Post by Rick Henry on May 20, 2007 11:21:16 GMT -5
"Send In The Clowns" by Judy Collins - This song first reached #36 in August 1975. With the release of Judy Collins' hits compilation "So Early In The Spring: The First 15 Years" in 1977 it was decided to rerelease the single "Send In The Clowns" this time it was an even bigger hit reaching #19 in November 1977.
The song was written by Stephen Sondheim, from the 1973 musical A Little Night Music. It is a slow, mournful ballad, in which the character Desiree reflects on the ironies and disappointments in her life.
Of Stephen Sondheim's more than 800 songs, this is the one that became a megahit. It achieved popularity with recordings by Frank Sinatra, Kenny Rogers, Judy Collins (whose version charted twice on the U.S. pop singles chart in the mid-1970s, reaching a high of #19), and by soulful song stylist Lou Rawls. Sondheim added a verse for a 1985 Barbra Streisand recording of the tune (featured on The Broadway Album, it became a #25 Adult Contemporary hit in 1986).
Judy's version of "Send in the Clowns," Won the 1975 "Song of the Year" Grammy Award.
"At Seventeen" by Janis Ian - Her most successful single was "At Seventeen," released in 1975, a bittersweet commentary on adolescent cruelty and teenage angst, as reflected upon from the maturity of adulthood. "At Seventeen" received acclaim from record buyers — it charted at #3 (in September 1975) on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart — and critics, as it won the 1975 Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Ian performed "At Seventeen" as a musical guest on the very first episode of Saturday Night Live in October 1975.
Janis: "I had to move back into my mom's house because I was broke and I couldn't make any money on the road. I was sitting at the kitchen table with a guitar one day, and I was reading a New York Times article about a debutante, and the opening line was 'I learned the truth at 18.' I was playing that little Samba figure, and that line struck me for some reason. The whole article was about how she learned being a debutante didn't mean that much. I changed it to 17 because 18 didn't scan."
Getting this on the radio was no easy task. No only was it packed with lyrics, but at 4:36, it was about a minute longer than most songs radio stations were playing. Janis and her management decided to market it to women, and because radio stations were dominated by men, they had to get creative. They sent copies of the song to the program director's wives, then put Janis on every daytime TV show they could. It was 6 months of exhausting, grassroots promotion, which paid off when they got a spot on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. This pushed the song over the top and it became a hit.
This was nominated for 5 Grammys, the most any female artist had ever been nominated for at the time. It won for Best Female Pop Vocal.
Here are the lyrics to each song:
Send In The Clowns
Isn't it rich?
Are we a pair?
Me here at last on the ground,
You in mid-air.
Send in the clowns.
Isn't it bliss?
Don't you approve?
One who keeps tearing around,
One who can't move.
Where are the clowns?
Send in the clowns.
Just when I'd stopped opening doors,
Finally knowing the one that I wanted was yours,
Making my entrance again with my usual flair,
Sure of my lines,
No one is there.
Don't you love farce?
My fault I fear.
I thought that you'd want what I want.
Sorry, my dear.
But where are the clowns?
Quick, send in the clowns.
Don't bother, they're here.
Isn't it rich?
Isn't it queer,
Losing my timing this late
In my career?
And where are the clowns?
There ought to be clowns.
Well, maybe next year.
At Seventeen
I learned the truth at seventeen
That love was meant for beauty queens
And high school girls with clear skinned smiles
Who married young and then retired.
The valentines I never knew
The Friday night charades of youth
Were spent on one more beautiful
At seventeen I learned the truth.
And those of us with ravaged faces
Lacking in the social graces
Desperately remained at home
Inventing lovers on the phone
Who called to say come dance with me
and murmured vague obscenities
It isn't all it seems
At seventeen.
A brown eyed girl in hand me downs
Whose name I never could pronounce
said, Pity please the ones who serve
They only get what they deserve.
The rich relationed hometown queen
Married into what she needs
A guarantee of company
And haven for the elderly.
Remember those who win the game
Lose the love they sought to gain
Indebentures of quality
And dubious integrity.
Their small town eyes will gape at you
in dull surprise when payment due
Exceeds accounts received
At seventeen.
To those of us who know the pain
Of valentines that never came,
And those whose names were never called
When choosing sides for basketball.
It was long ago and far away
The world was younger than today
And dreams were all they gave for free
To ugly duckling girls like me.
We all play the game and when we dare
To cheat ourselves at solitaire
Inventing lovers on the phone
Repenting other lives unknown
That call and say, come dance with me
and murmur vague obscenities
At ugly girls like me
At seventeen