Claudine Clark (born April 26, 1941)
is an American
R&B musician, best known as the singer and composer of the 1962 hit, "
Party Lights",
which reached No. 5 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100.
Career
Clark was born in
Macon, Georgia, United States,
but grew up in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
, and she began recording in 1958 for the Herald
record label
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...
, with her debut single, "Angel of Happiness".
She was backed on that recording by the
Spinners.
Clark then moved to
New York, but she also found no commercial return from her recording on
Gotham Records Gotham Records was an American record label formed by Sam Goode (Goody) and Ivin Ballen in New York City in 1946. In January 1948 Ballen acquired the interest of Goode and became the sole owner. He then moved the company to Philadelphia, Pennsylvani ...
, before moving to
Chancellor Records
Chancellor Records was a record label associated with ABC-Paramount Records, which initially distributed the smaller label. Based in Philadelphia, it was an integral part of the dominance of popular Philadelphia artists and music in the late 1950s ...
.
Clark then had a hit with her second single for Chancellor, with her self-penned "Party Lights". Originally the
B-side of the label's preference for the
A-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...
, "Disappointed", "Party Lights" peaked at No.5 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Clark's follow-ups, "Walk Me Home from the Party" and "Walkin' Through a Cemetery", were commercial failures.
She continued to record and compose, including under the alias Joy Dawn for the
Swan Records
Swan Records was a mid-20th century United States-based record label, founded in 1957 and based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It had a subsidiary label called Lawn Records.
History
Swan Records had enjoyed chart success with several U.S. arti ...
label, but saw no further tangible success.
References
External links
VH1.com
1941 births
Living people
Musicians from Macon, Georgia
Jamie Records artists
Musicians from Philadelphia
African-American women singer-songwriters
American soul singers
Writers from Macon, Georgia
Singer-songwriters from Pennsylvania
Chancellor Records artists
21st-century African-American people
21st-century African-American women
20th-century African-American people
20th-century African-American women
Singer-songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state)
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