Death of a Clown - Wikipedia Death of a Clown `` Death of a Clown '' Single by Dave Davies from the album Something Else by The Kinks B - side `` Love Me Till the Sun Shines '' Released 7 July 1967 Format 7 ``, 45 rpm Recorded June 1967 Genre Rock, pop, folk rock Label Pye 7N 17356 Songwriter ( s ) Dave Davies, Ray Davies Producer ( s ) Shel Talmy Dave Davies singles chronology `` Death of a Clown '' ( 1967 ) `` Susannah 's Still Alive '' ( 1967 ) `` Death of a Clown '' ( 1967 ) `` Susannah 's Still Alive '' ( 1967 ) `` Death of a Clown '' is a song by Dave Davies, member of British rock group The Kinks, 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 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. '' The single release was met with considerable success in the UK, hitting # 3, 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. References Jump up ^ Weiderhorn, Jon. `` Dave Davies : Musical, Biopic Could Lead to Kinks Reunion ''. Yahoo. Retrieved 4 December 2015. Jump up ^ Chart positions, at kinks.it.rit.edu, retrieved 3 May 2007. External links Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics The Kinks singles discography UK and US singles 1960s 1964 `` Long Tall Sally '' `` You Still Want Me '' `` You Really Got Me '' `` All Day and All of the Night '' 1965 `` Tired of Waiting for You '' `` Ev'rybody's Gonna Be Happy '' `` Set Me Free '' `` See My Friends '' `` Who 'll Be the Next in Line '' `` A Well Respected Man '' `` Till the End of the Day '' 1966 `` Dedicated Follower of Fashion '' `` Sunny Afternoon '' `` Dead End Street '' 1967 `` Mister Pleasant '' `` Waterloo Sunset '' `` Death of a Clown '' ( Dave Davies solo ) `` Autumn Almanac '' `` Susannah 's Still Alive '' ( Dave Davies solo ) 1968 `` Wonderboy '' `` Days '' `` Lincoln County '' ( Dave Davies solo ) 1969 `` Starstruck '' `` Hold My Hand '' ( Dave Davies solo ) `` Plastic Man '' `` Drivin ' '' `` The Village Green Preservation Society '' `` Shangri - La '' `` Victoria '' UK and US singles 1970s 1970 `` Lola '' `` Apeman '' 1971 `` God 's Children '' `` 20th Century Man '' 1972 `` Supersonic Rocket Ship '' `` Celluloid Heroes '' 1973 `` One of the Survivors '' `` Sitting in the Midday Sun '' `` Sweet Lady Genevieve '' `` Where Have All the Good Times Gone '' `` Money Talks '' `` Mirror of Love '' `` Mirror of Love '' ( Band Version ) `` Holiday Romance '' `` Preservation '' `` Everybody 's a Star ( Starmaker ) '' `` Ducks on the Wall '' `` You Ca n't Stop the Music '' 1976 `` I 'm in Disgrace '' `` No More Looking Back '' 1977 `` Sleepwalker '' `` Juke Box Music '' `` Father Christmas '' 1978 `` A Rock ' n ' Roll Fantasy '' `` Live Life '' `` Black Messiah '' 1979 `` ( Wish I Could Fly Like ) Superman '' `` A Gallon of Gas '' `` Catch Me Now I 'm Falling '' `` Moving Pictures '' `` Pressure '' UK and US singles 1980s 1980 `` Lola '' ( live ) `` You Really Got Me '' ( live ) 1981 `` Better Things '' `` Destroyer '' `` Predictable '' 1982 `` Come Dancing '' `` Do n't Forget to Dance '' 1984 `` Good Day '' `` Do It Again '' 1985 `` Living on a Thin Line '' ( Radio Promo only ) `` Summer 's Gone '' 1986 `` Rock ' n ' Roll Cities '' `` How Are You '' `` Lost and Found '' `` The Road '' `` Down All the Days ( Till 1992 ) '' UK and US singles 1990s `` How Do I Get Close '' `` Only a Dream '' `` Scattered '' Notable Non-UK / US Singles 1966 `` Dandy '' ( Europe ) 1969 `` Picture Book '' ( Australia ) `` Australia '' ( Australia ) `` State of Confusion '' ( Germany ) 1991 `` Did Ya '' ( Europe ) Other Selected Songs `` Bald Headed Woman '' `` Stop Your Sobbing '' `` I Need You '' `` I Go to Sleep '' `` I 'm Not Like Everybody Else '' `` Big Black Smoke '' `` Party Line '' `` Rosy Wo n't You Please Come Home '' `` Love Me Till the Sun Shines '' `` David Watts '' `` Two Sisters '' `` Polly '' `` She 's Got Everything '' `` Do You Remember Walter ? '' `` Johnny Thunder '' `` Last of the Steam - Powered Trains '' `` Big Sky '' `` Sitting by the Riverside '' `` Animal Farm '' `` Village Green '' `` Phenomenal Cat '' `` All of My Friends Were There '' `` Wicked Annabella '' `` Monica '' `` People Take Pictures of Each Other '' `` Berkeley Mews '' `` Mr. Churchill Says '' `` Strangers '' `` This Time Tomorrow '' `` Rats '' `` Got to Be Free '' `` Have a Cuppa Tea '' `` Oklahoma U.S.A. '' `` Muswell Hillbilly '' `` Sitting in My Hotel '' `` The Hard Way '' `` Life Goes On '' `` Misfits '' `` Attitude '' `` Low Budget '' `` Give the People What They Want '' `` Heart of Gold '' `` Long Distance '' This 1960s rock song - related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Death_of_a_Clown&oldid=805273144 '' Categories : The Kinks songs 1967 singles Debut singles Song recordings produced by Shel Talmy Songs written by Ray Davies Songs written by Dave Davies Pye Records singles 1967 songs 1960s rock song stubs Hidden categories : Use British English from November 2015 Use dmy dates from November 2015 All stub articles Talk About Wikipedia Deutsch Français Italiano Norsk nynorsk Suomi Edit links This page was last edited on 14 October 2017, at 07 : 23. About Wikipedia

Question: who sang let's all drink to the death of a clown
Answer: Dave Davies