Mike McClure
Encyclopedia
Mike McClure is a singer/songwriter/producer from Tecumseh, Oklahoma
. He is currently the frontman for the Mike McClure Band. McClure is a founding member of The Great Divide
, and was a member until he and the band parted ways in 2002. The Mike McClure Band consists of McClure (guitar, vocals), Tom Skinner
(bass), and Eric Hansen
(drums).
McClure got his start in Stillwater, Oklahoma
, and would hang out and play music at the notorious "Farm" with other Red Dirt
artists such as Bob Childers
, Tom Skinner
, and Scott Evans. After forming The Great Divide with J.J. Lester, Scotte Lester, and Kelley Green in 1992 and contributing to six studio albums and one live two-part album, McClure set out to do his own thing.
In 2002, while still a member of The Great Divide, he released Twelve Pieces
, his first solo album.First there was Les Paul Clanton on bass and Rodney Payett on guitar. Both went to do other projects. After recruiting Skinner and Hansen, McClure had his band together. In 2004, The Mike McClure Band released their first album Everything Upside Down
, a hard-hitting rock album. McClure often uses the quote that his new band is "twice as loud, and half as popular." Since the first album, the band has put out seven more albums, including the 2004 collaboration with the Burtschi Brothers of Norman, Oklahoma
.
As a songwriter and producer, McClure has collaborated with many other Red Dirt artists. He has become the permanent producer for Cross Canadian Ragweed
. Usually contributing also as a songwriter, he has produced five of their seven studio albums, jokingly earning him the title of "prodouchebag." McClure has also produced albums by other artists around the scene such as Stoney LaRue
, Jason Boland & the Stragglers
, Scott Copeland, Johnny Cooper, Whiskey Myers, and the Turnpike Troubadours.
In 2011 McClure became partners with C.P. Sparkman, also from Tecumseh, Oklahoma, in forming 598 Recordings. A record label whose first
signing was The Damn Quails, releasing "Down the Hatch" and McClure's "50 Billion" respectively.
! | Year
! | Album
|-
| 2002
| Twelve Pieces
|-
| 2004
| Everything Upside Down
|-
| 2004
| The Burtschi Brothers & The Mike McClure Band
|-
| 2005
| Camelot Falling
|-
| 2006
| Foam
|-
| 2008
| did7
|-
| 2009
| Onion
|-
| 2010
| Zero Dark 30
|-
| 2010
| Halfway Out Of The Woods
|-
| 2011
| "50 Billion"
|]
was recorded by Garth Brooks
for his 2005 Limited Series Box Set on the album The Lost Sessions.
It has sold over 2 million copies.
"Fighting For", written by McClure and Cody Canada reached #39 on the Billboard Top 40 singles chart. It
was recorded by Cross Canadian Ragweed
for their album "Garage".
McClure has been working with Joe Hardy since "Foam".
2011 started record label with C.P. Sparkman. 598 Recordings signing their first act, The Damn Quails.
Reunited with all original members of The Great Divide in August of 2011 for a reunion concert in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The band
plans to tour lightly throughout 2012.
Tecumseh, Oklahoma
Tecumseh is a city in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 6,457 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Tecumseh is located at ....
. He is currently the frontman for the Mike McClure Band. McClure is a founding member of The Great Divide
The Great Divide (band)
The Great Divide was an American Red Dirt/Texas Country music group, originally from Stillwater, Oklahoma. The Great Divide formed its own record label, publishing company and operating company, and began recording. The group's first two albums, Goin' For Broke and Break In The Storm, were...
, and was a member until he and the band parted ways in 2002. The Mike McClure Band consists of McClure (guitar, vocals), Tom Skinner
Tom Skinner
Thomas Edward Skinner, KBE, , was a New Zealand politician and trade union leader. He was president of the Auckland Trades Council from 1954 to 1976, and president of the New Zealand Federation of Labour from 1959 until 1979. Skinner was known as a conciliatory and accommodating leader, and in the...
(bass), and Eric Hansen
Eric Hansen
Eric C. Hansen is an American sportswriter with the South Bend Tribune. The University of Notre Dame football beat writer and an assistant sports editor for the newspaper, Hansen has also written two books on Notre Dame football...
(drums).
McClure got his start in Stillwater, Oklahoma
Stillwater, Oklahoma
Stillwater is a city in north-central Oklahoma at the intersection of U.S. 177 and State Highway 51. It is the county seat of Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 45,688. Stillwater is the principal city of the Stillwater Micropolitan Statistical...
, and would hang out and play music at the notorious "Farm" with other Red Dirt
Red Dirt (music)
Red Dirt Music is a music genre that gets its name from the color of soil found in Oklahoma. Although Stillwater, Oklahoma is considered to be the epicenter of Red Dirt music, there's a Texas Red Dirt sound as well. Outlaws Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson are associated with that distinctive...
artists such as Bob Childers
Bob Childers
Robert Wayne “Bob” Childers was an American country/folk singer-songwriter who has achieved widespread critical acclaim since the late 1970s. Childers was known alternately as the "father" "grandfather" or "godfather" of the regional scene known as Red Dirt music...
, Tom Skinner
Tom Skinner
Thomas Edward Skinner, KBE, , was a New Zealand politician and trade union leader. He was president of the Auckland Trades Council from 1954 to 1976, and president of the New Zealand Federation of Labour from 1959 until 1979. Skinner was known as a conciliatory and accommodating leader, and in the...
, and Scott Evans. After forming The Great Divide with J.J. Lester, Scotte Lester, and Kelley Green in 1992 and contributing to six studio albums and one live two-part album, McClure set out to do his own thing.
In 2002, while still a member of The Great Divide, he released Twelve Pieces
Twelve Pieces
Twelve Pieces is Mike McClure's first solo album. It was released in the summer of 2002. Released while still a member of The Great Divide, Mike McClure had enough songs to put out this mostly acoustic-sounding album. Cross Canadian Ragweed frontman, Cody Canada, contributes in the song, "In My...
, his first solo album.First there was Les Paul Clanton on bass and Rodney Payett on guitar. Both went to do other projects. After recruiting Skinner and Hansen, McClure had his band together. In 2004, The Mike McClure Band released their first album Everything Upside Down
Everything Upside Down
Everything Upside Down is the Mike McClure Band's first album. It was released in the spring of 2004. The first album by the full band, it is a rock album with many blues, country, and folk influences.It was originally released as 3 separate EP's....
, a hard-hitting rock album. McClure often uses the quote that his new band is "twice as loud, and half as popular." Since the first album, the band has put out seven more albums, including the 2004 collaboration with the Burtschi Brothers of Norman, Oklahoma
Norman, Oklahoma
Norman is a city in Cleveland County, Oklahoma, United States, and is located south of downtown Oklahoma City. It is part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, Norman was to have 110,925 full-time residents, making it the third-largest city in Oklahoma and the...
.
As a songwriter and producer, McClure has collaborated with many other Red Dirt artists. He has become the permanent producer for Cross Canadian Ragweed
Cross Canadian Ragweed
Cross Canadian Ragweed was an American Red Dirt/Texas Country/Country rock band. The name of the band came from the combination of three band members' names, Grady Cross , Cody Canada , and Randy Ragsdale . Jeremy Plato's name was not involved in the band naming...
. Usually contributing also as a songwriter, he has produced five of their seven studio albums, jokingly earning him the title of "prodouchebag." McClure has also produced albums by other artists around the scene such as Stoney LaRue
Stoney Larue
Stoney LaRue is a Texas Country/Red Dirt artist. Born in Taft, Texas, LaRue was raised in Southeastern Oklahoma and began playing country music at a young age....
, Jason Boland & the Stragglers
Jason Boland & the Stragglers
Jason Boland & the Stragglers are an American Texas Country/Red Dirt group featuring Harrah, Oklahoma native Jason Boland , Roger Ray , Brad Rice , and Grant Tracy...
, Scott Copeland, Johnny Cooper, Whiskey Myers, and the Turnpike Troubadours.
In 2011 McClure became partners with C.P. Sparkman, also from Tecumseh, Oklahoma, in forming 598 Recordings. A record label whose first
signing was The Damn Quails, releasing "Down the Hatch" and McClure's "50 Billion" respectively.
Discography
{| class="wikitable"! | Year
! | Album
|-
| 2002
| Twelve Pieces
Twelve Pieces
Twelve Pieces is Mike McClure's first solo album. It was released in the summer of 2002. Released while still a member of The Great Divide, Mike McClure had enough songs to put out this mostly acoustic-sounding album. Cross Canadian Ragweed frontman, Cody Canada, contributes in the song, "In My...
|-
| 2004
| Everything Upside Down
Everything Upside Down
Everything Upside Down is the Mike McClure Band's first album. It was released in the spring of 2004. The first album by the full band, it is a rock album with many blues, country, and folk influences.It was originally released as 3 separate EP's....
|-
| 2004
| The Burtschi Brothers & The Mike McClure Band
The Burtschi Brothers & The Mike McClure Band
The Burtschi Brothers & The Mike McClure Band is the Mike McClure Band's second album. It is a collaboration with The Burtschi Brothers, headed by Travis Linville...
|-
| 2005
| Camelot Falling
Camelot Falling
Camelot Falling is the Mike McClure Band's third album. It is considered the most folk-sounding album by the band. Included in this album is a cover of Van Morrison's, "Into the Mystic", from his 1970 album, Moondance. Also covered in on this album is Neil Young's, "Roll Another Number ," from his...
|-
| 2006
| Foam
Foam (album)
Foam is the Mike McClure Band's fourth album. It is the first of the band's albums to be mixed by Joe Hardy. Recorded at the Foam Box in Houston, Texas, the album is a mix of country-influenced rock with lots of instrumental variations...
|-
| 2008
| did7
Did7
did7 is the Mike McClure Band's fifth album. It was released in May of 2008. It was recorded and mixed in both Houston, Texas and at Dirtybird Recording in Norman, Oklahoma. The album prominently features John Fullbright on the keyboards...
|-
| 2009
| Onion
Onion (album)
Onion is the Mike McClure Band's sixth album. It was released in August of 2009. Steve Ripley of the Tulsa-based country band, The Tractors, lends his vocals in the song, "Warm Inside." Included on the album is a more orchestral version of the Great Divide song, "Nowhere Woman," which originally...
|-
| 2010
| Zero Dark 30
Zero Dark 30
Zero Dark 30 is the Mike McClure Band's seventh studio album. It was released on February 23, 2010. The album includes a new version of "In My Ears," which was first released on McClure's first solo album, Twelve Pieces, as a duet with Cross Canadian Ragweed's Cody Canada, in 2002.-Track...
|-
| 2010
| Halfway Out Of The Woods
Halfway Out Of The Woods
Halfway Out Of The Woods is the Mike McClure Band's eighth album. It was released on October 5, 2010. The album includes a new version of "Bumming Around," which was first released by McClure as a member of The Great Divide on their 2002 album, Remain. It also includes a cover of "I'd Have To Be...
|-
| 2011
| "50 Billion"
|]
Notable Appearances
"I'd Rather Have Nothing", written by McClure and originally recorded by The Great DivideThe Great Divide (band)
The Great Divide was an American Red Dirt/Texas Country music group, originally from Stillwater, Oklahoma. The Great Divide formed its own record label, publishing company and operating company, and began recording. The group's first two albums, Goin' For Broke and Break In The Storm, were...
was recorded by Garth Brooks
Garth Brooks
Troyal Garth Brooks , best known as Garth Brooks, is an American country music artist who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon. His eponymous first album was released in 1989 and peaked at number 2 in the US country album chart while climbing to number 13 on the Billboard 200 album chart...
for his 2005 Limited Series Box Set on the album The Lost Sessions.
It has sold over 2 million copies.
"Fighting For", written by McClure and Cody Canada reached #39 on the Billboard Top 40 singles chart. It
was recorded by Cross Canadian Ragweed
Cross Canadian Ragweed
Cross Canadian Ragweed was an American Red Dirt/Texas Country/Country rock band. The name of the band came from the combination of three band members' names, Grady Cross , Cody Canada , and Randy Ragsdale . Jeremy Plato's name was not involved in the band naming...
for their album "Garage".
McClure has been working with Joe Hardy since "Foam".
2011 started record label with C.P. Sparkman. 598 Recordings signing their first act, The Damn Quails.
Reunited with all original members of The Great Divide in August of 2011 for a reunion concert in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The band
plans to tour lightly throughout 2012.