Recorded - September 22, 1966 (instruments), early 1967 (vocals) + February 1970 (new drums).
Originally Released - August 1967
Remixed/re-released - July 17, 1970 (UK), September 24, 1970 (US)
#1 for weeks of December 12 and 19, 1970.
Few Motown artists have had such a strong legacy as Smokey Robinson. An accomplished singer, who wrote his own material for others, his compositions have a timeless legacy to them. Songs like "The Tracks Of My Tears" are still cherished and worth playing even fifty years later.
Although Smokey Robinson And The Miracles never had any #1 hits during the 1960's, Smokey gave the Temptations their first #1 with his own composition, "My Girl". The Miracles had a few #1's on the R&B charts and several top five pop hits such as "Shop Around" and "I Second That Emotion". So why, out of the blue in 1970, did the group score a #1 with a three year old song? Well, gather round kids, cause it's story time...
"Tears Of A Clown" has its genesis in a Stevie Wonder/Hank Cosby backing track, recorded in 1966 and left unfinished. During Motown records' Christmas party of '66, Stevie gave Smokey the instrumental track to finish up. Smokey wrote the lyrics for the song after being inspired by the instrumental's circus-like motifs. The completed song was released in the summer of '67 as an album track from Make It Happen.
As the years past, the song was mostly forgotten. In 1970, Smokey was yearning for a break from The Miracles, and Motown wanted to put out something to keep the public interested in the group's music. So "Tears Of A Clown" was selected, brought out of the mothballs, given a new drum track, re-mixed, and eventually released as a single in Britain.
When the song reached #1 overseas, it was swiftly given an American release, where it became the only #1 from Smokey's tenure with The Miracles. But how is the song itself? Did it deserve to reach the top? Is it among Smokey's best? Is it a good song in general? The short answer to those questions is, yes, yes, and ooh yes!
First of all, there's the exciting music track. It's not at all hard to see why Stevie Wonder refused to let this go unfinished. The carnival atmosphere is quite prominent throughout, with lots of whimsical instruments creating a cheerfully upbeat melody. Plus, how many hit singles feature the bassoon?!
Then we have the lyrics, which go along with the music like peanut butter and jelly. As a wonderful bit of lyrical dissonance, the lyrics are gloomy and heartbreaking. Of course, this gloominess is masked by the happy music track. This combination of opposites works wonderfully in my opinion.
Then we have The Miracles' backing vocals. During the song's choruses, the harmonies are absolutely killer. The vocal talent of The Miracles can't be stated enough. Finally, Smokey's pitch perfect lead vocals act as the icing on the cake. This song is practically tailor-made for his signature high tenor voice.
Two years after "Tears Of A Clown" brightened up the Christmas '70 season, Smokey bid farewell to The Miracles and began a successful solo career. While he never scored a #1 on the pop charts, he put out several equally timeless singles such as "Crusin'" and "Being With You". As for the Miracles, they managed one final #1 on their own in 1976. However, this time things were much different musically and vocally. More on that when we reach '76...
Final Verdict - "Tears Of A Clown" is one of the few occurrences on this chart where a solitary #1 hit happens to be one of the artists' best songs. The music, lyrics, and vocals go together wonderfully, and the song itself is a timeless thrilling classic. It's a well-deserved #1 that I can play again, and again.
Last Up For 1970 - "My Sweet Lord" and "Isn't It A Pity" by George Harrison.
Until Next Time, I'm Dr. Rock and I'm "sadder than sad" that 1970 is almost over -
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