Get Down with the Clown – a music CD starring Larry Harmon’s Bozo the Clown
Bozo the Clown got his start in 1946 with a record from Capitol Records — and in 2003, Bozo returned to audio. In a collection of song styles including blues to parade to cowboy ballads, Bozo returns in a music collection that is a pleasant surprise. Free samples of several of the audio tracks are available from Amazon.com. I was pleasantly surprised, and recommend it to anyone with children.
- Here Comes Bozo The Clown
- Everybody Laughs In The Same Language
- I’m Down With The Clown
- A Couple Of Clowns Like Us
- Ballad Of Bozo
- How Many Clowns Can You Cram In A Car?
- Bozo’s Big Parade
- Molly On A Trolley
- Bozo’s Clown Dance
- Blues For Bozo
- The Strongest Kid In The World
- Quit Clowning Around
- What Is A Bozo?
- Toodleoo
Editorial Review of “Get Down with the Clown” by Amazon.com, used by permission
The thing about getting down with the clown — Bozo the Clown, that is — is that you can’t really blame anyone for not wanting to. Never mind the scary associations; at issue here is the music, and Bozo, beloved as he is, has never been known to get folks grooving. This record effectively changes that. In 14 genre-spanning songs, Mike Himelstein, who wrote, produced, and performed with vocal help from Tony Danza, Rosie Flores, and other fans, brings out Bozo’s best via a ballad “Ballad of Bozo“), a parade (“Bozo’s Big Parade“), a blues number (“Blues for Bozo“), and more.
The silliest songs — the rhyme-a-thon “Molly on a Trolley” and the hoot-worthy “How Many Clowns can you Cram in a Car” are the slap-happiest successes, but all are fun, right down to William Shatner’s phony-philosophy rant “What is a Clown,” which couldn’t be any kookier than a yak-haired fellow in size 83 shoes. —Tammy La Gorce