Otis Clay, born 11th February 1942 in Waxhaw, Mississippi.
Clay has shown an incredible dedication and commitment to his craft for well over 40 years, plying his trade with only intermittent commercial success throughout. Always a vocalist with a solid blues base to his delivery, he recently recorded in that vein for the Bullseye Blues record label and is revered throughout Europe and, particularly, Japan.
Clay cut his musical teeth with the gospel groups the Morning Glories, the Voices of Hope, and the Christian Travelers. He relocated to Chicago in 1957 and joined the Golden Jubilaires, the Blue Jays, and the Pilgrim Harmonizers. Clay also sang lead with the Gospel Songbirds, who recorded for Nashboro in 1964. Through 1965, he was with the Sensational Nightingales. From then on his phrasing and delivery have been rooted in the hard shouting gospel lead style he learnt throughout this period.
By the middle 1960s, Clay was ready to convert to secular music. That led him to producer Carl Davis, who got him signed with Okeh. From there, Clay moved to George Learner's One-Derful label, under the guidance of Harold Burrage and Cash McCall. In 1967, he had his first national R&B hit with McCall's 'That's How It Is (When You're In Love).
After one additional chart entry, "Lasting Love," Clay left One-Derful in 1968 for Cotillion, where he worked with Muscle Shoals producer Rick Hall on a scorching version of the Sir Douglas Quintet's 'She's About A Mover'. Later that year, Clay met the veteran Memphis producer Willie Mitchell and spent the next six years on Hi Records. His biggest hit for the label, 'Trying To Live My Life Without You', went to 24 on the R&B charts in 1972 and was covered nine years later in a far more successful version by Bob Seger (which, it has to be said, was a pretty good version in its own right!). Undoubtedly the most successful period of his career commercially and possibly his most creative, with wonderful performances such as the Betty Crutcher adulterous ballad 'Home Is Where The Heart Is', 'I Can't Take It', 'Precious Precious' and 'I Die A Little Each Day', all backed by one of the tightest rhythm sections in the business. These and many others can be found on quite a few compilations that showcase his Hi material, including "Otis Clay - The Hi Masters", a good single CD retrospective of the period. Alternatives include "The Best Of Otis Clay - The Hi Record Years"
In 1975, Clay returned to Chicago to begin his own label, Echo Records, which he used primarily for promoting himself with the local DJs. Clay later toured and became a huge cult figure in Japan, which prompted Sony to reissue his two Hi albums. He also briefly reunited with Willie Mitchell on the latter's short lived Waylo label.
Back in Chicago again, Clay performed with a thirteen-piece band and once again began to attract some attention. He signed with Rounder/Bullseye Records and recorded the storming "Soul Man - Live In Japan" in 1983. Although the Hi years were his most potent, he is still well regarded as Chicago's deep soul king. In Japan, he's something of a legend, hence the incredible reaction to his "Live In Japan" CDs.
His work on Bullseye Records includes "This Time Around" and the fine "I'll Treat You Right" (1992) - perhaps the latter lacks something when set against the best of his 70s Memphis output but it is still nonetheless a very strong collection and a sound example of his later work. In a way, Clay has become a standard bearer for the grittier blues soul hybrid and the Chicago soul tradition when the city is more readily recognised as the nerve centre of so many great blues records and home to a number of the great and legendary straight ahead blues performers.