MARK BARKAN – ’A Great Day For The Clown’/ ’Pity The Woman’ (Stateside SS 2064) November 1967

Mark Barkan | A Great Day For The Clown | (Stateside) 1967 | Mark Barkan was a prolific songwriter in the mid-to-late sixties writing material recorded by outfits including Leslie Gore (“She’s A Fool”), Manfred Mann (“Pretty Flamingo”), The Banana Splits (“Tra-La-La Song”) and numerous songs for The Archies. Dig a little Deeper and it transpires that Mark produced The Deep album ’Psychedelic Moods’ and co-wrote two songs from that set “Crystal Nite” and “Trip #76″.

In 1967 he struck out on his own and “A Great Day For The Clown” / “Pity The Woman” was released as a single on December Records during September 1967. A couple of months later the record enjoyed a release in the UK on Stateside and even got a brief mention by Penny Valentine, record reviewer for Disc & Music Echo.

Both sides of the disc are enjoyable slightly-delic pop numbers with “A Great Day For The Clown” probably more radio friendly with it’s in-vogue Sgt Pepper-style brass arrangement and female backing vocals, than the up-tempo rocker “Pity The Woman” on the flip.

Clowns always make good songs and “A Great Day For The Clown” is prettily wistful. (Disc, 11/11/67)

“A Great Day For The Clown” has been comped on Fading Yellow – Volume 15. “Pity The Woman” was released as a single (Columbia 4-43949) in 1966 by New Webster’s Word.
Mark Barkan died in May 2020, aged 85.