"Send In the Clowns" is a song written by Stephen Sondheim for the 1973 musical A Little Night Music, an adaptation of Ingmar Bergman's 1955 film Smiles of a Summer Night. It is a ballad from Act Two, in which the character Desirée reflects on the ironies and disappointments of her life. Among other things, she looks back on an affair years earlier with the lawyer Fredrik, who was deeply in love with her but whose marriage proposals she had rejected. Meeting him after so long, she realizes she is in love with him and finally ready to marry him, but now it is he who rejects her: he is in an unconsummated marriage with a much younger woman. Desirée proposes marriage to rescue him from this situation, but he declines, citing his dedication to his bride. Reacting to his rejection, Desirée sings this song. The song is later reprised as a coda after Fredrik's young wife runs away with his son, and Fredrik is finally free to accept Desirée's offer.
Robert James Keeshan was an American television producer and actor. He created and played the title role in the children's television program Captain Kangaroo, which ran from 1955 to 1984, the longest-running nationally broadcast children's television program of its day. Keeshan also played the original Clarabell the Clown on the Howdy Doody television program.
Marvin Gaye was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo artist with a string of hits, earning him the nicknames "Prince of Motown" and "Prince of Soul".
The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972.
Michael Shawn Crahan, more commonly known by his stage persona "Clown", is an American musician who is one of the two percussionists/background vocalists and co-founder of heavy metal band Slipknot. When performing with Slipknot, he is also known as #6. As of 2020, Crahan is the last remaining original member of the first Slipknot lineup before their big break in 1999.
The Shadows are an English instrumental rock group. They are Cliff Richard's backing band from 1958 to 1968 and on numerous reunion tours, including 2020. The Shadows have had 69 UK chart singles from the 1950s to the 2000s, 35 credited to the Shadows and 34 to Cliff Richard and the Shadows. The group, who were in the forefront of the UK beat-group boom, were the first backing band to emerge as stars. As pioneers of the four-member instrumental format, the band consisted of lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass guitar and drums. Their range covers pop, rock, surf rock and ballads with a jazz influence.
Bruce Welch is an English guitarist, songwriter, producer, singer and businessman best known as a member of the Shadows.
I Heard It Through the Grapevine! is the eighth studio album by soul musician Marvin Gaye, released on August 26, 1968 on the Motown-subsidiary label Tamla Records. Originally released as In the Groove, it was the first solo studio album Gaye released in two years, in which during that interim, the singer had emerged as a successful duet partner with female R&B singers such as Kim Weston and Tammi Terrell. The album and its title track are considered both as Gaye's commercial breakthrough.
Class Clown is the fourth album released by American comedian George Carlin. It was recorded on May 27, 1972 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California, and released in September.
Marvin Gardens may refer to:
Stop In the Name of Love is the ninth studio album by American singer La Toya Jackson. The album, which was recorded and mixed in Sweden, is a collection of dance-style well-known Motown covers, including The Supremes' "Stop! In the Name of Love" and "Baby Love", the Four Tops' "I Can't Help Myself", and The Jackson 5's "I'll Be There". The entire album was recorded in one hour.
The Beacon Street Union was an American psychedelic rock band in the late 1960s, named for a street in their native Boston.
A cherry pie is a pie made with cherry filling.
Make It Happen is a 1967 album by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles. It featured ballads such as the hit singles "The Love I Saw in You Was Just a Mirage" and "More Love", as well as the up-tempo "The Tears of a Clown" co-written by Stevie Wonder and his producer Hank Cosby.
Marvin Gaye was an American musician who gained worldwide fame for his work with Motown Records. He was fatally shot by his father, Marvin Gay Sr., on April 1, 1984, at their house in the West Adams district of Los Angeles, California. Gaye was shot twice following an altercation with his father after he intervened in an argument between his parents. The wounds were fatal and he was pronounced dead on arrival at the California Hospital Medical Center. Gaye's death inspired several musical tributes over the years including recollections of the incidents leading to his death. Gaye was given a burial plot at Forest Lawn Cemetery and was later cremated and his ashes spread around the Pacific Ocean.
Insane Clown Posse, often abbreviated as ICP, is an American hip hop duo composed of Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope. Founded in Detroit in 1989, Insane Clown Posse performs a style of hardcore hip hop known as horrorcore and is known for its elaborate live performances. The duo has earned two platinum and five gold albums. According to Nielsen SoundScan, the entire catalog of the group has sold 6.5 million units in the United States and Canada as of April 2007. The group has established a dedicated following called Juggalos numbering in the "tens of thousands".
Thoughts of Love is a compilation album released in 1976 by singer Shirley Bassey. A themed compilation of love songs, selected from material recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the album sold well in the UK and Germany, reaching the Top 20 in the UK Albums Chart and achieved Gold status. Thoughts of Love was re-issued on CD in 2011 by BGO Records, together with the 1979 album The Magic Is You.
Joel Lee Brodsky was an American photographer, best known for his photography of musicians, particularly his iconic "Young Lion" photographs of Jim Morrison. In his lifetime, he is credited with photographing over 400 album covers.
Grand River Crossings is an album of songs associated with or inspired by Detroit and Motown by pianist Geri Allen recorded in 2012 and released on the Motéma label in 2013. Grand River Crossings was Geri Allen's final album before her death from cancer in 2017.
Anna Ruby Gaye was an American businesswoman, composer and songwriter. An elder sister of Motown founder Berry Gordy, she became a record executive in the mid-to-late 1950s distributing records released on Checker and Gone Records before forming the Anna label with Billy Davis and sister Gwen. Gordy later became known as a songwriter for several hits including the Originals' "Baby, I'm for Real", and at least two songs on Marvin Gaye's What's Going On album. The first wife of Gaye, their turbulent marriage later served as inspiration for Gaye's album, Here, My Dear.
