for] 'Sailor' in ten minutes. I wondered it if was good enough, but it was a tremendous hit for both Petula Clark and Anne Shelton".[1] While the original German lyrics of the song had addressed a seafaring love object with an acceptance of his wanderlust the lyrics written by Newell - as David West - inverted this sentiment turning the song into a plea for the sailor to return.

The first recording of the English version of "Sailor" was made by Anne Shelton: the session for Shelton's version was arranged and conducted by Wally Stott and featured guitarist Big Jim Sullivan who'd also play on the version by Petula Clark.[2]

Shelton had spent four weeks at #1 UK with "Lay Down Your Arms" in 1956 but had since only had one further chart record: "The Village of St. Bernadette" #27 in 1959, when her version of "Sailor" reached #10 in January 1961. Although she'd been recording since 1943 "Sailor" was only her fifth UK chart appearance as her most intense period of popularity had pre-dated regulated record-sales chart formatting in the UK, and "Sailor" would mark Shelton's final chart appearance.

Shelton's strongest association was as an entertainer of the forces in World War II:[3] while this made "Sailor" a good thematic choice for her [4] this association also probably made her seem outmoded despite her only being nine years senior to Petula Clark whose version of "Sailor" would best Shelton's. Although Shelton's version of "Sailor" and Clark's both debuted on the UK Top 50 for 28 January 1961 there was immediate preference apparent for Clark's version at #18 over Shelton's at #27. The 4 February chart had Clark rise to #4 for the first of six weeks in the Top Five three of them at #2 and one at #1, while Shelton's version in its second week rose to #19 and in its third week to #10 which proved to be its peak as it subsequently descended the charts over the next five weeks for a total eight-week chart span: Clark's version had almost double the chart span at fifteen weeks.[5][6]

Petula Clark recorded "Sailor" with her regular producer Alan A. Freeman who was assisted with the track's production by Tony Hatch, marking the first collaboration between Clark and her future hit making mentor. Clark, based in Paris since 1957, had been pitched "Sailor" by Hatch and orchestra leader Peter Knight while in London for a conference: (Petula Clark quote:)"I said yes, yes, yes. It's a nice sounding song [that] I liked".[7] In addition to the Peter Knight Orchestra and Chorus, the session personnel for Clark's recording of "Sailor" included guitarists Vic Flick and Big Jim Sullivan,[8] and also Harry Pitch whose harmonica playing was a striking feature of the track.[9]

Originally scheduled for 20 January 1961, the release of Clark's version of "Sailor" was moved up a week to 13 January due to Anne Shelton's version of the song being released within the first two weeks of the year.[10] Clark's version of "Sailor" debuted at #18 on the UK Top 50 dated 28 January 1961, becoming Clark's first UK chart entry since "Baby Lover", #12 in March 1958, an intermittent ten UK single releases having failed to chart.[11] A sales total of 250,000 units for Clark's "Sailor" was announced by Pye Records the week of 18 February 1961 when the single was in its second week at #2: on the chart for the following week: that of 23 February 1961, Clark's "Sailor" moved to the #1 position of the UK chart,[12] besting Clark's previous strongest UK charter: With All My Heart" which in 1957 had peaked at #4. On the tally of the biggest UK hits of 1961 "Sailor" by Petula Clark is ranked at #16.[13]

Although "Downtown" was to become Clark's signature song its UK chart peak would be #2: the second Petula Clark single to reach #1 in the UK Singles Chart would be "This is My Song" in 1967.[5] Both of Clark's UK #1 hits would compete with rival versions: "Sailor" would be a #10 hit for Anne Shelton[6] while Harry Secombe's version of "This is My Song" would rise as high as #2.[14] (The relevant recordings by both Shelton and Secombe have Wally Stott perform arranging and conducting duties.) [3][15]

Clark's "Sailor" became the third hit version of the song in the Low Countries reaching #13 in the Netherlands and - in a tandem ranking with "Seemann (Deine Heimat ist das Meer)" by Lolita - #12 on the chart for the Flemish Region of Belgium [16] where the Dutch-language rendering "Zeeman" had already been a Top Ten hit for Caterina Valente. #1 in New Zealand and Israel in respectively March and September 1961, "Sailor" also afforded Clark a hit in Denmark (#9) and Spain (Top 20). In South Africa "Sailor" would twice become a Top Ten hit for Clark, first reaching #2 in its original 1961 release and subsequently afforded a #9 chart peak via a local re-release in the summer of 1968.[11][17]

Besides the versions by Anne Shelton and Petula Clark detailed above, two other acts had UK single releases of "Sailor" in January 1961: veteran American vocal trio the Andrews Sisters and also American stage musical actress Eileen Rodgers, the latter version being entitled "Sailor (Your Home Is In sic The Sea)". The Andrews Sisters, who were in London for an engagement at the Talk of the Town, made a one-off single for Decca Records (UK) comprising "Sailor" backed by "Goodnight and Sweet Dreaming"; the tracks, which featured Bernard Ebbinghouse (de) conducting his orchestra, were recorded 29 December 1960.[18] The version of "Sailor" by Eileen Rodgers - which featured the Stan Applebaum Orchestra - had been recorded in New York City for Kapp Records the label who had issued the US hit version "Sailor (Your Home Is On The Sea)" which featured the original German-language vocal by Lolita: unreleased in the US, Rodgers' version was afforded release by Kapp's UK licensee London Records only to be shortly afterwards withdrawn.[19]

In 1974 actor Peter Gilmore, then renowned for his sea-captain role in the BBC-TV series The Onedin Line, recorded the album James Onedin Songs of the Sea from which his rendition of "Sailor" - entitled "Sailor (Seemann)" - was issued as a single (the album was recorded and released in the Netherlands).

Louise Morrissey recorded "Sailor" for her 2008 album release The Gift.

An instrumental version of "Sailor (Your Home Is The Sea)" appears on the 1961 album Songs Of The Soaring '60s Volume 1 by Roger Williams: the track later served as B-side for Williams' 1965 single release "Summer Wind".