Representative Albums: "A Hundred Pounds of Clay: The Best of Gene McDaniels," "A Hundred Pounds of Clay: The Best of Gene McDaniels," "A Hundred Pounds of Clay & Other Hits"
Representative Songs: "A Hundred Pounds of Clay," "Tower of Strength," "Chip Chip"
Biography
Gene McDaniels had some early-'60s success with a pop-flavored R&B style. Born in Kansas City, he sang in Omaha choirs during the '40s and attended the Omaha Conservatory of Music. McDaniels led his own band in the '50s, then signed with Liberty. He had a Top Ten pop and Top 20 R&B hit in 1961 with "A Hundred Pounds of Clay," but the follow-up single, "A Tower of Strength," was his biggest. It was number five on both the R&B and pop charts, and "Point of No Return" just missed each list's Top 20. He appeared in the 1962 film It's Trad, Dad, which contained his song "Another Tear Falls." McDaniels continued to record for Liberty until 1965, then switched to Atlantic in the early '70s. He scored as a writer with the composition "Feel Like Making Love," a number one pop and R&B hit for Roberta Flack in 1974. He also produced Merry Clayton and other performers. ~ Ron Wynn, All Music Guide
McDaniels grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and went on to have six Top 40hits in the Billboard Hot 100chart. The two that went into the Top 5 were 1961's "Tower of Strength" (#5 on the pop chart) and "A Hundred Pounds of Clay," the latter of which reached #3 on pop chart, and sold over one million records, earning gold disc status.[1]
In the late 1960s, McDaniels turned his attention to a more black consciousness form, and his best-known song in this genre was "Compared to What," a jazz-soulprotest song made famous (and into a hit) by Les McCann and Eddie Harris on their album, Swiss Movement, and also covered by Roberta Flack. McDaniels also attained the top spot on the chart as a songwriter. In 1974, Roberta Flack reached #1 with McDaniels' "Feel Like Makin' Love." (This is not to be confused with the Bad Companysong of the same name.)
Other songs that McDaniels recorded included "Point Of No Return" and "Spanish Lace." In the early 1970s, McDaniels recorded on the Atlanticlabel, which released the McDaniels albums, Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse and Outlaw.