Death of a Clown
| "Death of a Clown" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Danish picture sleeve | ||||
| Single by Dave Davies | ||||
| from the album Something Else by the Kinks | ||||
| B-side | "Love Me Till the Sun Shines" | |||
| Released | 7 July 1967[1] | |||
| Recorded | c. 5 June 1967[2] | |||
| Genre | Chamber pop[3] | |||
| Length | 3:15 | |||
| Label | Pye | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Shel Talmy | |||
| Dave Davies singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Death of a Clown" is a song by Dave Davies, lead guitarist of British rock band the Kinks, which was released as his debut solo single in 1967. The song was co-written with his brother Ray Davies, who contributed the 5-bar "La la la" hook; Ray's first wife, Rasa, sings this phrase as well as descant in the second verse, while Ray himself sings harmony in the refrain. Nicky Hopkins played the distinctive introduction, using fingerpicks on the strings of a piano. The single was credited to Dave Davies but the song also appeared on the Kinks' album Something Else by the Kinks, released later in 1967.
Background
[edit]In an interview with Yahoo!, Dave Davies said that "Death of a Clown" was written about the repetitive performing schedule he and the rest of the Kinks worked through. He said, "One night I nodded off at a party and woke up and saw all these decadent people running around. I had a vision of being a circus clown. I thought, 'What are we doing?' We were going from day to day to day like performing seals. And that's where I got the idea for 'Death of a Clown.' I went back to me mum's house with the same old out-of-tune piano and I plunked out three notes, and it turned into the song."[4]
The single release was met with considerable success in the UK, hitting No. 3,[5] thus prompting Dave Davies to consider embarking on a solo career. When subsequent singles were met with less success, the idea was set aside until 1980, with his debut album being AFL1-3603.
Personnel
[edit]According to band researcher Doug Hinman:[2]
The Kinks
- Dave Davies – lead vocal, electric guitar
- Ray Davies – acoustic guitar, backing vocal, piano[6]
- Pete Quaife – bass
- Mick Avory – drums
Additional musicians
- Rasa Davies – backing vocal
Charts
[edit]| Chart (1967) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Go-Set)[7] | 37 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[8] | 5 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[9] | 16 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[10] | 6 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[11] | 2 |
| New Zealand (Listener Chart)[12] | 10 |
| Norway (VG-lista)[13] | 7 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[14] | 3 |
| West Germany (GfK)[15] | 3 |
References
[edit]- ^ Hinman 2004, p. 102.
- ^ a b Hinman 2004, p. 101.
- ^ "Kinks guitarist Dave Davies continues to stake his claim as a rawk god at age 72". 11 April 2019.
- ^ Weiderhorn, Jon (3 December 2015). "Dave Davies: Musical, Biopic Could Lead to Kinks Reunion". Yahoo. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
- ^ Chart positions Archived 6 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine, at kinks.it.rit.edu, retrieved 3 May 2007.
- ^ "Dave Davies on X: "Thats ray playing on death of a clown. He &Nicky hopkins had different styles on piano.I liked Nicky but he played posh . he was a good pianist and I love the film but he didn't play on death of a clown that's Ray. Ray has characterful style on piano not as polished but soulful"". Twitter. 20 November 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
- ^ "Go-Set Australian charts - 20 September 1967". Poparchives.com.au.
- ^ "Dave Davies – Death of a Clown" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
- ^ "Dave Davies – Death of a Clown" (in French). Ultratop 50.
- ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Death of a Clown". Irish Singles Chart.
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Dave Davies" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
- ^ "Dave Davies(search)". Flavour of New Zealand. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
- ^ "Dave Davies – Death of a Clown". VG-lista.
- ^ "Dave Davies: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Dave Davies – Death of a Clown" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
Sources
[edit]- Hinman, Doug (2004). The Kinks: All Day and All of the Night: Day-by-Day Concerts, Recordings and Broadcasts, 1961–1996. San Francisco, California: Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-0-87930-765-3.
