Biography
Memphis native Rick Clark has long shaped the city’s music scene through his multifaceted work as a writer, music supervisor, producer, and musician, roles he has filled since the 1970s. His production discography encompasses albums by Los Super Seven along with numerous soundtrack anthologies, while his liner notes have accompanied releases by Big Star and Rick Nelson; he has also assembled the Oxford American music CDs. In 2002 he authored The Expert’s Encyclopedia of Recording, a volume that later appeared in revised editions. As music supervisor he oversaw the 2012 documentary Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me, the series Hell on Wheels, and the Memphis gospel drama Greenleaf. Clark launched his own recording career in the late 2010s, issuing the jazz-tinged blues-rock collection Humid Tracks EP in 2020.
Raised in Memphis, Tennessee—long celebrated as both Home of the Blues and Birthplace of Rock & Roll—Clark amassed 45s by Sun Records artists, British Invasion acts, and New Orleans ensembles such as Sweet Emma and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. A 1966 concert by James Brown & His Famous Flames prompted him to commit to music as a vocation. During high school he worked at Poplar Tunes, a shop frequented by Al Green, Isaac Hayes, and touring headliners. Throughout the 1970s he performed live and in studios, becoming especially active within the power pop community.
Clark later converted his experience as a DJ and compiler of mix cassettes into a thriving enterprise that supplied programmed music to venues across the South and farther afield. This expertise led to contributions in national music magazines and to liner notes for Rick Nelson, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jean-Luc Ponty, and Big Star. Beginning in 1997 he produced, co-compiled, and cleared rights for the first seven Oxford American magazine music CDs. He also wrote The Expert’s Encyclopedia of Recording (2002) and Mixing, Recording and Producing Techniques of the Pros (2005). While serving as a consultant and independent A&R representative, he produced material for Los Super Seven, Death Cab for Cutie, and assorted film and television soundtrack projects. Additional credits include producing Marty Stuart’s American Odyssey satellite radio program and directing Warner videos for Emmylou Harris. In 2012 Oxford American again engaged him to oversee subsequent music issues and CDs, among them a Tennessee-themed edition issued as a two-disc set.
After supervising music for films such as Up in the Air (2009) and Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me (2012) and for series including Hell on Wheels and the Oprah Winfrey-produced Greenleaf, Clark received a 2019 Guild of Music Supervisors Award nomination for Best Music Supervision on the Sundance/AMC series Hap and Leonard. He also composed and produced extensive additional music for films and series, frequently under the Deliverance Sisters moniker.
Clark began recording and releasing his own music in 2018. His output has ranged from the updated disco of the 2019 single “Fever” to the jazzy blues-rock of the 2020 Humid Tracks EP and the hard blues of the 2020 track “Bones Without a Name.”
Raised in Memphis, Tennessee—long celebrated as both Home of the Blues and Birthplace of Rock & Roll—Clark amassed 45s by Sun Records artists, British Invasion acts, and New Orleans ensembles such as Sweet Emma and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. A 1966 concert by James Brown & His Famous Flames prompted him to commit to music as a vocation. During high school he worked at Poplar Tunes, a shop frequented by Al Green, Isaac Hayes, and touring headliners. Throughout the 1970s he performed live and in studios, becoming especially active within the power pop community.
Clark later converted his experience as a DJ and compiler of mix cassettes into a thriving enterprise that supplied programmed music to venues across the South and farther afield. This expertise led to contributions in national music magazines and to liner notes for Rick Nelson, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jean-Luc Ponty, and Big Star. Beginning in 1997 he produced, co-compiled, and cleared rights for the first seven Oxford American magazine music CDs. He also wrote The Expert’s Encyclopedia of Recording (2002) and Mixing, Recording and Producing Techniques of the Pros (2005). While serving as a consultant and independent A&R representative, he produced material for Los Super Seven, Death Cab for Cutie, and assorted film and television soundtrack projects. Additional credits include producing Marty Stuart’s American Odyssey satellite radio program and directing Warner videos for Emmylou Harris. In 2012 Oxford American again engaged him to oversee subsequent music issues and CDs, among them a Tennessee-themed edition issued as a two-disc set.
After supervising music for films such as Up in the Air (2009) and Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me (2012) and for series including Hell on Wheels and the Oprah Winfrey-produced Greenleaf, Clark received a 2019 Guild of Music Supervisors Award nomination for Best Music Supervision on the Sundance/AMC series Hap and Leonard. He also composed and produced extensive additional music for films and series, frequently under the Deliverance Sisters moniker.
Clark began recording and releasing his own music in 2018. His output has ranged from the updated disco of the 2019 single “Fever” to the jazzy blues-rock of the 2020 Humid Tracks EP and the hard blues of the 2020 track “Bones Without a Name.”
Albums
