Clayton
Love
 Clayton
Love is a musical blessing to St. Louis, one of so many we are fortunate
to claim as our own. Clayton agreed to be interviewed recently down at
BB's Jazz, Blues, and Soups. As owner Mark O' Shaugnessy cued up some
appropriate 1950's Ray Charles for background, Clayton spoke of his life
and love of music, and his rich musical history. As elegant as he is talented,
Mr. Clayton Love epitomizes all that is wonderful about the state of blues
here in St. Louis. Please welcome Clayton Love to this issue of the Bluesnet!
To get acquainted with this remarkable musician, track down a copy of
"Rockin 88's" on the Modern label out of New York. ( features hometowners
Jimmy Vaughn, Vernon Guy, Johnnie Johnson, and Tom Maloney - who also
acted as producer)
BN: On behalf of the Bluesnet, thanks for taking the time to come
down to BB's to spend a few minutes with us.
CL: That's no problem (laughs). I want to keep from getting too bored
and inactive, and you just made my day!
BN: Glad to here that! You happen to be a personal favorite, just
happen to have you on a CD at home, "The Rockin' 88's".
CL: That's a record that never got the exposure it should have got.
I travel around, I was down south about three weeks ago and so many people
said "I heard this CD, I have to get it". People from Chicago said "how
do I get it?" I cannot get the proper connections because of reasons I
don't want to go through, but it's not being distributed.
BN: That's too bad, it's a great CD!
CL: It is! In respect to all the artists on the CD, I think all of
us made an adequate contribution, one that people should hear.
BN: We agree! Let me start out with a basic question, where were you
born?
CL: Down in Clarksdale, Ms. We call that one of the hottest beds of
blues down throughout history. It's just now beginning to get exposure,
that's due to a number of things....people are beginning to look at Ms!
By them having to come to Tunica, Ms. to start another venture with the
gambling boats, they've discovered all these artists down there, in my
hometown. Down in my hometown, in Clarksdale, they've got this tremendous
museum down there, a blues museum (the Delta Blues Museum).
BN: Yes, it's well worth the trip! (and it's 30 min from the King
Biscuit Blues Fest)
CL: Yeah, Sonny Boy Williamson was hot back in my days when I was
a youngster - see, I'm telling my age now! Nowadays you can drive across
the river from Ms. to Ark., but we had to go across on a ferry boat at
that time. It was interesting, but it just goes to show you how time changes
things. We're getting a lot of exposure down home that we thought was
overdue anyway.
BN: Is Clarksdale where you grew up?
CL: Yes, but I was born in a little town called Lamberts, Ms. My father
was kind of a properous fellow, until he lost it all in the stock market
crash of 1932. I think that affected him so, he died about a year later
when he caught pneumonia. That was a depressing thing in his life, he
lost everything basically. My mother told him to go up to the bank and
draw out our savings, and there was a lock on the door. And the day before,
it was open, you see. People were jumping off buildings, commiting suicide,
it was tragic.
BN: It was a dark time for America. Did it influence your love of
music?
CL: I've loved music ever since I can remember. I was aware of music
because my family was a musical family. My mother was a pianist and she
played in the church. Eveybody in my family had some kind of musical background.
If they couldn't sing they could play! They knew something about music,
so it was an inherent thing.
BN: You've been doubly gifted, as both a great pianist and a vocalist.
CL: I came by piano as an accident, and I had no other choice, because
nobody else in our immediate society could play it. I was blowin' trombone
in a marching band in high school, playing drums in the marching band
too! It ended up we said "let's start a swing band". E. G. Mason, a dentist,
was very musically talented, an excellent saxophone player. So he started
a band, and he started teaching us. We ended up having about eleven fellows,
it was a big band! Our first gig, we made 50 cents apeice (laughs), but
we felt real proud about it. That was the beginning. They didn't have
anyone to play keyboard, and they knew I tinkered around with it, so they
just put me there. Now I'd played around with the piano for a while, see,
this was back in the forties, then I went away into the Navy. I was at
the USO, that was the only place I could go at that age anyway - I was
16, but had said I was 17- but those people in Ca., they knew I wasn't
old enough to come into those bars. I was a teetotaler, didn't drink anyway.
I'd hang out at the USO, and go to the piano and start tinkering around.
One day a photographer came in from the Oakland Inquirer and he was taking
scenes of servicemen down there. So there I sat at the piano, and all
these girls came around, and he came over and took our picture. Lo and
behold, the next day it came out in the paper! The guys said "Love, I
didn't know you could play a piano (laughs)!" That was the beginning,
and I had to stick with it. So every time I saw somebody playing piano
I'd go watch and ask "how 'd you do this and how'd you do that?" When
I came back I was right on target!
BN: Looking back on your youth, who inspired your love of music?
CL: Many guys. You know a guy who's still out playing real heavy today
is Charles Brown. Tremendous, tremendous, I guess I was about as crazy
about him as the women were. His talent and the way he delivered! I had
a chance to talk to him at a blues festival in Oakland about 5-6 years
ago. I was telling him how I remember seeing him performing back when
he had Johnny Moore and the Three Blazers, course all those guys are gone
now but him. I've always been amazed by him. He was a brilliant guy too,
a chemistry teacher I think, before he went off into the music business.
BN: You were a teacher yourself, weren't you?
CL: Yeah (laughs), I've never regretted it, cause when I taught, it
was all business! Teaching was it. When I got to music, I'd let it all
out. That was one way to express my pent up tension, because teaching
is a demanding job. I pity these teachers that teach today, what they
have to go through today. We never had to think about a metal detector
in those days. Time brings about a change. One thing I'm kind of happy
about is I've seen eras come and go. There's a distinct difference between
rock & roll and the blues, but they were calling it rock & roll, per se.
Until Elvis Presley came along, we didn't really have an identification
with the blues, because rythmically it was different, but the wordings
were basically the same. You know, somebody was in love, someone was having
a problem in love, somebody was just getting into it. In blues we can
always tell it in a song. It's still being done today, music is a therapy.
BN: Looking back on your life, what moments stand out as truly memorable
CL: There was quite a few. I think it was during the time I was learning
to be a solid performer, when I got to work with some really great people.
Louis Jordan told me "always seek out somebody who knows more than you
do, and don't fool around with these guys who dont know anything" . You
aren't elevating yourself, in other words...that was what he was saying.
You have to see what somebody else knows and try to lean on it, and "see
how I can integrate this into mine". Because a lot of musicians copy stuff
from other guys, but you really have to be yourself, and sell yourself,
to establish an identity. That's Clayton Love, that's Glenn Miller, that's
Little Milton, that's B.B. King, and on & on. You know by a strike of
that guitar chord who it is! You see a lot of copycats of these guys who
have gone on to be established pros. The latest memorable things in my
life have been traveling. When you are able travel you can see the places
you've only pictured in your mind. We went to Germany, and there you are
able to see and tour certain things. Then you are able to get a geographical
mind of the whole world and the ethnical differences of people. You found
challenges, like you'd be embarrassed you couldn't speak their language.
The only thing I could speak was a little French, I wished then I'd applied
myself better in school., but I thought "I'll never use that" (laughs).
The European people had broken languages, different languages, and mixed
languages, and you had to learn to converse with these people. They weren't
about to tolerate your lack of knowing their language, but they would
help you, and try to understand you. It was frustrating, but it was a
wonderful experience.
BN: Didn't Mark O 'Shaugnessy (of B.B.'s fame) help produce a European
tour featuring The St. Louis Rythm & King All Stars, of which you were
a member?
CL: Yes, Mark was very instrumental in helping us get over there.
I was a little above the guys, because I just had a better way of communicating.
I had the ups on a lot of fellows that were "one way communiques". In
other words, you had to have a little intelligentsia to be able decipher
all the things these people were saying. I would never take anything for
all the experiences I've gone through. In Germany we went to all these
car factories were they make Porsches, other cars we only talk about.
And the architectural things, things you saw in the castles, REAL castles.
You saw the whole family structure of the King and the Queen....it was
interesting. I could go on and on, i'ts just something you wish other
people could see. They'd really appreciate it!
BN: Tell me about your personal life. Are you married with children?
CL: Yes, married with seven children. I'm a great-grandaddy now, cause
my grandson who lives down in Florida, he has a child. My daughters -
I have five daughters - they have children. I think I have eight granchildren
and two grandchildren, and they're keeping the family name going (laughs).
BN: What are your plans for your future?
CL: Oh boy, (laughs) well I'm just playing it low key, just laying
back and appreciating the things I've seen and done. I play when I get
ready, I don't push myself like I used to. Since I'm retired I've done
more traveling than I used to do. In my profession I couldn't be off as
much as I am now. I'm just living a low-key life, but I'm enjoying it.
I'm not just sitting around, though - I've got a lot of living to do.
We're recording a new album, just to keep our interest level up, and of
course to see if we can make the "big hit" again!
BN: Is that recording still in progress?
CL: Yes, it's from Modern Records out of New York, the same company
that made "Rockin 88's". I'm doing this one all by myself, with no other
artists featured, other than my horn men. This time I had the chance
to do some songs I wanted to do, I didn't do everybody elses. We keep
recording the same songs over and over, so I did some songs that haven't
been toyed with too much. I just have the feeling - and the hope - that
this is the one that does the job for me! I just hope this time that
the supply can meet the demand.
BN: On behalf of the Bluesnet, we wish you great succes with your
new release, and want to thank you for your time in coming down here.
We looking forward to seeing you soon! Certainly look forward to the
CD release. |
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