SONG OF THE DAY
“The Tears Of A Clown” by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles (Make It Happen, Tamla Records, 1967). Written by Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, and Hank Cosby.
WHY TODAY?
Because yesterday when I was singing the Smokey Robinson & The Miracles song “Tracks Of My Tears” I kept trying to think of how “that other Miracles song about tears” went, and I just couldn’t bring it up in the ol’ rolodex. It was this song!
INTERESTING FACTS (a la wikipedia)
– “The Tears of a Clown” was originally released on the 1967 album Make It Happen. The song was re-released in the United Kingdom as a single in September 1970, where it became a #1 hit on the UK singles chart. Subsequently, Motown released “The Tears of a Clown” as a single in the United States as well, where it quickly became a #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B Singles Chart.
– This song is an international multi-million seller and a 2002 Grammy Hall of Fame inductee.
– The single’s success caused Miracles lead singer/producer/songwriter Smokey Robinson, who had announced plans to leave the act, to stay with the group until 1972.
- Stevie Wonder and his producer Hank Cosby wrote the music for the song, and Cosby produced the instrumental track recording. Contrary to popular belief, the track was not a Christmas present from Stevie Wonder. Instead, Wonder brought the instrumental track to the 1966 Motown Christmas party because he could not come up with a song to fit the instrumental. Wonder wanted to see what Robinson could come up with for the track. Robinson, who remarked that the song’s distinctive calliope motif “sounded like a circus”, provided lyrics that reflected his vision and sang lead vocal. In the song, Robinson’s character, sad because he did not have a woman who loved him, compares himself to the characters in the opera Pagliacci, comedians/clowns who hide their hurt and anger behind empty smiles. Robinson had used the Pagliacci comparison before: the line “just like Pagliacci did/I’ll try to keep my sadness hid” also appears in the song “My Smile Is Just A Frown (Turned Upside Down)”, which Robinson wrote in 1964 for Motown artist Carolyn Crawford.
– Despite the fact that The Miracles had been one of Motown’s premier acts in the early and mid-1960s and its first successful group act, “The Tears of a Clown” was their first and only #1 hit while Smokey Robinson was lead singer in the group. The Miracles hit #1 again several years later with the smash hit “Love Machine”. “Shop Around” had hit #1 pop on the Cash Box Pop Chart, but only # 2 on Billboard’s.
- Interestingly, “The Tears of a Clown” charted again in England in 1976 at #34.
– A ska-flavored cover of the song was a hit for the English ska/ New Wave band The (English) Beat in 1979.
– The song was covered by La Toya Jackson in 1994 for her album Stop! In the Name of Love!
– Phil Collins covered this song on his album Testify.
– The Eminem song “Beautiful” references this when he says “You should be a comedian god damn! unfortunately I am. I just hide behind the tears of a clown.”
– Brian Ray, guitarist for Paul McCartney, released a rock-flavored version of the song in 2005.
– “The Tears of a Clown” features the bassoon as part of the instrumental arrangement, to provide part of the “reedy calliope” sound.
– Claudette Robinson, Smokey’s then-wife, the First Lady of Motown, and an original member of The Miracles, sang background vocals on the track.
– Other instrumentation by The Funk Brothers.
– Recorded at Hitsville U.S.A. Studios, Detroit, MI, studio A, from 1966-1967.