Sanford Clark
Sanford Clark (born October 24, 1935 in Tulsa , Oklahoma , † July 4, 2021 in Joplin , Missouri ) was an American rockabilly musician who was best known for his hit The Fool .
Life
Childhood and adolescence
Sanford Clark was born in Tulsa but grew up in Phoenix , Arizona . When he was 12 he got his first guitar as a gift and as a teenager he was already performing at local events. In 1953, Clark was drafted into the US Air Force . He spent most of his service time in Hawaii , where he won a talent competition with the band he founded there. He was then transferred to Phoenix.
Career
Al Casey , who was a good friend of Clark, introduced him to Lee Hazlewood . Hazlewood was looking for a singer to record his songs and was impressed with young Clark. Its first session took place in March 1956, the result was The Fool along with Lonesome for a Letter , which were released on the local MCI label. The record didn't sell well, and after Clark was fired from the Air Force, he found a job with the Canadian Soft Drinks Company as a truck driver. However, a disc jockey passed Clark's record to Randy Wood, who was an employee of Dot Records. When Dot offered him a contract, Clark switched and after a few promotional appearances the song reached number 15 on the Billboard Country Charts and even number 10 on the pop charts. The success of the song was mainly due to the fact that Clark, unlike most young rockabilly musicians, was not an Elvis impersonator, but had his very own style. His deep and calm voice, paired with Al Casey's guitar playing, created a completely different sound.
His second single The Cheat , recorded in June 1956 by Audio Recorders, could not repeat the success, it only came to number 74. His other releases could not be placed in the charts and in 1958 Clark switched to Jamie Records. There he recorded the tracks Still as the Night and Sing 'Em Some Blues with guitarist Duane Eddy . After further failures, Casey left Clark to go on tour as a bassist with Duane Eddy. The further career of Clark was marked by failures, so he refused to record the song Dang Me , instead it became a hit for Roger Miller . His version of Houston finally seemed to get into the charts, until Dean Martin pushed Clark into the background with a cover version. In 1966, Clark re-recorded his hit The Fool with Ramco on guitar with Waylon Jennings . In 1970, Clark withdrew from the music business in frustration and worked in the construction industry .
In 1985 he took up again for the first time on his own label, Desert Sun Records, together with Al Casey. In the following years, Sanford Clark began performing again, including in the Ryman Auditorium , at the Rock'n'Roll Festival in Hemsby , England and in 2002 at the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Festival .
Clark died of COVID-19 on Independence Day 2021 at the age of 85 .
Discography
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Chart placements Explanation of the data |
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Singles
| year | title | Record company |
|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Lonesome for a Letter / The Fool | MCI Records |
| 1956 | The Fool / Lonesome for a Letter | Dot records |
| 1956 | The Cheat / Usta Be My Baby | Dot records |
| 1957 | Ooh baby / 9 Lb. hammer | Dot records |
| 1957 | The Glory of Love / Darling Dear | Dot records |
| 1957 | Love Charms / Lou Be Doo | Dot records |
| 1957 | The Man Who Made an Angel Cry / Swanee River Rock | Dot records |
| 1958 | Modern Romance / Travelin 'Man | Dot records |
| 1958 | Still as the Night / Sing 'Em Some Blues | Jamie Records |
| 1959 | Bad Luck / My Jealousy | Jamie Records |
| 1959 | New Kind of Fool / Run Boy Run | Jamie Records |
| 1959 | I Can't Help It / Sun of a Gun | Jamie Records |
| 1960 | Go On Home / Pledging My Love | Jamie Records |
| 1961 | It Hurts Me Too / Guess It's Love | Trey Records |
| 1962 | Tennessee Walk / Give the Boy Love | Project Records |
| 1964 | She Taught Me / Just Bluesin ' | Warner Bros. Records |
| 1965 | Houston / Hard Feelings | Warner Bros. Records |
| 1966 | The Fool '66 / Step Aside | Ramco Records |
| 1966 | Shades / Once on a Time | Ramco Records |
| 1967 | The Cal Me Country / Climbin the Walls | Ramco Records |
| 1967 | It's Nothing to Me / Calling All Hearts | Ramco Records |
| 1967 | The Big Lie / Where's the Floor? | Ramco Records |
| 1968 | Son of Hickory Holler's Tramp / Black Widow Spider | LHI Records |
| 1968 | Love Me Till Then / Farmer Labor Camp No.2 | LHI Records |
| 1968 | Footprints in Her Yard / Drowning in the Sea of Tears | LHI Records |
Albums
- 1968: The Return of the Fool
- 1968: They Call Me Country
- 1975: Modern Romance
- 1992: The Fool ( Bear Family )
- 1994: Shades (Bear Family)
Web links
- Sanford Clark at AllMusic (English)
- Sanford Clark at Discogs
- Discography with audio samples
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Rockabilly performer Sanford Clark dies at COVID-19 at age 85. In: pennsylvanianewstoday.com. July 5, 2021, accessed July 5, 2021 .
- ↑ Chart sources: US
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Clark, Sanford |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | American rockabilly musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1935 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Tulsa , Oklahoma, USA |
| DATE OF DEATH | 4th July 2021 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Joplin , Missouri |