W. C. Clark
Encyclopedia
W. C. Clark is an American
blues
musician. He is known as the "Godfather of Austin Blues" for his influence on the Austin
, Texas
blues scene since the late 1960s.
in the choir as a young boy. In the early 1950s at age 14 he first learned the guitar
, and then later experimented with blues and jazz
on the bass guitar
.
By the early 1960s, he began attracting the attention of such Texas blues performers as Big Joe Turner
, Albert Collins
and Little Johnny Taylor
.
In the late 1960s, he joined the R&B
Joe Tex
Band, and left Austin, where he thought the R&B scene had died. But during a tour with the band back through Austin, Clark sat in on bass with younger Austin locals Jimmie Vaughan
and Paul Ray at an East Austin club. After the session playing with Vaughan and Ray, Clark changed his mind about Austin.
He left Joe Tex two weeks later and moved back to Austin, where he then remained to guide and inspire numerous Austin musicians and lay the foundation of the prolific Austin blues and rock scene of the 1970s and later.
In the early 1970s, Clark formed an Austin blues quintet named Triple Threat Revue, with members Stevie Ray Vaughan
and Lou Ann Barton
. He also formed several bands with various names, which also included as members Jimmie Vaughan and Angela Strehli
.
In 1975, Clark formed the W. C. Clark Blues Revue. Through the 1980s that band played venues with international greats such as James Brown
, B.B. King, Albert King
, Freddy King, Sam and Dave, Elvin Bishop
and Bobby Blue Bland.
By the early 1980s Clark had taught future rock prodigy brothers Charlie Sexton
and Will Sexton how to play guitar, while they were still young boys.
In 1990, Clark appeared on the PBS
music television program Austin City Limits
, with his group W. C. Clark Blues Revue, from a show taped October 10, 1989, in celebration of his 50th birthday, along with Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmie Vaughan and Kim Wilson
of The Fabulous Thunderbirds
, Lou Ann Barton, Angela Strehli and his former protege, Will Sexton.
In March 1997, on the eve of Austin's South by Southwest
music festival, as Clark and his band were returning from a show in Milwaukee, their van, driven by Clark, veered off the highway and down a steep embankment near Sherman, Texas
, injuring his arm and killing his fiancee Brenda Jasek and his drummer, Pedro Alcoser, Jr. The album Lover's Plea followed, containing the single "Are You Here, Are You There?" in memory of Jasek.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
musician. He is known as the "Godfather of Austin Blues" for his influence on the Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
blues scene since the late 1960s.
Biography
Clark was born and raised in Austin, Texas, United States, where he sang gospel musicGospel 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....
in the choir as a young boy. In the early 1950s at age 14 he first learned the guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, and then later experimented with blues and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
on the bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
.
By the early 1960s, he began attracting the attention of such Texas blues performers as Big Joe Turner
Big Joe Turner
Big Joe Turner was an American blues shouter from Kansas City, Missouri. According to the songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him." Although he came to his greatest fame in the 1950s with his pioneering rock and roll recordings, particularly "Shake, Rattle and...
, Albert Collins
Albert Collins
Albert Collins was an American electric blues guitarist and singer whose recording career began in the 1960s in Houston and whose fame eventually took him to stages across the US, Europe, Japan and Australia...
and Little Johnny Taylor
Little Johnny Taylor
Little Johnny Taylor was an American blues and soul singer, who made recordings throughout the 1960s and 1970s, and continued public performances through the 1980s and 1990s....
.
In the late 1960s, he joined the 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...
Joe Tex
Joe Tex
Joseph Arrington, Jr. , better known as "Joe Tex", was an American Southern soul singer-songwriter, most popular during the 1960s and 1970s...
Band, and left Austin, where he thought the R&B scene had died. But during a tour with the band back through Austin, Clark sat in on bass with younger Austin locals Jimmie Vaughan
Jimmie Vaughan
James Lawrence "Jimmie" Vaughan is an American blues rock guitarist and singer from Dallas, Texas, United States. He is the older brother of the late Stevie Ray Vaughan....
and Paul Ray at an East Austin club. After the session playing with Vaughan and Ray, Clark changed his mind about Austin.
He left Joe Tex two weeks later and moved back to Austin, where he then remained to guide and inspire numerous Austin musicians and lay the foundation of the prolific Austin blues and rock scene of the 1970s and later.
In the early 1970s, Clark formed an Austin blues quintet named Triple Threat Revue, with members Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stephen Ray "Stevie Ray" Vaughan was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan and frontman for Double Trouble, a band that included bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. Born in Dallas, Vaughan moved to Austin at the age of 17 and...
and Lou Ann Barton
Lou Ann Barton
Lou Ann Barton is an American blues singer based, out of Austin, Texas since the 1970s.-Biography:...
. He also formed several bands with various names, which also included as members Jimmie Vaughan and Angela Strehli
Angela Strehli
Angela Strehli is an American electric blues singer and songwriter. She is also a Texas blues historian and impresario. Despite a sporadic recording career, Strehli spends time each year performing in Europe, the US and Canada.-Biography:In the early 1960s, Strehli learned the harmonica and bass...
.
In 1975, Clark formed the W. C. Clark Blues Revue. Through the 1980s that band played venues with international greats such as James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
, B.B. King, Albert King
Albert King
Albert King was an American blues guitarist and singer, and a major influence in the world of blues guitar playing.-Career:...
, Freddy King, Sam and Dave, Elvin Bishop
Elvin Bishop
Elvin Bishop is an American blues and rock and roll musician and guitarist.-Career:Bishop was born in Glendale, California, and grew up on a farm near Elliott, Iowa. His family moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, when he was ten years old...
and Bobby Blue Bland.
By the early 1980s Clark had taught future rock prodigy brothers Charlie Sexton
Charlie Sexton
Charles Wayne Sexton is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter best known for the 1985 hit Beat's So Lonely and as the guitarist for Bob Dylan's backing band from 1999 to 2002 and since 2009...
and Will Sexton how to play guitar, while they were still young boys.
In 1990, Clark appeared on the PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
music television program Austin City Limits
Austin City Limits
Austin City Limits is an American public television music program recorded live in Austin, Texas by Public Broadcasting Service Public television member station KLRU, and broadcast on many PBS stations around the United States...
, with his group W. C. Clark Blues Revue, from a show taped October 10, 1989, in celebration of his 50th birthday, along with Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmie Vaughan and Kim Wilson
Kim Wilson
Kim Wilson is an American blues singer and harmonica player. He is best known as the lead vocalist and frontman for The Fabulous Thunderbirds on two hit songs of the 1980s; "Tuff Enuff", and "Wrap It Up."-Career:...
of The Fabulous Thunderbirds
The Fabulous Thunderbirds
The Fabulous Thunderbirds are an American, Grammy-nominated Blues rock band, formed in 1974.-Career:After performing for several years in the Austin, Texas blues scene, the band won a recording contract with Takoma/Chrysalis Records, and later on signed with Epic Records.Their first two albums,...
, Lou Ann Barton, Angela Strehli and his former protege, Will Sexton.
In March 1997, on the eve of Austin's South by Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
music festival, as Clark and his band were returning from a show in Milwaukee, their van, driven by Clark, veered off the highway and down a steep embankment near Sherman, Texas
Sherman, Texas
Sherman is a city in and the county seat of Grayson County, Texas, United States. The city's estimated population as of 2009 was 38,407. It is also one of two principal cities in the Sherman-Denison Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, injuring his arm and killing his fiancee Brenda Jasek and his drummer, Pedro Alcoser, Jr. The album Lover's Plea followed, containing the single "Are You Here, Are You There?" in memory of Jasek.
Discography
- 1987 Something for Everybody (Drippin' DR-1001) (LP; under the name W.C. Clark Blues Revue)
- 1994 Heart Of Gold (Black Top BT-1103)
- 1995 Texas Soul (Black Top BT-1131)
- 1998 Lover's Plea (Black Top BT-1145)
- 2002 From Austin With Soul (Alligator ALCD 4884)
- 2004 Deep In The Heart (Alligator ALCD 4897)