Zeke Clements

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Marlon R. "Zeke" Clements (born September 6, 1911 near Empire , Alabama , † June 4, 1994 in Nashville , Tennessee ) was an American country musician , actor and songwriter. Clements had one of the longest and most extensive careers in country music history.

Life

Childhood and youth

Zeke Clements was born near Empire, Alabama. His ancestors were of English and Indian descent ( Cherokee ). Clements was musically influenced by traditional old-time music , which he learned from neighbors and friends.

Career

At the age of 17, Clements made his debut on the WLS radio station in Chicago in 1928 . He joined Otto Gray and the Oklahoma Cowboys as a singer and guitarist and performed regularly in WLS ' National Barn Dance , which quickly increased his popularity. In 1930 he made his first guest appearance on the Grand Ole Opry , which was broadcast on WSM from Nashville. With the Bronco Busters, a western group that Texas Ruby had as a member, he joined the Opry ensemble in 1933. The Bronco Busters were the first cowboy and western band to feature regularly in the Opry.

In the mid-1930s, Clements moved to Hollywood on the west coast , but he never really got a foothold in the movie business, which is over-fed by singing cowboys. The IMDb database lists the only surviving appearance in a screen production with the Charles Starrett vehicle Two-Fisted Stranger by the renowned B-director Ray Nazarro, which premiered in 1946 . Occasionally he was still involved in a few soundtracks, but overall the cinema was not his stage.

Honest I'm honest

In 1939 Clements returned to the southern states and resumed his work in the Opry. Over the next few years, he became one of the show's biggest stars, putting him on a par with other stars like Bill Monroe , Roy Acuff , Ernest Tubb and many more. Clements had his first hit with Smoke on the Water , which was covered by Red Foley in 1944 and became a number one hit a year later. In 1945, Clements founded Liberty Records in California, which was later renamed BLazon Records. He continued to be a big name in the country scene for the next several years, having hits like Blue Mexico Skies . Clements was also in demand as a songwriter; his titles have been recorded by Eddy Arnold , Kitty Wells and Red Foley , among others .

Later years

After a relatively short stint with the Louisiana Hayride in the late 1940s, Clements moved around the southern states in the 1950s and appeared on various radio stations. In the late 1950s and early 1960s he interrupted his music career and devoted himself to other business activities in Nashville.

He then moved to Miami , Florida , where he played the banjo in a Dixieland group for almost a decade . In 1971, Clements was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame for his achievements as a songwriter . In the 1980s he lived again in Nashville, where he remained a member of the Grand Ole Opry. Zeke Clements died in 1994 at the age of 83.

Discography

Discography is not exhaustive.

Singles

year title # Remarks
Black & White Records
Blue Mexico Skies / Nobody Loves Me 10013
You're Free Again / It's My Life 10014
Oklahoma Blues / I'll Face the World With a Smile 10017
Honest I'm Honest / Am I Too Late 10019
Lookin 'For an Angel Like You / It Won't Do You No Good 10021
Blazon Records
Oklahoma Blues / Am I Too Late 8th
Nobody Loves Me / It's My Life 10
I'll Face the World with a Smile / It Won't Do No Good 11
Am I Too Late / Honest I'm Honest 101
Thank You Lord / I Love the Name of Jesus 102
Bullet Records
1949 Brown's Ferry Boogie / In the Valley of My Dreams 653
1949 I Won't Be Here to Love You Anymore / I Dreamed I Spent Christmas in Heaven 668
Coral Records
1949 T for Texas / Pride of the Prairie 64003 with Texas Ruby
MGM Records
1949 The Price I Paid For Loving You / I Wanted To, But I Didn't Know How 10437
1949 Louisiana Girl / Girl That Done Me Wrong 10552
1950 Guitar Waltz / Just Look at You Now 10659
1950 I Tried / Blue Mexico Skies 10811
1951 Ridin 'Down the River / In the Valley of My Dreams 10965
1952 There's Poison In Your Heart / Payday Saturday Night 11399
1953 If I Had Known / Every Day Should Be Mother's Day 11495
1953 Won't'cha Love Me / I Want to Live a Little 11641
1954 Thank You Lord / I Love the Name of Jesus 11701
1954 Blue Texas Blues / Baby What'cha Doin 'To-Nite 11852
1955 Christmas Star / It's Christmas Time 11872
1955 Clicking Castanets / I've Got a Lot to Learn 12016
Dot records
1956 Blue Mexico Skies / You're Free Again 15440
Gold Standard Records
Somebody's Been Beatin 'My Time /? 101
Janet Records
EP
  • I don't like it
  • Here My Love Calling Me
  • I'm goin 'stepping out
  • I've tried to forget you
 EP 301

Albums

  • 19 ??: The Man from Music Mountain

Individual evidence


Web links

personal data
SURNAME Clements, Zeke
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Clements, Marlon R.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American country musician, actor, and songwriter
DATE OF BIRTH September 6, 1911
PLACE OF BIRTH at Empire , Alabama
DATE OF DEATH 4th June 1994
Place of death Nashville , Tennessee