Otis Clay

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Otis Clay at the 1997 Long Beach Blues Festival

Otis Clay (* 11. February 1942 in Waxhaw , Bolivar County , Mississippi , † 8. January 2016 ) was an American Blues - Soul - and rhythm-and-blues - singer , whose roots in the Gospel are. In 2013 he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame of the Blues Foundation .

life and work

Otis Clay was born in rural Waxhaw, a small plantation in the American state of Mississippi, in 1942. In 1953 the family moved to Muncie , Indiana . He began his musical career as a gospel singer with various local gospel bands and then went back to Mississippi to travel with the Christian Travelers. In 1957 he moved to Chicago and sang with the Golden Jubilaires, the Famous Blue Jay Singers and The Holy Wonders, among others. In 1962 he made his first solo recordings and went to the Gospel Songbirds, which recorded in Nashville and which also included Maurice Dollison, later known as an R&B singer and performing under the stage name Cash McCall . Then Otis Clay went to the Sensational Nightingales.

In 1965 Clay signed with the One-derful label! Records in Chicago signed a record deal for secular recordings. After some gospel-influenced soul pieces, he was able to place his first hit in 1967 with That's How It Is (When You're in Love) , which reached number 34 in the R&B charts, followed by A Lasting Love (number 48 R&B). In 1968 the label was dissolved and his contract was sold to Atlantic Records , which opened their new sub-label Cotillion with a version of Otis Clay She's About a Mover by Sir Douglas Quintet . The song, recorded at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals , reached number 97 on the US pop charts (number 47 R&B). Later releases on Cotillion, including Syl Johnson- produced Hard Working Woman and Is It Over? by Willie Mitchell , were less successful.

Otis Clay switched to the Mitchell-led Hi Records label in 1971 , where he recorded some of his most famous soul pieces. In 1972 he had his biggest hit with Trying to Live My Life Without You , which reached number 24 in the R&B charts and in 1981 a cover version by Bob Seger rose to number 5 on the pop charts. This was followed by If I Could Reach Out and after more songs and the album I Can't Take It he switched to Kayvette Records , where he recorded his last national hit single in 1977 with All Because Of Your Love (# 44 R&B). He later recorded for Elka and Rounder labels as well as his own record company Echo Records, where he sang the original version of the song The Only Way Is Up in 1980 . This song was recorded as a dance track by British singer Yazz in 1988 , entered the charts internationally and was a number one hit in Great Britain and the Netherlands, among others . Clay subsequently recorded several live albums, including 1983 Soul Man: Live in Japan , 1985 Otis Clay Live and 2005 Respect Yourself , which was recorded at the Lucerne Blues Festival in Switzerland. Several other, lesser-known albums followed, including the 2007 gospel album Walk a Mile in My Shoes . At the 2008 Grammy Awards , he was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Performance , which Gerald Levert won. In 2013 he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame of the Blues Foundation , and his album Truth Is was released in the same year .

Discography

Studio albums

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
US US R&B R&B
1992 I'll Treat You Right
Bullseye Blues 9520 		- R&B75 (9 weeks)
R&B
First published: July 1992
Producer: Ron Levy

More studio albums

  • 1972: Trying to Live My Life Without You
  • 1977: I Can't Take It
  • 1982: The Only Way Is Up
  • 1985: Otis Clay
  • 1989: Watch Me Now
  • 1993: On My Way Home
  • 1993: The Gospel Truth
  • 1994: When the Gates Swing Open
  • 1995: You Are My Life
  • 1998: This Time Around
  • 2003: Gospel in My Soul
  • 2007: Walk a Mile in My Shoes
  • 2013: Truth Is
  • 2014: Soul Brothers (with Johnny Rawls)
  • 2015: This Time for Real (with Billy Price)

Live albums

  • 1978: Live! Otis Clay
  • 1983: Soul Man: Live in Japan
  • 1984: Live Again! Otis Clay
  • 1986: Live
  • 2005: Respect Yourself
  • 2005: In the House: Live at Lucerne, Vol. 7
  • 2016: Live in Switzerland 2006

Compilations

  • 1979: The Beginning Got to Find a Way
  • 1987: Trying to Live My Life Without You
  • 1991: That's How It Is
  • 1993: The 45’s
  • 1995: Chicago Soul Greats (with Willie Clayton)
  • 1996: The Best of Otis Clay: The Hi Records Years
  • 1998: The Hi Masters
  • 2000: The Complete Otis Clay on Hi Records (2 CDs)
  • 2003: Testify!

Singles

year Title
album 		Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
US US R&B R&B
1966 That's How It Is (When You're in Love)
 - R&B34 (6 weeks)
R&B
First published: June 1966
Authors: Milton Bland, Morris Dollison
1967 A Lasting Love
 - R&B48 (3 weeks)
R&B
First published: November 1967
Author: Eddie Silvers
1968 She's about a mover
 US97 (3 weeks)
US 		R&B47 (2 weeks)
R&B
First published: July 1968
Author: Doug Sahm
Original: Sir Douglas Quintet , 1965
1972 Trying to Live My Life Without You
Trying to Live My Life Without You 		- R&B24 (10 weeks)
R&B
First published: October 1972
Author: Eugene Williams
1973 If I Could Reach Out (And Help Somebody)
 - R&B73 (6 weeks)
R&B
First published: September 1973
Author: George Jackson
1977 All Because of Your Love
 - R&B44 (11 weeks)
R&B
First published: May 1977
Authors: George Jackson, Raymond Moore

More singles

  • 1965: A Flame in Your Heart (released June)
  • 1965: Tired of Fallin 'In and Out of Love (release: October)
  • 1966: I'm Satisfied (release: March)
  • 1966: It's Easier Said Than Done (release: November)
  • 1968: Don't Pass Me By
  • 1968: Do Right Woman, Do Right Man (release: October)
  • 1969: Baby Jane (release: September)
  • 1970: Hard Working Woman (release: April)
  • 1971: Is It Over? (Release: January)
  • 1972: Home Is Where the Heart Is (released January)
  • 1972: Precious Precious (release: May)
  • 1973: I Didn't Know the Meaning of Pain (release: March)
  • 1974: The Woman Don't Live Here No More (released April)
  • 1974: You Did Something to Me (release: July)
  • 1975: Turn Back the Hands of Time
  • 1976: All I Need Is You
  • 1977: Let Me In
  • 1979: Victim of Circumstance
  • 1980: Messing with My Mind
  • 1980: The Only Way Is Up
  • 1983: Love Bandit
  • 1984: A Nickel and a Nail
  • 1984: When the Gate Swing Open (with South Wind)
  • 1989: Two Wrongs (Don't Make a Right)
  • 1990: Peace (with Ann Peebles , Lynn White, and David Hudson)
  • 1998: That's How It Is

Web links

supporting documents

  1. ↑ Soul legend Otis Clay Dies at 73 . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Jan. 9, 2016.
  2. ↑ a b c d biography at Blind Pig Records ; Retrieved April 2, 2014
  3. ↑ Biography on the official website ( memento of the original from January 10, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ; Retrieved April 2, 2014  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.otisclay.net
  4. ↑ a b Chart sources: Billboard Hot 100
  5. ^ Joel Whitburn : Top R&B Albums 1965–1998, ISBN 0-89820-134-9 .
  6. ^ Joel Whitburn : Hot R&B Songs 1942–2010: 6th Edition, ISBN 978-0-89820-186-4 .
personal data
SURNAME Clay, Otis
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American blues, soul and rhythm and blues singer
DATE OF BIRTH February 11, 1942
PLACE OF BIRTH Waxhaw , Bolivar County , Mississippi
DATE OF DEATH January 8, 2016