Dave Davies and Death of a Clown
In 1967, the single "Death of a Clown" was released to considerable success in the UK, hitting No. 3. The single was Davies' first to feature his own name, rather than that of the iconic Kinks. With a prominent picture of Dave on the sleeve and a B-side of "Love Me Till The Sun Shines", the successful debut prompted the innovative Kinks' lead guitarist and backing vocalist to consider embarking on a solo career; however, after next year's subsequent single "Susannah's Still Alive" barely cracked the top 20, and both "Lincoln County" and "Hold My Hand" having failed to chart altogether, Davies abandoned the idea of a solo career until 1980.
Why in your opinion did these subsequent singles fail to achieve the success of "Death of a Clown"? Were "Susannah's Still Alive", "Lincoln County", or "Hold My Hand" the wrong choices to release as singles, or did Davies simply not have the right songs in his catalogue at the time to top the charts?