"Death of a Clown" | ||||
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![]() 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] | |||
Label | Pye | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Shel Talmy | |||
Dave Davies singles chronology | ||||
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"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.