Guy Clark

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Guy Clark
Birth name Guy Clark
Born November 6, 1941 (1941-11-06) (age 68)
Monahans, Texas, USA
Genres Country
Occupations Musician, Singer-songwriter, producer
Instruments Guitar, vocals
Years active 1970s–present
Labels RCA, Sugar Hill, Elektra, Dualtone Records
Website www.guyclark.com

Guy Clark (born 6 November 1941) is an American country music artist. In his career, he has released more than twenty albums, primarily on major labels. He has also written singles for other artists, including Ricky Skaggs, Steve Wariner and Rodney Crowell.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Clark was born in Monahans, Texas.[1] His early musical influences were the Spanish music and songs he heard in West Texas.[2]

[edit] Career

He is an accomplished luthier and often plays his own guitars.[3] He achieved success as a songwriter with Jerry Jeff Walker’s recordings of "L.A. Freeway" and "Desperados Waiting For A Train". Artists such as Johnny Cash, David Allan Coe, Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, Steve Wariner, Brad Paisley, Alan Jackson, Rodney Crowell and The Highwaymen have recorded Clark’s songs.[2] Emmylou Harris has accompanied him on several recordings, particularly his own version of "Desperados Waiting For A Train" on his first album, Old No. 1, released in 1975.

Clark has been a mentor to such other singers as Steve Earle and Rodney Crowell. He organized Earle's first job as a writer in Nashville. In the 1970s, the Clarks' home in Nashville was an open house for songwriters and musicians and it features in the video Heartworn Highways, an evocation of the songwriter scene in Nashville at that time.[citation needed]

Numerous artists have charted with Clark-penned tunes. In 1982, Bobby Bare made it to the Country Top Twenty with Clark’s "New Cut Road". That same year, bluegrass leader Ricky Skaggs hit No. 1 with Clark’s "Heartbroke", a song that permanently established his reputation as an ingenious songwriter. Among the many others who have covered Clark's songs are Vince Gill, who took "Oklahoma Borderline" to the Top Ten in 1985; the Highwaymen, who introduced "Desperados Waiting For A Train" to a new generation that same year; and John Conlee, whose interpretation of “The Carpenter” rode into the Top Ten in 1987.

Steve Wariner sideswiped #l with his Top Five Clark cover "Baby I’m Yours" in 1988, and the same year Asleep at the Wheel charted with his "Blowin’ Like a Bandit". Crowell was Clark’s co-writer on "She’s Crazy for Leavin’", which in 1989 became the third of five straight #l hits for Crowell. Brad Paisley and Alan Jackson cover Clark’s "Out in the Parkin' Lot" on Paisley's Time Well Wasted CD. Jimmy Buffett has covered Clark’s "Boats to Build" and "Cinco de Mayo in Memphis".[1] Clark credits Townes Van Zandt as being a major influence on his songwriting. They were best friends for many years until Van Zandt's death in 1997,[1] and since then Clark has included one of Van Zandt's compositions on most of his albums. In 1995, he recorded a live album with Van Zandt and Steve Earle, Together at the Bluebird Cafe, which was released in October 2001. Other live material can be found on his album Keepers.

Clark's latest album, released in 2006, is Workbench Songs. The album was nominated for "Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album" at the Grammy Awards. He also toured with Lyle Lovett, Joe Ely, and John Hiatt in 2007.

In May 2008, Clark cancelled four concerts after breaking his leg.[4] After two months on crutches, he began to perform again on July 4 at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, DC where he appeared with Verlon Thompson. On June 20, 2009, Clark announced a new album entitled "Somedays the Song Writes You" is due on September 22, 2009, it will feature originals along with a Van Zandt song entitled "If I Needed You".

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

Year Album Chart Positions Label
US Country US Heat US Indie
1975 Old No. 1 41 RCA
1976 Texas Cookin' 48
1978 Guy Clark Warner
1981 The South Coast of Texas
1982 Best of Guy Clark
1983 Better Days 48
Guy Clark – Greatest Hits RCA
1988 Old Friends Sugar Hill
1992 Boats to Build Asylum
1995 Dublin Blues
Craftsman Rounder/Philo
1997 Keepers Sugar Hill
The Essential Guy Clark RCA
1999 Cold Dog Soup Sugar Hill
2001 Together at the Bluebird Cafe
(with Townes Van Zandt and Steve Earle)		 American Originals
2002 The Dark 46 Sugar Hill
2006 Workbench Songs 74 36 Dualtone
2007 Americana Master Series:
Best of the Sugar Hill Years		 Sugar Hill
Live from Austin, TX New West
Hindsight 21-20: Anthology 1975-1995 Raven
2008 The Platinum Collection Warner
2009 Somedays the Song Writes You 59 13 39 Dualtone

[edit] Singles

Year Single US Country Album
1979 "Fools for Each Other" 96 Guy Clark
1981 "The Partner Nobody Chose" 38 The South Coast of Texas
1983 "Homegrown Tomatoes" 42 Better Days

[edit] Family

He is married to songwriter and artist Susanna Clark.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Clark finds a set of Keepers. Country Standard Time. Jeffrey B. Remz, June 1997. Accessed January 8, 2009.
  2. ^ a b No Lonesome Tune. Austin Chronicle. Accessed on November 10, 2008
  3. ^ Article on Guy Clark
  4. ^ Official site of Guy Clark featuring lyrics, tickets, bio, pictures, photos, video, songwriter

[edit] External links

Awards
Preceded by
Cowboy Jack Clement		 AMA Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting
2005		 Succeeded by
Rodney Crowell
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Clark"