The Tears of a Clown

This article is about the song by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles. For the album featuring the song, see Make It Happen (Smokey Robinson and the Miracles album). For other uses, see Tears of a Clown.
"The Tears of a Clown"
Single by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles
from the album Make It Happen (aka The Tears of a Clown)
B-side"Promise Me"
ReleasedJuly 1970 (UK)
September 24, 1970 (US)
Recorded1967[1]
StudioHitsville U.S.A. (Studio A), Detroit
Genre
Length3:02
LabelTamla
T 54199
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Hank Cosby and Smokey Robinson
Smokey Robinson & the Miracles singles chronology
"Who's Gonna Take the Blame"
(1970) 		"The Tears of a Clown"
(1970) 		"I Don't Blame You at All"
(1971)
Music video
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - "The Tears Of A Clown" on YouTube

"The Tears of a Clown" is a song written by Hank Cosby, Smokey Robinson, and Stevie Wonder and originally recorded by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles for the Tamla Records label subsidiary of Motown, first appearing on the 1967 album Make It Happen. The track was re-released in the United Kingdom as a single in July 1970, and it became a number-one hit on the UK Singles Chart for the week ending September 12, 1970. Subsequently, Motown released a partially re-recorded and completely remixed version as a single in the United States as well, where it quickly became a number-one hit on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B Singles charts.[3]

This song is an international multi-million seller and a 2002 Grammy Hall of Fame inductee. Its success led Miracles lead singer, songwriter, and producer Smokey Robinson, who had announced plans to leave the act, to stay until 1972. In 2021, it was listed at No. 313 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[4]

  1. ^ James E. Perone (2006). The Sound of Stevie Wonder: His Words and Music. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 118. ISBN 9780275987237.
  2. ^ Breihan, Tom (January 17, 2018). "The Number Ones: Smokey Robinson & The Miracles' "The Tears Of A Clown"". Stereogum. Retrieved June 16, 2023. "The Tears Of A Clown" is also just a formally impeccable pop song...
  3. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004. Record Research. p. 404.
  4. ^ "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. September 15, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2022.