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Delbert McClinton

 
Quotes By: Delbert Mcclinton

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"It ain't what you eat, but the way how you chew it."

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Artist: Delbert McClinton
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Delbert McClinton

Similar Artists:

Influenced By:

Followers:

Marc Broussard, Coastline Band

Performed Songs By:

Joe Rock, Jerry Lynn Williams, Zelma Redding, Gary Nicholson, John Jarvis, Glen Clark, Jeffrey Bowen, Troy Seals, Pat McLaughlin, Dennis Linde, Bobby Charles, Otis Redding

Worked With:

Reggie Young, Reese Wynans, Bob Wray, Don Was, Harvey Thompson, Harry Stinson, Billy Sanders, Charles Rose, Tom Roady, Michael Rhodes, Jonell Mosser, Jim Horn, David Hood, Robert Harwell, Vince Gill, Stephen Bruton, Barry Beckett, Tracy Nelson, Danny Gatton, Lee Roy Parnell

Formal Connection With:

See Delbert McClinton Lyrics
  • Born: November 04, 1940, Lubbock, TX
  • Active: '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s, 2000s
  • Genres: Blues
  • Instrument: Harmonica, Vocals
  • Representative Albums: "The Ultimate Collection," "Victim of Life's Circumstances/Genuine Cowhide," "The Best of Delbert McClinton"
  • Representative Songs: "Tell Me About It," "Two More Bottles of Wine," "Shaky Ground"

Biography

The venerable Delbert McClinton is a legend among Texas roots music aficionados, not only for his amazing longevity, but for his ability to combine country, blues, soul, and rock & roll as if there were no distinctions between any of them in the best time-honored Texas tradition. A formidable harmonica player long before he recorded as a singer, McClinton's career began in the late '50s, yet it took him nearly two decades to evolve into a bona fide solo artist. A critics' darling and favorite of his peers, McClinton never really became a household name, but his resurgence in the '90s helped him earn more widespread respect from both the public at large and the Grammy committee.

Delbert McClinton was born in Lubbock, TX, on November 4, 1940, and grew up in Fort Worth. Discovering the blues in his teenage years, McClinton quickly became an accomplished harmonica player and found plenty of work on the local club scene, where musicians often made their living by playing completely different styles of music on different nights of the week. His most prominent early gig was with the Straitjackets, the house band at a blues/R&B club; it gave McClinton the opportunity to play harp behind blues legends like Howlin' Wolf, Jimmy Reed, Sonny Boy Williamson II, and Bobby "Blue" Bland. In 1960, McClinton's cover of Williamson's "Wake Up Baby" made him the first white artist to have a record played on the local blues station KNOK. McClinton's harmonica was prominently featured on Fort Worth native Bruce Channel's 1962 number one smash "Hey! Baby"; brought along for Channel's tour of England, McClinton wound up giving harp lessons to a young John Lennon. Upon returning to the States, McClinton founded a group called the Rondells (sometimes listed as the Ron-Dels), which had a minor chart single in 1965 with "If You Really Want Me to, I'll Go." Although the Rondells recorded for several different labels, wider success eluded them and McClinton spent much of the '60s making the rounds of the Texas club and roadhouse circuit, where his reputation kept growing steadily.

In 1972, McClinton moved to Los Angeles, where he teamed up with Fort Worth singer/songwriter Glen Clark as Delbert & Glen. Signed to the small Atlantic affiliate Clean Records, Delbert & Glen recorded two albums in a mostly country-rock vein, 1972's Delbert & Glen and 1973's Subject to Change. Neither sold well and McClinton returned to Texas in 1974, where he was able to land a solo deal with ABC on the strength of his emerging songwriting talent. His first solo album, Victim of Life's Circumstances, was released in 1975; although he was marketed as part of the emerging progressive country movement, McClinton's music was too indebted to blues and R&B to neatly fit that tag. Genuine Cowhide (1976) and Love Rustler (1977) followed to highly positive reviews, if not much commercial attention, and other artists started to mine McClinton's catalog for material; in 1978, Emmylou Harris took his "Two More Bottles of Wine" all the way to the top of the country charts. A switch to Capricorn produced two albums, 1978's Second Wind and 1979's Keeper of the Flame; the former featured his original version of "B Movie Boxcar Blues," later a part of the Blues Brothers repertoire. When Capricorn folded, he moved to the Muscle Shoals Sound imprint and his 1980 label debut, The Jealous Kind, gave him his first Top 40 single in "Givin' It Up for Your Love," which hit on both the pop and country charts.

Unfortunately, Muscle Shoals Sound folded not long after McClinton's follow-up, 1981's Plain From the Heart, and he subsequently took a long hiatus from recording, concentrating instead on live performances. His next prominent appearance was an acclaimed vocal turn on guitarist Roy Buchanan's 1986 album Dancing on the Edge; that guest appearance helped land him a deal with Alligator. In 1989, McClinton issued the comeback album Live From Austin, which earned him his first Grammy nomination (for Best Contemporary Blues Album). He signed with Curb in 1990, debuting that year with I'm With You, and moved to Nashville, where he soon became a much sought-after songwriter (often in tandem with new partner Gary Nicholson) in the contemporary country field. Over the next few years, McClinton placed material with stars like Wynonna, Vince Gill, Lee Roy Parnell, and Martina McBride, among others. His biggest break, though, came when he was tapped for a duet with Bonnie Raitt on 1991's Luck of the Draw, the follow-up to her much-lauded comeback Nick of Time. The result, "Good Man, Good Woman," brought McClinton his first Grammy for Best Rock Vocal, Duo or Group, which suddenly raised his profile tenfold. He capitalized with 1992's Never Been Rocked Enough, which featured not only his duet with Raitt, but also guest appearances from Tom Petty and Melissa Etheridge, and his biggest hit single since 1980, "Every Time I Roll the Dice." Later that year, he hit the country charts with another duet, this time with Tanya Tucker on "Tell Me About It." The song later appeared on McClinton's next album, 1993's simply titled Delbert McClinton.

Despite enjoying the greatest commercial success of his career, McClinton's relationship with Curb was beginning to sour. His next two albums were released to comparatively little attention and he finally extricated himself from his contract to sign with Rising Tide, a small label associated with Universal. Released in 1997, One of the Fortunate Few was designed to restore McClinton to his early-'90s stature, featuring an array of guest stars, including Vince Gill, Patty Loveless, Lyle Lovett, Pam Tillis, B.B. King, John Prine, and Mavis Staples. It was still definitely McClinton's show, however, and as such it received mostly complimentary reviews; it also sold more than 250,000 copies before Rising Tide went belly-up. McClinton next returned in 2001 on the Austin, TX-based New West imprint with another acclaimed effort, Nothing Personal. It proved to be one of the most popular recordings of his career, gaining substantial airplay on Americana radio and ending up one of the year's biggest hits on Billboard's blues chart; it also won him another Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album. The impressive Cost of Living was released in 2005 on New West Records. Acquired Taste followed in 2009. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
Discography: Delbert McClinton
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Room to Breathe

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Live

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One of the Fortunate Few

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Genuine Rhythm & the Blues

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Don't Let Go: The Collection

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Rockin' Blues

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Delbert and Glen Sessions 1972-1973

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Nothing Personal

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Second Wind/Keeper of the Flame

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I'm with You/Never Been Rocked Enough

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Wikipedia: Delbert McClinton
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Delbert McClinton
Born November 4, 1940 (1940-11-04) (age 68)
Origin Lubbock, Texas, USA
Genres Blues-rock, blues, rock, country
Occupations Singer-songwriter, musician
Instruments Vocals, guitar, piano, harmonica
Years active 1972-present
Labels Clean
ABC
Mercury
Capitol
MCA
Alligator
Curb
Intermedia
Polygram
Rising Tide
New West
Direct Source
Associated acts Tanya Tucker
Website http://www.delbert.com

Delbert McClinton (born 4 November 1940, in Lubbock, Texas) is a Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter and musician. Active as a side-man since at least 1962 and as a band leader since 1972, he has recorded several major-label albums, and has charted singles on the Billboard Hot 100, Mainstream Rock Tracks, and Hot Country Songs charts. His highest-peaking single was "Tell Me About It", a 1992 duet with Tanya Tucker which reached #4 on the country charts.

Contents

Career

Delbert McClinton honed his craft working in a bar band, The Straitjackets, backing visiting blues giants such as Sonny Boy Williamson II, Howlin' Wolf, Lightnin' Hopkins, and Jimmy Reed. He made his first recordings as a member of the Ron-Dels and was noted for his distinctive harmonica work on Bruce Channel's 1962 hit "Hey! Baby." A persistent urban legend holds that McClinton taught John Lennon to play the harmonica, resulting in the sound heard on The Beatles' hit "Love Me Do"; the two did meet, but Lennon already knew how to play the harmonica. Delbert is also an accomplished pianist.

Relocating to Los Angeles in the early 1970s, McClinton emerged in a partnership with fellow Texan Glen Clark, performing a combination of country and soul music. They achieved a degree of artistic success, releasing two albums before splitting, with McClinton embarking on a solo career. Emmylou Harris had a number 1 hit in 1978 with his composition "Two More Bottles of Wine," and McClinton's "B Movie Boxcar Blues" was covered on the first album by The Blues Brothers, Briefcase Full of Blues. His 1980 album, The Jealous Kind, contained his only Top 40 hit single "Givin' It Up for Your Love", which peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100.

After a rest period during much of the '80s, McClinton made a welcome return in 1989 with the fiery album Live From Austin, taped during an Austin City Limits appearance. He won a 1991 Grammy for his duet with Bonnie Raitt, "Good Man, Good Woman", and reached the Top 5 of the country charts with the Tanya Tucker duet, "Tell Me About It." He recorded the opening title song "Weatherman" for the Bill Murray film Groundhog Day. The fledgling label Rising Tide offered One of the Fortunate Few in 1997, but the label quickly folded. In addition to releasing two new studio albums in the early 2000s, New West Records issued Delbert McClinton Live in 2003, a compilation of songs from throughout his career.

In 2006 McClinton won a Grammy Award for his album The Cost of Living in the Best Contemporary Blues Album category. Mel Fitzmundson was present to accept the award in his absence due to a broken leg.

McClinton was also a judge for the 4th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.[1]

McClinton is the star of the musical documentary: "Rocking the Boat: A Musical Conversation and Journey" by Hawaii-based film maker Jay Curlee. The feature includes interviews and performances by McClinton, Marcia Ball, Rodney Crowell, Stephen Bruton, Wayne Toups, Jimmy Hall, Paul Thorn, Jeffrey Steele, Mel Fitzmundson and Teresa James. Sometime author, musician, sheriff and 2006 Texas gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman also stars. The film was selected by the 2007 USA Film Festival and 2007 Breckenridge Festival of Film, won Best Documentary Feature at the 2007 Woods Hole Film Festival and won Best Music Documentary at the 2007 Lone Star International Film Festival.

Discography

Studio albums

Year Album Chart Positions Label
US Blues US Country US US Indie
1972 Delbert & Glen Clean
1973 Subject to Change
1975 Victim of Life's Circumstances ABC
1976 Genuine Cowhide
1977 Love Rustler 49
1978 Second Wind Mercury
1979 Keeper of the Flame 146
1981 Plain from the Heart 181 Capitol
1987 Honky Tonkin' MCA
1989 Honky Tonkin' Alligator
Live from Austin
1990 I'm with You Curb
1992 Never Been Rocked Enough 118
1993 Feelin' Alright Intermedia
Delbert McClinton Curb
1994 Shot from the Saddle Mercury
Honky Tonk 'n Blues MCA
1995 Let the Good Times Roll
1997 One of the Fortunate Few 2 15 116 Rising Tide
2001 Nothing Personal 1 20 103 3 New West
2002 Room to Breathe 1 12 84 3
2003 Live 44 31
2005 Cost of Living 1 14 105 16
2006 Live from Austin, TX
2007 Rockin' Blues Direct Source
2009 Acquired Taste 1 131 23 New West

Compilations

Year Album Label
1978 Very Early Delbert McClinton Lecam
1989 The Best of Delbert McClinton Curb
1994 Classics, Volume 1 Capitol
Classics, Vol. 2: Plain from the Heart Curb
1995 Great Songs: Come Together
1999 Crazy Cajun Recordings Edsel
The Ultimate Collection Hip-O
2000 Don't Let Go: The Collection Music Club
Genuine Rhythm & the Blues Hip-O
2003 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection:
The Best of Delbert McClinton
MCA
2006 The Definitive Collection Hip-O

Singles

Year Single Chart Positions Album
US US Country US MSR CAN CAN Country
1972 "I Received a Letter" (credited to Delbert & Glen) 90 Delbert & Glen
1980 "Giving It Up for Your Love" 8 10 The Jealous Kind
1981 "Shotgun Rider" 70 Plain from the Heart
1990 "I'm with You" I'm with You
1992 "Every Time I Roll the Dice" 13 40 Never Been Rocked Enough
1995 "Come Together" Come Together: America Salutes the Beatles
1997 "Sending Me Angels" 65 92 One of the Fortunate Few
2001 "When Rita Leaves" Nothing Personal
2002 "Same Kind of Crazy" Room to Breathe
2002 "Lone Star Blues"
2005 "One of the Fortunate Few" Cost of Living
"I Had a Real Good Time"
2006 "Midnight Communion"
2009 "Starting a Rumor"A Acquired Taste

Guest singles

Year Single Artist Chart Positions Album
US Country CAN Country
1992 "Tell Me About It" Tanya Tucker 4 3 Can't Run from Yourself
  • ACurrent single.

References

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