O. B. McClinton
Encyclopedia
Obie Burnett McClinton was a Black country music
singer and songwriter
. The second-youngest child born to Rev. G. A. McClinton, a clergyman and farmer who owned his own 700 acres (2.8 km²) ranch in Mississippi, not far from Memphis, Tennessee
. Listening to Hank Williams as a child around the age of 9 or 10 sparked his interest in performing country music.
Before beginning his country music career, he tried to break into R&B
. Although he was unable to secure a recording contract as a soul singer himself, he did pen several songs recorded by James Carr
, including the title songs to Carr's albums You Got My Mind Messed Up
and A Man Needs a Woman
.
Known to refer to himself as the "Chocolate Cowboy", McClinton successfully marketed his album called The Only One on television long before the practice was commonplace. Featuring his first country chart single "Don't Let The Green Grass Fool You", a top 40 song in 1972, he considered it to be his finest work.
He died on September 23, 1987 after a year-long battle with abdominal cancer.
† "Oboe"
± "Oboe with The Keys"
‡ "O.B. McClinton (The Chocolate Cowboy)"
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
. The second-youngest child born to Rev. G. A. McClinton, a clergyman and farmer who owned his own 700 acres (2.8 km²) ranch in Mississippi, not far from Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
. Listening to Hank Williams as a child around the age of 9 or 10 sparked his interest in performing country music.
Before beginning his country music career, he tried to break into R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
. Although he was unable to secure a recording contract as a soul singer himself, he did pen several songs recorded by James Carr
James Carr (musician)
James Carr , was an American Rhythm & Blues and soul singer.Born to a Baptist preacher's family in Coahoma, Mississippi, Carr began singing in church and was performing in gospel groups and making tables on an assembly line in Memphis, Tennessee, when he began recording in the mid-'60s for Goldwax...
, including the title songs to Carr's albums You Got My Mind Messed Up
You Got My Mind Messed Up
You Got My Mind Messed Up is a 1966 album by James Carr.Although Carr is not as well known as his contemporaries such as Otis Redding or Aretha Franklin, "You Got My Mind Messed Up" has been cited as one of the top soul music albums of all time. Allmusic gave it 5 stars from two different reviewers...
and A Man Needs a Woman
A Man Needs a Woman
A Man Needs a Woman is a 1968 album by James Carr. This would be the last of Carr's albums until his come-back album Take Me to the Limit in 1991.After Carr's death in 2001, Kent Records re-released the album with several bonus tracks in 2003....
.
Known to refer to himself as the "Chocolate Cowboy", McClinton successfully marketed his album called The Only One on television long before the practice was commonplace. Featuring his first country chart single "Don't Let The Green Grass Fool You", a top 40 song in 1972, he considered it to be his finest work.
He died on September 23, 1987 after a year-long battle with abdominal cancer.
Albums
| Year | Album | US Country | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | O.B. McClinton Country | — | Enterprise |
| 1973 | Obie From Senatobie | — | Enterprise |
| 1973 | Live At Randy's Rodeo | — | Enterprise |
| 1974 | If You Loved Her That Way | — | Enterprise |
| 1981 | The Chocolate Cowboy | — | Lakeshore Music |
| 1986 | O.B. McClinton | — | Hometown |
| 1987 | The Only One | 55 | Epic |
| 1988 | Just For You | — | CBS/Hometown |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | Album | Label | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
CAN Country | ||||
| 1964 | "Tradin' Stamps"† | — | — | singles only | Beale Street |
| 1965 | "The Day The World Cried"† | — | — | Goldwax | |
| "She's Better Than You"± | — | — | |||
| 1966 | "Trying To Make It"† | — | — | ||
| 1971 | "Country Music, That's My Thing" | — | — | O.B. McClinton Country | Enterprise |
| "Bad Guys Don't Always Wear Black Hats" | — | — | |||
| 1972 | "Deep In The Heart Of Me" | — | — | ||
| "Six Pack of Trouble" | 70 | — | Obie From Senatobie | ||
| "Don't Let the Green Grass Fool You" | 37 | 72 | |||
| 1973 | "My Whole World Is Falling Down" | 36 | — | ||
| "I Wish It Would Rain" | 67 | — | |||
| "You Don't Miss Your Water" | — | — | singles only | ||
| "The Unluckiest Songwriter In Nashville" | — | — | Obie From Senatobie | ||
| 1974 | "Something Better" | 62 | — | If You Loved Her That Way | |
| "If You Loved Her That Way" | 86 | — | |||
| "Blind, Crippled and Crazy" | — | — | singles only | ||
| "Yours and Mine" | 77 | — | |||
| 1975 | "Little Boy Blue" | — | — | ||
| "Just In Case" | — | — | Mercury | ||
| 1976 | "It's So Good Lovin' You" | 100 | — | ||
| "Black Speck" | — | — | |||
| "Let's Just Celebrate The Temporary" | — | — | |||
| 1977 | "Country Roots" | — | — | ABC/Dot | |
| "Catfish Bates" | — | — | |||
| "Talk To My Children's Mama" | — | — | |||
| 1978 | "Hello, This Is Anna" (w/ Peggy Jo Adams) | 90 | — | Epic | |
| "Natural Love" | 82 | — | |||
| 1979 | "The Real Thing" | 79 | — | ||
| "Soap" | 58 | — | |||
| 1980 | "Not Exactly Free"‡ | 62 | — | The Chocolate Cowboy | Sunbird |
| 1984 | "Honky Tonk Tan" | 69 | — | Just For You | Moonshine |
| 1987 | "Turn the Music On" | 61 | — | The Only One | Epic |
| "Still A Wanted Man" | — | — |
† "Oboe"
± "Oboe with The Keys"
‡ "O.B. McClinton (The Chocolate Cowboy)"