Biography
W.C. Clark, who played guitar, sang, and wrote songs, ranked among the pioneering blues artists in Austin and earned recognition as the originator of the local blues movement. Born Wesley Curley Clark in Austin, he developed amid constant musical influences because his father performed on guitar while his mother and grandmother performed vocally in the choir of St. John's College Baptist Church. At age 16 he delivered his debut performance at Victory Grill, where he encountered the established figures T.D. Bell and Erbie Bowser. He took on bass duties in Bell's ensemble and separately refined his guitar technique within the blues idiom. During the vibrant period of East Austin nightlife in the late 1950s and early 1960s, University of Texas students from the adjacent campus started frequenting the blues venues; once Clark secured steady work at Charlie's Playhouse he committed fully to music as his profession. Following six years at that venue he connected with R&B vocalist Joe Tex and became the guitarist in his group.
He departed from Tex's outfit and headed back to Austin, where the arrival of numerous youthful white blues performers surprised and motivated him. Bill Campbell, Angela Strehli, Lewis Cowdrey, Paul Ray, and the Vaughan brothers drew increasing audiences and established strong connections with the preexisting Black blues musicians. Early in the 1970s Clark joined forces with guitarist and pianist Denny Freeman plus vocalist Angela Strehli to create the ensemble Southern Feeling. Through this project he developed his songwriting abilities, yet when a recording contract collapsed he accepted employment as a mechanic at a Ford dealership in the area. Nevertheless the young guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan repeatedly sought him out at the repair shop. Vaughan was assembling his own group and required Clark's participation. They performed together under the name Triple Threat Revue and eventually toured with Lou Ann Barton handling lead vocals. Clark and keyboardist Mike Kindred composed "Cold Shot," which later ranked among Vaughan's major successes during the mid-1980s.
Clark issued his debut solo record, Something for Everybody, on his independent label in 1986; two further releases appeared on the New Orleans-based BlackTop imprint, namely Heart of Gold in 1994 and Texas Soul in 1996. For Texas Soul he was backed by Austin blues veterans that included Double Trouble members Chris Layton and Tommy Shannon from Vaughan's band, producer and guitarist Derek O'Brien, and saxophonist Mark "Kaz" Kazanoff. In March 1997 Clark and his band suffered a crash while driving back to Austin; the incident claimed the lives of his fiancée and his drummer. Although Clark escaped harm, the event temporarily reduced his pace. He remained engaged with the Austin blues community and received the fond nickname "the Godfather." With the 1998 release of Lover's Plea he toured in support, coinciding with PBS program Austin City Limits broadcasting an uncommon Stevie Ray Vaughan segment in its Best Of series. Following the tour he retreated to the recording studio and reemerged in 2002 with From Austin with Soul on the Alligator label. Deep in the Heart, likewise issued by Alligator, appeared in 2004. On March 2, 2024, W.C. Clark passed away at the age of 84.
He departed from Tex's outfit and headed back to Austin, where the arrival of numerous youthful white blues performers surprised and motivated him. Bill Campbell, Angela Strehli, Lewis Cowdrey, Paul Ray, and the Vaughan brothers drew increasing audiences and established strong connections with the preexisting Black blues musicians. Early in the 1970s Clark joined forces with guitarist and pianist Denny Freeman plus vocalist Angela Strehli to create the ensemble Southern Feeling. Through this project he developed his songwriting abilities, yet when a recording contract collapsed he accepted employment as a mechanic at a Ford dealership in the area. Nevertheless the young guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan repeatedly sought him out at the repair shop. Vaughan was assembling his own group and required Clark's participation. They performed together under the name Triple Threat Revue and eventually toured with Lou Ann Barton handling lead vocals. Clark and keyboardist Mike Kindred composed "Cold Shot," which later ranked among Vaughan's major successes during the mid-1980s.
Clark issued his debut solo record, Something for Everybody, on his independent label in 1986; two further releases appeared on the New Orleans-based BlackTop imprint, namely Heart of Gold in 1994 and Texas Soul in 1996. For Texas Soul he was backed by Austin blues veterans that included Double Trouble members Chris Layton and Tommy Shannon from Vaughan's band, producer and guitarist Derek O'Brien, and saxophonist Mark "Kaz" Kazanoff. In March 1997 Clark and his band suffered a crash while driving back to Austin; the incident claimed the lives of his fiancée and his drummer. Although Clark escaped harm, the event temporarily reduced his pace. He remained engaged with the Austin blues community and received the fond nickname "the Godfather." With the 1998 release of Lover's Plea he toured in support, coinciding with PBS program Austin City Limits broadcasting an uncommon Stevie Ray Vaughan segment in its Best Of series. Following the tour he retreated to the recording studio and reemerged in 2002 with From Austin with Soul on the Alligator label. Deep in the Heart, likewise issued by Alligator, appeared in 2004. On March 2, 2024, W.C. Clark passed away at the age of 84.
Albums
