Willie Clayton

Born in Indianola, Mississippi, on March 29, 1955, Willie Clayton grew up as one of eleven children and first sang in church before joining the Soul Blenders as a teenager. That R&B group issued the 1969 Duplex single “That’s What My Daddy Did.” He relocated to Chicago in 1971, quickly becoming a local club favorite, and after sharing a bill with Al Green he met producer Willie Mitchell. Mitchell placed him on the Hi subsidiary Pawn Records in 1974, where Clayton recorded “I Must Be Losin’ You,” “It’s Time You Made Up Your Mind,” and “Baby You’re Ready,” none of which charted; the association ended in 1976. He toured with Al Green, Barry White, and James Brown, then founded Sky Hero Records in 1980, though “Living with You, But My Heart Is Somewhere Else” received only modest regional airplay.

His first national notice arrived in 1984 with the General Crook–produced “Tell Me” and “What a Way to Put It” on Compleat Records, both of which grazed the lower rungs of the R&B chart; “Tell Me” also became a jukebox staple across the United States and England. Subsequent singles appeared on Kirstee, including “Where Has Love Gone,” before Polydor signed him. Credited as Will Clayton, the New Jack Swing title track of 1989’s Never Too Late reached number 52 on the R&B chart, while “Tell Me” and “I Wanna Be Where You Are” also charted that year; the album itself remained his sole Polydor long-player. During the early to mid-1990s he recorded Let’s Get Together and Simply Beautiful for Britain’s Ace label and Feels Like Love and No Getting Over Me for the Atlanta-based Ichiban imprint.

After several independent releases he established Endzone Entertainment and issued The Last Man Standing in 2002, a set whose soulful, sensual, and occasionally funky tone carried his career forward. He moved to Malaco Records in 2005, cutting Full Circle, Gifted, My Tyme, and Soul and Blues before returning to Endzone. Between 2001 and 2008 six of his albums reached the Top Ten of the Blues Albums chart. In 2010 the duet “We Both Grown” with Dave Hollister, drawn from Love, Romance & Respect, entered the R&B singles survey. Jerry Williams, better known as Swamp Dogg, supplied vocals and production for 2011’s If Your Loving Wasn’t Good Enough to Keep Me … How in the World Do You Think It Can Bring Me Back? That same year Clayton paid tribute to his influences on Sings the Number Ones and revisited Marvin Sease’s underground favorite “Candy Licker” on The Tribute: One Man, One Voice. Original material dominated 2012’s I Am Rhythm & Blues and 2015’s Heart & Soul, while 2020’s Born to Sing found him once again in characteristically strong and seductive voice.