The Show Must Go On (Leo Sayer song)

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File:Leo Sayer - TopPop 1974 06.png
Sayer performing the song on Dutch television (AVRO's TopPop) in 1974

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"The Show Must Go On" is a song co-written by Leo Sayer and David Courtney and first recorded by Sayer. It was released in the United Kingdom in 1973, becoming Sayer's first hit record (reaching its chart peak of number 2 in early 1974 in the UK). The song reached number 3 on the Irish Singles Chart in January 1974,[1] and was included on Sayer's debut album Silverbird.

The song was covered by Three Dog Night, whose version was released in 1974, becoming a hit in the United States, peaking at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and sung by vocalist Chuck Negron. The record reached number one on the Cashbox pop chart, number 2 on the Canadian RPM Magazine charts, and became their seventh and final gold record.

It uses a circus theme as a metaphor for dealing with the difficulties and wrong choices of life. Early in Sayer's career, he performed it dressed and made up as a pierrot clown. Like the album version on Sayer's debut album, Three Dog Night's version also quotes Julius Fučík's "Entrance of the Gladiators" which is commonly associated with circus clowns.

In Sayer's version, the last line of the chorus is "I won't let the show go on". Three Dog Night changed this line to "I must let the show go on", which Sayer has criticized.[2]

Personnel

Chart performance

Leo Sayer version

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Three Dog Night version

Three Dog Night's cover of "The Show Must Go On" became their last Top 10 hit in the U.S., where it reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Cash Box Top 100, as well as in Canada, where it reached number two. It also reached number 11 in the Netherlands and number 12 in Germany.

Record World said that "3DN's treatment of this Leo Sayer English smash is a superb example of their interpretive power."[9]

Several AM radio edits have shortened the instrumental introduction, due to time constraints and limitations.

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Pasadena Roof Orchestra version

The Pasadena Roof Orchestra's 1977 album "The Show Must Go On" takes its name from the track, and (in an unusual departure into contemporary music) features their cover version of the song; it was re-released as part of their Jubilee Collection CDs in 2018.

References

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Bibliography

  • Gogan, Larry (1987). The Larry Gogan Book of Irish Chart Hits (Maxwell Publications) Template:ISBN
  • Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th Edition (Billboard Publications), Template:ISBN

External links

Template:Leo Sayer Template:Three Dog Night

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