Born in Waxhaw, Mississippi, on February 11, 1942, Otis Clay grew up in a household where church services formed a central part of daily existence. His family relocated to Muncie, Indiana, in 1953, and there he first took the stage with a neighborhood gospel ensemble. Four years later they settled in Chicago, prompting Clay to enter the Golden Jubilaires, the initial ensemble among several gospel outfits he would join in the city. Drawn to secular performance by the prospect of larger crowds and steadier income, he recorded several R&B tracks in 1962 under producer Carl Davis with the hope of securing a Columbia contract; the label ultimately passed on the material. In 1965 Maurice Dollison, who had shared gospel stages with Clay and issued R&B sides as Cash McCall, introduced him to George Leaner of One-Derful! Records, resulting in a formal agreement.
Clay’s debut One-Derful! single, “Flame in Your Heart,” enjoyed regional airplay without registering nationally, and only his fifth outing, the 1967 release “That’s How It Is (When You’re in Love),” reached the Billboard R&B list at number 34. Its successor, “A Lasting Love,” climbed to number 48 on the same chart before unexpected word arrived that One-Derful! was folding and Clay’s contract had transferred to Atlantic Records. Atlantic placed him as the inaugural act on its Cotillion subsidiary; his opening Cotillion single, a reading of the Sir Douglas Quintet’s “She’s About a Mover,” attained number 47 R&B and number 97 on the pop side. Subsequent Cotillion efforts fared poorly, leading Clay, after recording “Is It Over?” with Willie Mitchell, to sign with Hi Records, where Mitchell served as staff producer.
His first Hi single, 1972’s “Trying to Live My Life Without You,” became his strongest showing at number 24 R&B and later gained fresh exposure when Bob Seger’s 1981 cover reached the pop Top Ten. The hit triggered issuance of Clay’s debut album under the same title, followed in 1973 by the widely admired “If I Could Reach Out (And Help Someone).” Departing Hi in 1977 for Henry Stone’s Kayvette imprint, Clay also issued material through his own Echo label, including his final chart entry, the 1980 track “The Only Way Is Up.” Several albums appeared on Bullseye Blues during the 1990s, among them Soul Man: Live in Japan, a market where he cultivated an especially loyal audience.
Although primarily recognized for soul performances, Clay returned periodically to gospel programs, documented on 1993’s The Gospel Truth and 2007’s Walk a Mile in My Shoes. Induction into the Blues Hall of Fame occurred in 2013, the same year he issued Truth Is: Putting Love Back into the Music; the following year he collaborated with Johnny Rawls on Soul Brothers. In Chicago he served on the board of People for New Direction, a nonprofit focused on West Side concerns, and played a leading role in converting the Bronzeville Regal Theater into the Harold Washington Cultural Center. Clay died of a heart attack on January 8, 2016, at the age of 73.
