Buzz Clifford

Born Reese Francis Clifford III but widely recognized as Buzz Clifford, the performer earned his lone chart entry via the Columbia Records single “Baby Sittin’ Boogie,” which reached the Top Ten in 1961 and surpassed one million copies sold. Columbia then mounted an effort to position Clifford as a teen idol; he appeared several times on American Bandstand, joined Freddy Cannon and Dion for a British tour, and performed on the Perry Como and Merv Griffin television programs. By the next year the campaign had stalled, prompting Clifford to withdraw from public view.

After completing National Guard duty he relocated to Los Angeles, where he began supplying material to 20th Century Records, Cameo, and White Whale. Keith Barbour enjoyed modest success with the Clifford composition “Echo Park,” while Petula Clark, Clyde McPhatter, and Lou Rawls also cut his songs. In the late sixties Clifford recorded an album with the group Carp, whose lineup featured Danny Moore, composer of the enduring hit “My Maria,” and actor Gary Busey. Around the same period he teamed with former Beach Boy David Marks and moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to cut tracks; although those recordings remained unreleased, both Leon Russell and Kris Kristofferson later interpreted Clifford originals.

Marks and Clifford sustained their songwriting partnership and live appearances in California. During the nineties they collaborated again with Moore to issue the album Work Tapes. In the mid-nineties Clifford, Marks, and Clifford’s two children formed a blues ensemble that played Los Angeles clubs until the group disbanded in 1997. Clifford then traveled to Denmark to record Norse Horse, while Marks rejoined the Beach Boys for additional engagements. An altered take of Clifford’s early Dot Records track “I See, I Am” surfaced on Beck’s Midnite Vultures under the title “Milk and Honey”; issued late in 1999, the single attained gold status early the following year.

An Illinois native, Clifford began playing guitar in childhood and won several talent contests as a teenager. His first recording contract, signed with Bow Records at age fifteen, yielded two unsuccessful singles. He subsequently moved to Columbia and cut “Hello Mr. Moonlight,” which failed to chart. “Baby Sittin’ Boogie” compensated for that setback by registering on the R&B, country, and pop surveys.