11. The Tears Of A Clown (Smokey Robinson and the Miracles)

Smokey Robinson based this on the Italian opera Pagliacci, which is about a clown who must make the audience laugh while he weeps behind his makeup because his wife betrayed him. In the last verse, Robinson sings: "Just like Pagliacci did, I try to keep my surface hid."

Stevie Wonder came up with the idea for this. He gave Robinson a demo of it at a Motown Christmas party. Robinson thought it sounded like a circus, and came up with the lyrics based on the clown.

A variety of instruments, including a bassoon, were used to create the circus sound. The piccolo was played by Jim Horn, who played saxophone or flute on albums by The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, U2 and many others.

This was the only #1 hit for Smokey Robinson & The Miracles.

The lyrics are about a man who puts on a happy face, but is truly devastated when his girl leaves him.

Released on the album in 1968, it was put out as a single in England in 1970, where it went to #1. This prompted Motown to release it as a single in the US, where it also hit #1.