Judy Clay
Encyclopedia
Judy Clay was an American
soul
and gospel
singer, who achieved greatest success as a member of two recording
duos
in the 1960s.
, North Carolina
, she was raised by her grandmother in Fayetteville
and began singing in church. After moving to Brooklyn
in the early 1950s, she taken in by Lee Drinkard Warrick of The Drinkard Singers
. From the age of 14, she became a regular performer with the family gospel group, which had originally been formed in Savannah
, Georgia
, around 1938, and which also at times included Warrick's sister Emily (later known as Cissy Houston
) and daughters Dionne and Delia (later better known as Dionne
and Dee Dee Warwick
). Clay made her recorded debut with the Drinkard Singers - who later became better known as The Sweet Inspirations - on their 1954 album
, The Newport Spiritual Stars.
She left the Drinkard Singers in 1960 and made her first solo
recording, "More Than You Know", on Ember Records. This was followed by further singles
on several record label
s, but with little commercial success, although "You Busted My Mind" later became successful on the UK's
Northern soul
club
circuit. In 1967, Jerry Wexler
of Atlantic Records
teamed her up with white
singer-songwriter
Billy Vera
to make the United States' first racially integrated duo, and The Sweet Inspirations, to record "Storybook Children". The record made #20 on the US R&B
chart
and #54 pop
. It was seen as the first interracial duo recording for a major label. However, Vera has stated that television executives denied them appearances together, believing (wrongly) that Vera and Clay were more than just singing partners, and, to add insult to injury, had the song performed on network TV by Nancy Sinatra
and Lee Hazelwood.
After a further hit duet with Billy Vera, "Country Girl, City Man", which reached #41 R&B and #36 pop, and an album
together, she returned to Stax Records
. There she had further successes, this time with William Bell
. Their recording of "Private Number" reached #17 in the R&B chart and #75 on the U.S. pop chart, and had greater success in the UK where it reached #8 on the UK Singles Chart
. A follow-up, "My Baby Specializes", also made the R&B chart, before she returned to Atlantic for less successful recordings with Vera, and a final solo hit "Greatest Love" (# 45 R&B in 1970).
Subsequently, she worked as a backing vocalist
with Ray Charles
, Aretha Franklin
, Van Morrison
, Donny Hathaway
and Wilson Pickett
. Struck with a brain tumour in 1979, she returned to gospel music
shortly after her recovery, and sang occasionally with Cissy Houston's gospel choir in Newark
, New Jersey
.
She was in a car accident, and died a few weeks later of complications at the age of 62.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
and gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
singer, who achieved greatest success as a member of two recording
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
duos
Duet (music)
A duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...
in the 1960s.
Life
Born Judy Guions, in St. PaulsSt. Pauls, North Carolina
St. Pauls is a town in Robeson County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 2,137 at the 2000 census.-History:The town of St. Pauls was built up around St. Pauls Presbyterian Church which was built on land donated in 1799 by William Davis. St. Pauls grew slowly from a town of just the...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, she was raised by her grandmother in Fayetteville
Fayetteville, North Carolina
Fayetteville is a city located in Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is the county seat of Cumberland County, and is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a U.S. Army post located northwest of the city....
and began singing in church. After moving to Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
in the early 1950s, she taken in by Lee Drinkard Warrick of The Drinkard Singers
The Drinkard Singers
The Drinkard Singers were an American gospel singing group, most successful in the late 1950s and important in the careers of singers Cissy Houston, Dionne Warwick, Dee Dee Warwick, and Judy Clay.-Musical career:...
. From the age of 14, she became a regular performer with the family gospel group, which had originally been formed in Savannah
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, around 1938, and which also at times included Warrick's sister Emily (later known as Cissy Houston
Cissy Houston
Emily "Cissy" Houston is a Grammy Award–winning American soul and gospel singer. She led a very successful career as a backup singer for such artists as Elvis Presley, Mahalia Jackson, Wishbone Ash and Aretha Franklin, and is now primarily a solo artist...
) and daughters Dionne and Delia (later better known as Dionne
Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....
and Dee Dee Warwick
Dee Dee Warwick
Dee Dee Warwick was an American soul singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey as Delia Mae Warrick, she was the sister of Dionne Warwick, niece of Cissy Houston and cousin of Whitney Houston....
). Clay made her recorded debut with the Drinkard Singers - who later became better known as The Sweet Inspirations - on their 1954 album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, The Newport Spiritual Stars.
She left the Drinkard Singers in 1960 and made her first solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
recording, "More Than You Know", on Ember Records. This was followed by further singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
on several record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
s, but with little commercial success, although "You Busted My Mind" later became successful on the UK's
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Northern soul
Northern soul
Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged from the British mod scene, initially in northern England in the late 1960s. Northern soul mainly consists of a particular style of black American soul music based on the heavy beat and fast tempo of the mid-1960s Tamla Motown sound...
club
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
circuit. In 1967, Jerry Wexler
Jerry Wexler
Gerald "Jerry" Wexler was a music journalist turned music producer, and was regarded as one of the major record industry players behind music from the 1950s through the 1980s...
of Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
teamed her up with white
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Billy Vera
Billy Vera
Billy Vera is an American singer, actor, writer and music historian.-Life and career:Vera was born in Riverside, California. He began his singing career in 1962 as a member of the Resolutions. He went on to write several songs throughout the early 1960s, writing for the likes of Barbara Lewis,...
to make the United States' first racially integrated duo, and The Sweet Inspirations, to record "Storybook Children". The record made #20 on the US R&B
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
and #54 pop
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. It was seen as the first interracial duo recording for a major label. However, Vera has stated that television executives denied them appearances together, believing (wrongly) that Vera and Clay were more than just singing partners, and, to add insult to injury, had the song performed on network TV by Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sandra Sinatra is an American singer and actress. She is the daughter of singer/actor Frank Sinatra, and remains best known for her 1966 signature hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'"....
and Lee Hazelwood.
After a further hit duet with Billy Vera, "Country Girl, City Man", which reached #41 R&B and #36 pop, and an album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
together, she returned to Stax Records
Stax Records
Stax Records is an American record label, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee.Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the name Stax Records was adopted in 1961. The label was a major factor in the creation of the Southern soul and Memphis soul music styles, also releasing gospel, funk, jazz, and...
. There she had further successes, this time with William Bell
William Bell (singer)
William Bell is an American soul singer and songwriter, and one of the architects of the Stax-Volt sound. As a performer, he is probably best known for 1961's "You Don't Miss Your Water" ; 1968's "Private Number" ; and 1976's "Tryin' To Love Two", Bell's only US top 40 hit, which also hit #1 on the...
. Their recording of "Private Number" reached #17 in the R&B chart and #75 on the U.S. pop chart, and had greater success in the UK where it reached #8 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. A follow-up, "My Baby Specializes", also made the R&B chart, before she returned to Atlantic for less successful recordings with Vera, and a final solo hit "Greatest Love" (# 45 R&B in 1970).
Subsequently, she worked as a backing vocalist
Backing vocalist
A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
with Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
, Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
, Van Morrison
Van Morrison
Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
, Donny Hathaway
Donny Hathaway
Donny Edward Hathaway was an American soul singer-songwriter and musician. Hathaway contracted with Atlantic Records in 1969 and with his first single for the Atco label, "The Ghetto, Part I" in early 1970, Rolling Stone magazine "marked him as a major new force in soul music."His collaborations...
and Wilson Pickett
Wilson Pickett
Wilson Pickett was an American R&B/Soul singer and songwriter.A major figure in the development of American soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, and frequently crossed over to the US Billboard Hot 100...
. Struck with a brain tumour in 1979, she returned to gospel music
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
shortly after her recovery, and sang occasionally with Cissy Houston's gospel choir in Newark
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
.
She was in a car accident, and died a few weeks later of complications at the age of 62.