Formed during the final years of the 1960s, the partnership Dillard & Clark united former Byrd Gene Clark with Doug Dillard of the Dillards and stood among the earliest acts to merge country and rock sensibilities. The pair came together in 1968, quickly establishing themselves as trailblazers in the emerging country-rock movement and issuing a pair of albums before the collaboration ended.
That same year Dillard issued his debut solo effort, The Banjo Album, which drew on contributions from Clark as well as Bernie Leadon. A spring tour of England with the Byrds set the stage for the official launch of Dillard & Clark later that summer. The duo signed with A&M and delivered their first full-length release, The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & Clark, toward the close of 1968. Supporting musicians on the sessions included Bernie Leadon on guitar, Don Beck handling dobro and mandolin, and David Jackson on bass. After the album appeared, the group hit the road with a live band that featured former Byrd Michael Clarke on drums.
Early the following year Dillard & Clark began work on a successor album with an altered lineup that incorporated Leadon, fiddler Byron Berline, drummer Jon Corneal, and guitarist Donna Washburn; steel guitarist Sneaky Pete Kleinow and Chris Hillman, both then members of the Flying Burrito Brothers, also participated as guests. The finished record, Through the Morning, Through the Night, reached stores later in 1969. Once the sessions concluded, Leadon departed and soon afterward joined the Eagles. In the first months of 1970 Clark turned his attention to a solo career, while Dillard carried on alone, retaining the core of the duo’s backing musicians to form his new group, the Expedition.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s both artists maintained separate solo paths, though Dillard enjoyed greater commercial success and wider critical recognition. Clark passed away in 1991 at the age of 46.
