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 There's
an old expression that says if you want to play the blues,
you have to pay your dues. Maybe that's why Delbert McClinton's
always sound so authentic. In a knock-around career that's
now spanned four decades, Delbert McClinton has been signed
and dropped by labels, written hits and stopped recording,
collaborated with some of the industry's most esteemed players,
and fallen victim to the usual temptations that are available
to musicians living on the road.
Still,
in an industry that increasingly caters to adolescent consumers,
McClinton has steadfastly continued to make real music for
adults, blending elements of R&B, gospel, blues, honky-tonk,
country and rock into a soulful musical gumbo stirred by
his powerfully distinctive, gritty voice.
The son
of a railroad switchman father and beautician mother, McClinton
has a history filled with proverbial highs and lows. One
of his earliest groups was a Ft. Worth, Texas house band
that shared the stage with blues greats such as Howlin'
Wolf and Sonny Boy Williamson. In the early 1960s, while
on tour in England, McClinton, a formidable blues harp player,
provided some harmonica tips to a young John Lennon, whose
up-and-coming band, The Beatles, was the opening act for
some of the shows.
During
the next three decades, McClinton garnered strong critical
praise and a growing, loyal following of fans. His albums
recorded for Capricorn during the 1970s were plagued by
the label's financial problems, but a Muscle Shoals Sound
release, The Jealous Kind -- distributed by Capitol -- yielded
a Top Ten hit, "Giving It Up For Your Love," in 1980. However,
after releasing his next album a year later, McClinton took
a hiatus from recording until 1988's Live From Austin, which
he recorded for Alligator Records. That record earned him
a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Blues Album the
following year.
McClinton
moved to Curb Records in 1990. His first album for the label,
I'm With You, was well received, but the following release,
1992's Never Been Rocked Enough, hit pay dirt. Featuring
guests such as Bonnie Raitt, Tom Petty and Melissa Etheridge,
the album yielded a duet with Raitt called "Good Man, Good
Woman," which won the Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Duo. McClinton
added another Grammy nomination - Best Country Vocal Collaboration
-- in 1993 for "Tell Me About It," a duet with Tanya Tucker.
Despite
his commercial success, McClinton's association with Curb
Records in the '90s was ultimately frustrating and disappointing.
In 1997 he moved to Rising Tide and released One of the
Fortunate Few, filled with songs written or co-written by
McClinton. Unfortunately, that label imploded just five
months after the album's release. During this period, McClinton
relocated from Ft. Worth to Nashville, where he - and partner
Gary Nicholson -- quickly established themselves as sought-after
songwriters whose tunes have been recorded by the likes
of Wynonna, Vince Gill, Lee Roy Parnell and Martina McBride,
among others.
 After
another self-imposed hiatus - this time three years -- McClinton
is now back with his new album, Nothing Personal, a confident,
self-financed work that allowed him to deliver the album
he wanted to make, not one dictated by a record label's
marketing department. In control of his career for perhaps
the first time, McClinton owns the masters to the album,
released by indie label New West Records, which licensed
the work.
The
approach seems to have worked: the album, which features
members of Bonnie Raitt's and Tom Petty's bands, Delbert's
road ensemble, and vocalists Iris DeMent and Bekka Bramlett,
broke the record for number of weeks #1 at Americana radio
and helped spawn guest appearances on "Saturday Night Live,"
"Letterman" and "Austin City Limits." If things go according
to plan, McClinton will soon be just singing, rather than
living, the blues.
During
a promotional tour in support of Nothing Personal, McClinton
invited StarPolish editorial director James K. Willcox to
his hotel to discuss his career, the problems with record
labels, and hosting the annual Delbert McClinton & Friends
Sandy Beaches Cruise every winter.
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