The Show Must Go On (Leo Sayer song)

"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 #2 in early 1974 in the UK). The song reached #3 on the Irish Singles Chart in January 1974,^[2] 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 #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and sung by vocalist Chuck Negron. The record reached #1 on the Cashbox pop chart, #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.^[3]

YouTube Encyclopedic

1/5
Views:
2 524 152
119 633
387 819
49 089
50 043

Transcription

Personnel

Leo Sayer - vocals
Russ Ballard - banjo
David Courtney – piano
Robert Henrit - drums
Dave Wintour - bass

Chart performance

Leo Sayer version

Weekly chart (1974)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[4]	10
Ireland^[5]	3
South Africa (Springbok Radio)^[6]	11
UK Singles Chart^[7]	2

Year-end chart (1974)	Rank
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[8]^[9]	76

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 #11 in the Netherlands and #12 in Germany.

Record World said that "3DN's treatment of this Leo Sayer English smash is a superb example of their interpretive power."^[10]

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

Weekly charts

Chart (1974)	Peak position
Canadian RPM Top Singles	2
Belgium^[11]	23
Netherlands (Single Top 100)	6
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)^[12]	7
New Zealand (Listener)^[13]	9
US Billboard Hot 100^[14]	4
US Cash Box^[15]	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1974)	Rank
US Billboard Hot 100^[16]	42
US Cash Box^[17]	63
Canada^[18]	43
Netherlands^[19]	71

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)^[20]	Gold	1,000,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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

^ "Cash Box Magazine Record Producers July 6, 1974" (PDF). Retrieved 3 August 2019.
^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 483. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
^ Sayer, Leo (8 July 2016). "Leo Sayer on His 'Restless Years' With Hendrix, McCartney and Daltrey (Q&A)". Rock Cellar Magazine (Interview). Interviewed by Frank Mastropolo. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
^ "The Irish Charts – All there is to know". www.irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
^ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 5 September 2018.
^ "Official Singles Chart Top 50 | Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
^ "National Top 100 Singles for 1974". Kent Music Report. 30 December 1974. Retrieved 15 January 2022 – via Imgur.
^ "australian-charts.com – Forum – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts – 1980s (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. 16 March 1974. p. 1. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
^ "Google Translate". translate.google.com. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
^ Top 40, Stichting Nederlandse. "Three Dog Night – The Show Must Go On". Top40.nl. Retrieved 3 August 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ "Flavour of New Zealand – search listener". Flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
^ "Lyrics: The Show Must Go On by Three Dog Night". Top40db.net. 16 March 1974. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
^ "Top 100 1974-05-11". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
^ "Top 100 Hits of 1974/Top 100 Songs of 1974". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
^ "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1974". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
^ "RPM – Library and Archives Canada | RPM – Bibliothèque et Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 1 August 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1974" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
^ "American single certifications – Three Dog Night – The Show Must Go On". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 14 February 2019.

Bibliography

Gogan, Larry (1987). The Larry Gogan Book of Irish Chart Hits (Maxwell Publications) ISBN 9781870846004
Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th Edition (Billboard Publications), ISBN 978-0823076321

External links

Media related to The Show Must Go On (Leo Sayer song) at Wikimedia Commons

v t e Leo Sayer
Studio albums	Silverbird Just a Boy Another Year Endless Flight Thunder in My Heart Leo Sayer Here Living in a Fantasy World Radio Have You Ever Been in Love Cool Touch
Compilation albums	The Very Best of Leo Sayer All the Best
Soundtrack albums	All This and World War II Lake Freeze – The Raccoons Songtrack
Singles	"The Show Must Go On" "One Man Band" "Long Tall Glasses (I Can Dance)" "Moonlighting" "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" "When I Need You" "How Much Love" "Thunder in My Heart" "Easy to Love" "I Can't Stop Loving You (Though I Try)" "Raining in My Heart" "More Than I Can Say" "Orchard Road" "Till You Come Back to Me" "Unchained Melody"
Related topics	Discography Le Chaînon manquant The Raccoons on Ice

v t e Three Dog Night
Danny Hutton Michael Allsup Paul Kingery Pat Bautz Eddie Reasoner David Morgan Cory Wells Chuck Negron Jimmy Greenspoon Floyd Sneed Joe Schermie Skip Konte Al Ciner Gary Moon Richard Campbell
Studio albums	Three Dog Night (1968) Suitable for Framing (1969) It Ain't Easy (1970) Naturally (1970) Harmony (1971) Seven Separate Fools (1972) Cyan (1973) Hard Labor (1974) Coming Down Your Way (1975) American Pastime (1976) It's a Jungle (1983)
Live albums	Captured Live at the Forum (1969) Around the World with Three Dog Night (1973)
Compilations	Golden Bisquits (1971) Joy to the World: Their Greatest Hits (1975) The Best of 3 Dog Night (1982) Celebrate: The Three Dog Night Story, 1965–1975 (1993) 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Three Dog Night (1999) The Complete Hit Singles (2004)
Singles	"Nobody" "Try a Little Tenderness" "One" "Easy to Be Hard" "Eli's Coming" "Celebrate" "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)" "Out in the Country" "One Man Band" "Joy to the World" "Liar" "An Old Fashioned Love Song" "Never Been to Spain" "The Family of Man" "Black & White" "Pieces of April" "Shambala" "Let Me Serenade You" "The Show Must Go On" "Sure As I'm Sittin' Here" "Play Something Sweet (Brickyard Blues)" "Til the World Ends" "Everybody's a Masterpiece" "It's a Jungle Out There"
Other songs	"Darlin'" "Time to Get Alone"
Discography

This 1970s single–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page was last edited on 6 July 2023, at 11:00

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia