WC Clark

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WC Clark (1996)

WC Clark (* 16th November 1939 in Austin , Texas , as Wesley Clark Curley ) is an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. In the course of his life he earned the title "The Godfather of Austin Blues".

Life

Clark was born into a musical family with his father playing the guitar and his mother and grandmother singing in the choir at St. John's College Baptist Church. Blues wasn't forbidden, but he had to have the greatest respect for gospel . He started playing guitar and bass when he was 14, and made his first appearance in Austin when he was 16. Over the next few years, he became an integral part of the Austin's blues scene. He performed with various important musicians from the Austin blues scene, such as B. with Blues Boy Hubbard and The Jets. In the late 1960s, he became a member of the soul singer Joe Tex's band and left Austin.

He soon left the band to return to Austin. Here he was surprised by the blossoming blues scene, which was particularly borne by young, white blues musicians who often came from the nearby University of Texas. Bill Campbell , Angela Strehli , Lewis Cowdrey , Paul Ray , Stevie Ray Vaughan and his older brother Jimmie Vaughan attracted more and more people. In the early 1970s he formed various bands and developed his skills as a songwriter. His efforts to get a record deal remained in vain, however, and so he worked as a mechanic for a local Ford dealer.

There the young Stevie Ray Vaughan visited him and convinced him to join the group he was putting together. He agreed and together with singer Lou Ann Barton they formed the "Triple Threat Revue" in which Clark played bass. At that time he wrote "One Shot" with the keyboardist for the band, which became Vaughan's biggest hit in the mid-1980s. In 1975, Clark formed the WC Clark Blues Revue, a band that played with the likes of James Brown , BB King , Albert King , Freddie King , Sam & Dave , Elvin Bishop and Bobby Bland throughout the 1980s . With her he also recorded his first album, Something for Everybody, in 1987. At the beginning of the decade he also took the later rock prodigies Charlie Sexton and Will Sexton under his wing and taught them to play the guitar. In 1990 PSB broadcast a concert as part of their Austin City Limits series , which was recorded in 1989 on the occasion of his fiftieth birthday. This concert also made him known nationally. With Clark appeared Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmie Vaughan, Kim Wilson , Lou Ann Barton, Angela Strehli and Will Sexton.

In March 1997 the band bus crashed, and his fiancée and the band's drummer died. In 1998 he recorded the album Lover's Plea in memory of her. In 2000, PBS broadcast a jam session with him and WC Clark as part of a Stevie Ray Vaughan special. In the first decade of the new millennium, WC Clark can often be heard at blues festivals or touring.

Discography

  • 1987 Something for Everybody (Drippin 'DR-1001) (LP; under the name WC Clark Blues Revue)
  • 1994 Heart Of Gold ( Black Top Records BT-1103)
  • 1995 Texas Soul ( Black Top Records BT-1131)
  • 1998 Lover's Plea ( Black Top Records BT-1145)
  • 2002 From Austin With Soul (Alligator ALCD 4884)
  • 2004 Deep In The Heart (Alligator ALCD 4897)

Awards

  • 2003 WC Handy Award Blues Song of the Year for "Let It Rain"
  • 2004 WC Handy Award nomination as Male Soul Artist Of The Year
  • 2004 WC Handy Award nomination as Blues Album of the Year for "Deep in the Heart"
  • 2004 WC Handy Award nomination as Soul / Blues Album of the Year for "Deep in the Heart"

Festival appearances (selection)

Press reviews

  • ... one of the greatest modern blues performers in the world ... blending rock with R&B, soul and a touch of funk. Austin American Statesman
  • Superb. He's a soulful vocalist and a tasty guitarist with an enormous amount of talent. Billboard
  • Good rockin ', soul-drenched Austin blues. A potent combination of gritty Texas guitar wedded to devastating, gospel-rich Memphis vocals. Austin Chronical
  • Clark conjures the vocal power of Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett and the guitar of Steve Cropper and Albert King. Blues revue

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ All Music Guide biography of Richard Skelly
  2. ↑ Hess, Christopher. "Confessin 'the Blues," The Austin Chronicle, Aug. 3, 1998.
  3. ^ Alligator Records Artist Bio WC Clark
  4. ^ All Music Guide biography of Richard Skelly
  5. ^ All Music Guide biography of Richard Skelly
  6. ^ Homepage WC Clark
  7. ↑ Alligator Records Bio
  8. ^ Homepage WC Clark
  9. ^ Homepage WC Clark
personal data
SURNAME Clark, W. C
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Clark, Wesley Curley (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American blues musician
DATE OF BIRTH November 16, 1939
PLACE OF BIRTH Austin (Texas)