Chris Clark

Chris Clark ranked among the few white performers, joined by Bobby Darin and Rare Earth, to receive a contract from Motown Records, yet she progressed farther creatively at the label than nearly every other artist who ever recorded there. Born in Los Angeles, she attracted notice from Motown’s California talent scout Hal Davis, the same figure who had steered Brenda Holloway toward the company, and he scheduled an audition with Berry Gordy in Detroit. Gordy dismissed the material on her demo yet responded strongly to her voice, resulting in a signing when she reached age 18. Exposure to jazz musicians throughout much of her childhood equipped Clark with uncommon maturity and musical understanding. Her timbre aligned with the tougher, blues-leaning wing of R&B, prompting Gordy to issue one of the label’s more provocative singles, “Do Right Baby, Do Right,” as her debut. The pair began co-writing material, among them “I Want to Go Back There Again,” and Clark soon contributed as extensively behind the scenes as onstage, counseling Gordy on the career trajectories of multiple acts; their personal involvement lasted several years as well.

Released in 1966 on the Motown subsidiary VIP label, her strongest commercial showing came with the Holland-Dozier-Holland composition “Love’s Gone Bad,” which peaked at number 41 on the R&B chart and number 105 on the pop side. The single led to her first album, Soul Sounds, issued in 1967; functioning largely as a gathering of earlier tracks, the LP featured the hit alongside “Do Right Baby, Do Right,” her forceful reading of “Day by Day or Never,” and her version of Smokey Robinson’s “From Head to Toe.” Clark never secured a lasting foothold in the United States, where her background, musical direction, and interracial relationship with Gordy raised sensitive questions, yet British audiences welcomed her warmly and respectfully applied the nickname “the White Negress.” A succession of solid singles failed to chart, including “I Want to Go Back There Again” and “Whisper You Love Me Boy.” Her striking stage presence—six feet tall and platinum blonde—paired with her vocal power suggested she could have served as America’s Dusty Springfield, though chart results never matched those of the British singer.

In 1969 Gordy shifted Clark’s talents offstage by naming her vice president of the label’s newly formed film division. In that role she shared screenwriting credit with Terence McCloy and Susan dePasse on Lady Sings the Blues, earning an Academy Award nomination for her contribution to the most prominent success of Motown’s movie venture. She also applied her photographic abilities to numerous Motown artists and advanced to an executive post at the company. From 1981 until 1989 she oversaw creative affairs before exiting Motown; afterward she recorded for the Motorcity label.