Philip Kennard Claypool (born in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

) is an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist. Between 1995 and 1999, he recorded two studio albums for the

Curb Records Curb Records (also known as Asylum-Curb and formerly known as MCG Curb) is an American record label started by Mike Curb, originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963. From 1969 to 1973, Curb merged with MGM Records where Curb served as President of ...

label (1995's ''A Circus Leaving Town'' and 1999's ''Perfect World''), in addition to charting four singles on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

) charts. His highest-charting single was a cover of

Bad Company Bad Company are an English rock supergroup that was formed in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers, guitarist Mick Ralphs, drummer Simon Kirke and bassist Boz Burrell.Bad Company ''AllMusic'' Peter Grant, who managed the rock band Led Zeppelin, also ...

's 1975 hit "Feel Like Makin' Love."

Biography

Philip Claypool was born and raised in

. His mother, a church organist, influenced him to take interest in

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

. By the time he was in high school, Claypool had begun writing songs as well, and by age 21, he had made his first professional performance. By 1995, Claypool had signed to

as a recording artist. Working with producer

Jerry Crutchfield Jerry Crutchfield (August 10, 1934 – January 11, 2022) was an American country and pop record producer, songwriter, and musician. He was a publishing and record label executive. He recorded for RCA Victor Records with vocal group The Country Gen ...

, he released his debut album ''A Circus Leaving Town'' that same year. This album produced four chart singles on the ''

'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts (now

). Among these were the title track (which was later recorded by

Travis Tritt James Travis Tritt (born February 9, 1963) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1989, releasing seven studio albums and a greatest hits package for the label between then and 1999. In the 20 ...

on his 2004 album ''

My Honky Tonk History ''My Honky Tonk History'' is the American country music artist Travis Tritt's ninth studio album, released on Columbia Records in 2004. It features the singles "The Girl's Gone Wild", "What Say You" (feat. John Mellencamp), and "I See Me", which ...

'') and Claypool's highest-charting hit, a cover of British band

's 1975 single "Feel Like Makin' Love". Claypool's debut album received a three-star rating from

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, who called it "a diverse collection ilding on a solid contemporary base", with "intriguing" production that "sav deven the weakest tracks". Dan Kuchar of ''

Country Standard Time ''Country Standard Time'' is a website dedicated to country music and related genres including Americana, bluegrass and rockabilly. It provides news and musical reviews pertaining to the genre. It was established in 1993 by Jeffrey B. Remz as a p ...

'' noted Claypool's "leather and velvet" voice but said that, except for the Bad Company cover and one other song, the material was largely "tired, cliché-laden… nddevoid of any hooks". Claypool himself described the album as being "left of center". In a 1996 interview with ''Modern Screen's Country Music'' magazine, he called it "more mature" but "a little distanced from what is happening radio-wise". Claypool also recorded a song for the soundtrack to the 1998 film '' Major League: Back to the Minors'' His self-produced second album, ''Perfect World'', was released in 1999, although it contained no chart singles and mostly comprised material from his first album. In late 2012, Claypool recorded his first album in over a decade. Scheduled to be released in 2013, it was produced by Michael Lloyd. The first single from the album, "I'm Gonna Lie", was released on March 18, 2013. Claypool is now the resident musician at Southend Brewery and Smokehouse in Charleston, South Carolina, home of the Big Pig and celebrity chef Orlando Barrera.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Music videos

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Claypool, Philip American country singer-songwriters Singers from Memphis, Tennessee Curb Records artists Living people Singer-songwriters from Tennessee Country musicians from Tennessee Year of birth missing (living people)