Francis Clay
Encyclopedia
Francis Clay born and raised in Rock Island
, Illinois
,he started playing Jazz, professionally at the age of 15, played drum
s behind many of the biggest names of 20th century popular American music. Best known for his work behind Muddy Waters
in the '50s and '60s and as an original member of the James Cotton
band, Clay's jazz-influenced style is cited as an influence by many of the British Invasion rock 'n' rollers of the '60s such as Charlie Watts
and Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones and Faces
, respectively.
In his career, Clay claimed to have backed Gypsy Rose Lee
, and played with Jay McShann
and Charlie Parker
early on and with Jimi Hendrix
while in New York's Greenwich Village
. He can be heard on recordings including John Lee Hooker
's "Live at the Cafe Au Go-Go" and can be seen and heard on documents from the Waters band's 1960 Newport Folk Festival
appearance and on albums issued by the El Cerrito, California Arhoolie label by Big Mama Thornton
and Lightning Hopkins, among many others.
Clay made his home in San Francisco in the late 1960s and became a part of the music scene in the Bay Area throughout the rest of his life. His birthday parties at the Biscuits and Blues nightclub were an annual gathering of the tribe, and he was known also as "the ambassador" at the annual San Francisco Blues Festival
, where he was the subject of a tribute in 2007, and mourned in 2008.
Clay claimed to have been deprived of recognition for his compositional contributions to the Waters oeuvre. Songs he claimed to have composed and/or arranged included "Walking in the Park," "She's Nineteen Years Old" and "Tiger in Your Hole."
Rock Island, Illinois
Rock Island is the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The population was 40,884 at the 2010 census. Located on the Mississippi River, it is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring Moline, East Moline, and the Iowa cities of Davenport and Bettendorf. The Quad Cities...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
,he started playing Jazz, professionally at the age of 15, played drum
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
s behind many of the biggest names of 20th century popular American music. Best known for his work behind Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
in the '50s and '60s and as an original member of the James Cotton
James Cotton
James Cotton is an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who has performed and recorded with many of the great blues artists of his time as well as with his own band.-Career:...
band, Clay's jazz-influenced style is cited as an influence by many of the British Invasion rock 'n' rollers of the '60s such as Charlie Watts
Charlie Watts
Charles Robert "Charlie" Watts is an English drummer, best known as a member of The Rolling Stones. He is also the leader of a jazz band, a record producer, commercial artist, and horse breeder.-Early life:...
and Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones and Faces
Faces (band)
Faces are an English rock band formed in 1969 by members of the Small Faces after Steve Marriott left that group to form Humble Pie...
, respectively.
In his career, Clay claimed to have backed Gypsy Rose Lee
Gypsy Rose Lee
Gypsy Rose Lee was an American burlesque entertainer famous for her striptease act. She was also an actress, author, and playwright whose 1957 memoir was made into the stage musical and film Gypsy.-Early life:...
, and played with Jay McShann
Jay McShann
Jay McShann was an American Grammy Award-nominated jump blues, mainstream jazz, and swing bandleader, pianist and singer....
and Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
early on and with Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
while in New York's Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
. He can be heard on recordings including John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
's "Live at the Cafe Au Go-Go" and can be seen and heard on documents from the Waters band's 1960 Newport Folk Festival
Newport Folk Festival
The Newport Folk Festival is an American annual folk-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the previously established Newport Jazz Festival...
appearance and on albums issued by the El Cerrito, California Arhoolie label by Big Mama Thornton
Big Mama Thornton
Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton was an American rhythm and blues singer and songwriter. She was the first to record the hit song "Hound Dog" in 1952. The song was #1 on the Billboard R&B charts for seven weeks in 1953. The B-side was "They Call Me Big Mama," and the single sold almost two million...
and Lightning Hopkins, among many others.
Clay made his home in San Francisco in the late 1960s and became a part of the music scene in the Bay Area throughout the rest of his life. His birthday parties at the Biscuits and Blues nightclub were an annual gathering of the tribe, and he was known also as "the ambassador" at the annual San Francisco Blues Festival
San Francisco Blues Festival
Debuting in 1973, the San Francisco Blues Festival is the longest running blues festival in the United States. Tom Mazzolini, the event's producer, founded the blues festival to educate the public about the history and evolution of the blues...
, where he was the subject of a tribute in 2007, and mourned in 2008.
Clay claimed to have been deprived of recognition for his compositional contributions to the Waters oeuvre. Songs he claimed to have composed and/or arranged included "Walking in the Park," "She's Nineteen Years Old" and "Tiger in Your Hole."