A British singer/songwriter of the '60s whose voice was far better suited for reaching the back row of Broadway auditoriums than soul or rock,
Jackie Trent (born Yvonne Burgess in 1940; she changed her name to
Jackie Trent at the age of 14) nonetheless operated on the fringe of the U.K. pop scene in the manner of other femme belters like
Cilla Black, though her efforts were usually even more middle of the road. Her one big triumph was her number one British single in mid-1965, "Where Are You Now (My Love)"; that would be her only Top 20 entry. If she can often sound like
Petula Clark crossed with
Shirley Bassey, there's a good reason for that; she shared
Clark's producer,
Tony Hatch, who would become her songwriting partner and husband.
Trent and
Hatch, in fact, penned several of
Clark's hits, though (with the exception of "Where Are You Now") the composers weren't nearly as successful when applying their songwriting/production talents to
Jackie's discs.
Trent recorded quite prolifically for Pye in the '60s (including some duets with husband
Tony), but it's as a songwriter that she'll primarily be remembered.
–
Richie Unterberger, Rovi