"Tears Of A Clown" - Smokey Robinson and the Miracles.
I have a Smokey Robinson story, but I can't remember if I've already shared this or not. When I was at Jorma Kaukonen's Fur Peace Ranch (FPR) back in September 2002, it had only been open a few years and Jorma's wife Vanessa was talking to us (She pretty much handles the "business aspects" of the camp). Smokey Robinson's management contacted FPR and expressed interest in giving a concert for one night there, so they asked for price. FPR said they could pay him $10K for one night. Smokey's management team responded and said that he wouldn't take less than $50K per night, so they had to reject the offer. That just blew us away...he could put on a 2-night concert and make more than I make in a year! π
It's a shame that the record companies make most of the money off of the music, but that's still kind of mind blowing how much he could earn per night.