Editing Send In the Clowns (section)

==Popular success==
{{Infobox song
| name       = Send In the Clowns
| cover      = 
| alt        =
| type       = single
| artist     = [[Judy Collins]]
| album      = [[Judith (album)|Judith]]
| B-side     = Houses
| released   = {{Start date|1975|05}}
| recorded   = 1975
| studio     = [[A&R Recording Studios]], New York
| venue      =
| genre      = [[Pop music|Pop]]
| length     = {{Duration|m=3|s=57}}
| label      = [[Elektra Records|Elektra]]
| writer     = [[Stephen Sondheim]]
| producer   = [[Arif Mardin]]
}}
The musical and the song debuted on Broadway in 1973. The song became popular with theater audiences, but had not become a pop hit. Sondheim explained how the song became a hit:

{{Blockquote|First of all, it wasn't a hit for two years. I mean, the first person to sing it was [[Bobby Short]], who happened to see the show in Boston, and it was exactly his kind of song: He's a cabaret entertainer. And then my memory is that [[Judy Collins]] picked it up, but she recorded it in England; [[Sinatra]] heard it and recorded it. And between the two of them, they made it a hit.<ref name=Academy />}}

Frank Sinatra recorded "Send in the Clowns" in 1973 for his album ''[[Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back]]'', which attained gold status. [[Gordon Jenkins]] arranged the song. It was also released as a single. In later versions, he sang it with minimal accompaniment.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sinatra Song of the Century 85| author=Mark Steyn | date=20 November 2015 |url=https://www.steynonline.com/7304/send-in-the-clowns |access-date=17 October 2019}}</ref> Sinatra's version plays in the end credits of Todd Phillips' 2019 film ''[[Joker (2019 film)|Joker]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gorber |first1=Jason |title=How the 'Joker' Soundtrack Complements the Film's Vicious Vision |url=https://www.slashfilm.com/joker-soundtrack/ |website=[[/Film]] |access-date=3 November 2019 |date=15 October 2019}}</ref>

Two years later Judy Collins recorded "Send in the Clowns" for her album ''[[Judith (album)|Judith]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Billboard |work=Send in the Clowns, by Judy Collins |publisher=Asylum Records |year=1975 |url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=judy collins|chart=all}} |format=Album |access-date=8 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701094433/http://www.billboard.com/artist/305342/judy+collins/chart |archive-date=1 July 2015}}</ref> The song was released as a single, which soon became a major pop hit. It remained on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] for 11 weeks in 1975, reaching Number 36.<ref name="Billboard Hot 100">{{cite web |title=Billboard Hot 100 |work=Send in the Clowns, by Judy Collins |date=30 August 1975 |url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/1975-08-30/hot-100 |access-date=8 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130704233207/http://www.billboard.com/charts/1975-08-30/hot-100 |archive-date=4 July 2013}}</ref> The single again reached the Billboard Hot 100 in 1977, where it remained for 16 weeks and reached Number 19.<ref>{{cite web |title=Billboard Hot 100 |work=Send in the Clowns, by Judy Collins |date=19 November 1977 |url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/1977-11-19/hot-100 |access-date=8 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150314031701/http://www.billboard.com/charts/1977-11-19/hot-100 |archive-date=14 March 2015}}</ref> At the [[Grammy Awards of 1976]], the Collins performance of the song was named Song of the Year.<ref>{{cite web |title=18th Annual Grammy Awards, Song of the Year |work=Send in the Clowns, written by Stephen Sondheim, performed by Judy Collins |year=1975 |url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/awards/18th-annual-grammy-awards-1975 |access-date=31 January 2021}}</ref> After Sinatra and Collins recorded the song, it was recorded by [[Bing Crosby]], [[Kenny Rogers]], and [[Lou Rawls]].

[[Grace Jones]] recorded a seven-and-a-half minute [[disco]] version the song in 1977 as the lead track of her debut album, ''[[Portfolio (Grace Jones album)|Portfolio]]''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Schildcrout |first=Jordan |date=December 2023 |title=Sondheim at the Disco |url=https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/10.1386/smt_00142_1 |journal=Studies in Musical Theatre |volume=17 |issue=3 |pages=283–292|doi=10.1386/smt_00142_1 }}</ref>

[[Olivia Newton-John]] recorded the song for her 2004 album, ''[[Indigo: Women of Song]]''.

In 1985, Sondheim added a verse for [[Barbra Streisand]] to use on ''[[The Broadway Album]]'' and subsequent concert performances.<ref name="StreisandArchivesBroadwayAlbum">{{cite web | title=Broadway Album (1985) | website=Barbra Streisand Archives | url=http://barbra-archives.com/record/albums/broadway_album.html | access-date=15 July 2019 | archive-date=21 July 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721151339/http://barbra-archives.com/record/albums/broadway_album.html | url-status=dead }}</ref> Her version reached No. 25 on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary chart in 1986.<ref>{{cite web |title=Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks |work=Send in the Clowns, by Barbra Streisand |date=29 March 1986 |url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/1986-03-29/adult-contemporary |access-date=8 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150710024502/http://www.billboard.com/charts/1986-03-29/adult-contemporary |archive-date=10 July 2015}}</ref>

The song has become a [[jazz]] standard, with performances by [[Count Basie]], [[Sarah Vaughan]], the [[Stan Kenton Orchestra]] and many others. It has been recorded by more than 900 singers.<ref>{{cite book |title=Showstoppers!: the surprising backstage stories of Broadway's most remarkable songs |last=Nachman, Gerald |isbn=9781613731024 |oclc=945121418 |page=263|date=November 2016 |publisher=Chicago Review Press }}</ref>

American ambient duo [[Stars of the Lid]] for their 2007 album ''[[And Their Refinement of the Decline]]'' use the melody of "Send In the Clowns" on the track "Don't Bother They're Here", the title itself referencing a line from the song.