Otis Clay

Otis Clay
Otis Clay (1997)
Background information
Born	February 11, 1942 (1942-02-11) (age 69)
Origin	Waxhaw, Bolivar County, Mississippi, United States
Genres	Soul, R&B, gospel
Occupations	Singer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1957–present
Labels	One-Derful Records Cotillion Records Hi Records Bullseye Blues Blind Pig Records Echo Records
Website	otisclay.net

Otis Clay (born February 11, 1942, Waxhaw, Bolivar County, Mississippi, United States) is an American R&B and soul singer, who started in gospel music.

Life and career

Clay was born in rural Mississippi to a musical family, who moved in 1953 to Muncie, Indiana. After singing with local gospel group, the Voices of Hope, he returned to Mississippi to sing with the Christian Travelers, before settling in Chicago in 1957. There, he joined a series of gospel vocal groups including the Golden Jubilaires, the Famous Blue Jay Singers, the Holy Wonders, and the Pilgrim Harmonizers, before making his first solo secular recordings in 1962. They were unissued, and Clay joined the Gospel Songbirds, who recorded in Nashville in 1964 and who also included Maurice Dollison who sang R&B under the name Cash McCall, and then the Sensational Nightingales.^[1]

In 1965 Clay signed with One-derful! Records in Chicago, to make secular recordings.^[2] After releasing a series of gospel-tinged soul records, his first hit came in 1967 with "That's How It Is (When You're In Love)", which reached # 34 on the R&B chart, followed by "A Lasting Love" (# 48 R&B).^[3] In 1968 the record company folded and his contract was bought by Atlantic Records, who launched their subsidiary Cotillion label with Clay's version of the Sir Douglas Quintet hit, "She's About A Mover", produced at the FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals. The record became Clay's biggest pop hit, reaching # 97 on the Hot 100 (# 47 R&B). However, follow-ups on Cotillion, including "Hard Working Woman" produced by Syl Johnson, and "Is It Over?" produced by Willie Mitchell in Memphis, were less successful.^[1][3]

Clay moved to Mitchell's Hi Records in 1971, and made many of his best known soul blues records for the label. His biggest hit came with "Trying To Live My Life Without You," a # 24 R&B hit in late 1972, which he followed up with "If I Could Reach Out". "Trying To Live My Life Without You" was later covered by Bob Seger, whose version made # 5 on the pop chart in 1981.^[4] After several more Hi singles and the album I Can't Take It, Clay moved to Kayvette Records, where he had his last national hit single in 1977, "All Because Of Your Love" (# 44 R&B).^[1][3] He later recorded for the Elka and Rounder labels, as well as his own Echo Records for whom he recorded the original version of "The Only Way is Up" in 1980.

He has remained a popular live act in Europe and Japan, as well as the US, and has recorded two live albums, Soul Man: Live in Japan and Respect Yourself, recorded live at the Lucerne Blues Festival in Switzerland.^[1][5] In the 1990s he also recorded two soul albums for Bullseye Blues: I'll Treat You Right and the Willie Mitchell-produced This Time Around. In 2007, he recorded the gospel album Walk a Mile in My Shoes.^[4]

He has been a nominee for a Grammy for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance. As a resident of Chicago's West Side, he is actively involved in community-based economic and cultural initiatives, including the development of The Harold Washington Cultural Center.^[5]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Biographical note at Blind Pig Records
2. ^ Shades of Blue biography
3. ^ ^{a b c} Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 83. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Biography by Bill Dahl at Allmusic.com
5. ^ ^{a b} Biography at Otis Clay website

External links

• Official website

Persondata
Name	Clay, Otis
Alternative names
Short description	American R&B and soul singer
Date of birth	February 11, 1942
Place of birth	Waxhaw, Bolivar County, Mississippi, United States
Date of death
Place of death