Originally recorded in 1967, this is perhaps the first song I remember getting really excited about hearing. I clearly recall spending a rainy day at home reading "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" and listening to Radio One on a huge black Bush Trannie (a type of radio, youngsters) in the hope of hearing the song again. I'm going to claim that it was my inate good taste that drew me to the song, but it might just have been the mention of clowns.
The song had a unique origin. It began life at the 1966 Motown Christmas Party when Stevie Wonder brought an instrumental track he had written with his producer, Hank Crosby for Smokey Robinson to listen to.
They had failed to find a lyric to go with the tune and wanted Smokey to see what he could come up with.
Robinson seems to have taken themes from his song 'My Smile is Just a Frown (Turned Upside Down)', which he had written for Carolyn Crawford in 1964- see the alternative takes playlist - and added the clown theme from the opening calliope motif which reminded him of a circus. Indeed he even reused one line from his earlier song, "just like Pagliacci did/I'll try to keep my sadness hid", a line that stands out for its elegant awkwardness.
The song was not released as a single at the time and it was in 1970 when, starved of any new Robinson material, the UK Motown office remixed the album version and had a huge hit with it. Finally released in the US it was the Miracles one and only number one single with Smokey.
It was a hit all over again in 1976 when it was re-released in the UK and was later covered by Ska group, The Beat. There are also echos of the song in ABC's tribute song, When Smokey Sings.
But I still hate clowns!
No comments:
Post a Comment