Delbert Mcclinton

 
Delbert McClinton is a singer, songwriter and guitarist from Fort Worth, Texas. He sings in the blues rock genre but is also popular for his Americana and electric sound. Other than the guitar, for which he is primarily known for, he plays the harmonica and the piano as well. He has been a performer since 1962 in many different forms. He started out as a side man, and then worked as a band leader. He found his calling as a solo singer in 1972 and then went on to record over 25 albums, all through major labels. Throughout his career, his songs made it on top, being included on the “Billboard Hot 100”. His stint in country music also opened him up to the wider American audience. Arguably, his most popular single to date is “Tell Me About It” in which he collaborated with Tanya Tucker. This song was amongst the top 5 country tracks for a long time after its release. He was perhaps more successful as a blues musician—four of his albums went to number one on Billboard’s blues charts, another went to number 2. Because of his longevity in the music industry, he has received many honors and laurels, including “Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Fame”, a highly prestigious local award. He was inducted next to other music maestros with the likes of Cindy Walker and Lee Roy Parnell. He has also won a Grammy Award multiple times, one for his song with Bonnie Rait, and another for his record “The Cost of Living”. The singer continues to tour the country, selling Delbert McClinton tickets every year.
 
McClinton is originally from Lubbock, Texas, the town of his birth and where he spent part of childhood. When he was 11 years old, his family moved to Fort Worth, Texas, the place where he would spend the rest of his life, and the city which he now calls his hometown. Even as a young man, he had love for music. He started to perform at different competitions and later on joined a band called “The Staightjackets”. He would play different bars with them for various artists. They backed for a number of influential musicians of the time—Jimmy Reed, Lightin’ Hopkins and Sonny Boy Williamson II included. Apart from playing with the band, he made a few recordings which would often play on the local radio. This gave him the regional footing that he needed to push forwards and become an American celebrity. He made his nationwide debut in 1962 when he was featured in Bruce Channel’s track, “Hey Baby” as the harmonica player. This led to McClinton joining the singer on his tour to the United Kingdom. That was how he had the chance to meet John Lennon of “The Beatles”. In a famous incident, Lennon and McClinton had a long conversation where the latter taught the former the finer ways of playing harmonica to blues music.
 
It was during the 1970s that McClinton decided to try his hand as a singer as well. For this reason, he moved to Los Angles where he met Glen Cark who was also from Texas. Because of their similar backgrounds, they got along quite well, jamming together and creating a sound of their own; a mix of soul and country music. They decided to become a duo and gained a decent amount of popularity together. They released two albums as a group, both of which met with a considerable amount of success. Their partnership, however, only lasted so long and McClinton decided to go solo. He had enough footing as an artist already. Not only was he singing with Clark, he was also writing music for other people as well. He had composed “Two More Bottles of Wine” for Emmylou Harris, which went to number one, and had one of his tracks featured on “Briefcase Full of Blues”.
 
In more recent times, McClinton has released a compilation album consisting of his most popular songs. With his latest release, he is touring the country, selling Delbert McClinton tickets, still appearing on different television shows on the FOX network and on documentaries that feature the blues. His impressive repertoire and the number of years he has given to the music industry have made him one of the finest representatives of blues and rock today. There have not been many artists like him who have had the subtle crossover ability that he does whilst still remaining true to his original sound.