From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Mon Nov 4, 2002  6:25 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Delbert McClinton
 
DELBERT McCLINTON

Born 4 November 1940, Lubbock, Texas

Singer, songwriter, guitarist, harmonica player.
OK, so Delbert McClinton isn't really SAO material, but in my book
he is one of the more interesting "rootsy" male vocalists of the last
few decades. It's hard to categorize him : some call his music white
R&B, but he is more versatile than that.
Delbert was a behind-the-scenes influence for 20 years who finally
saw the charts in the 80s. He honed his craft working in a bar band,
the Straitjackets, backing visiting blues giants such as Sonny Boy
Williamson, Howlin' Wolf, Lightnin' Hopkins and Jimmy Reed.
McClinton was noted for his distinctive harmonica work on Bruce
Channel's "Hey Baby", a Top 3 single in the UK and # 1 in the US in
1962. Legend has it that on a tour of the UK with Channel, McClinton
met a young John Lennon and advised him on his harmonica technique,
resulting in the sound heard on Love Me Do. Delbert made his first
recordings as a member of the Ron-Dels (not to be confused with the
instrumental R&R group The Rondels), who had a # 97 hit in 1965 on
Smash (If You Really Want Me To Go, I'll Go). Relocating to Los Angeles
in the early '70s, McClinton emerged in a partnership with fellow Texan
Glen Clark, performing country/soul. They achieved a degree of artistic
success, releasing two albums before splitting, with Delbert embarking
on a solo career. Three ABC albums (1975-77) offered country, R&B and
southern-style funk, while a 1980 release, Keeper of the Flame, included
material written by Chuck Berry and Don Covay, as well as several
original songs, including loving re-makes of two compositions from the
Delbert and Glen period. Emmylou Harris scored a C&W number 1 with
McClinton's "Two More Bottles Of Wine" in 1978 and "B Movie Boxcar Blues"
was used in the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd film, The Blues Brothers. His
1980 album, The Jealous Kind, contained his solitary hit single, "Givin' It Up
For Your Love" which reached # 8 on the Billboard pop charts.
He is still very active and released a new CD this year, "Room To Breathe".
My Delbert McClinton Desert Island EP would have two up-tempo tracks on
Side One, Bright Side Of The Road and Rooster Blues and two slower
romantic songs on Side Two, Sandy Beaches and Lipstick Traces.

Website: http://delbert.com/biography.htm
More info: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/country/features/pbk_mcclinton.shtml

CD recommendation: The Ultimate Collection (Uni/Hit-O Records) 18 tracks.