Delbert McClinton (born November 4, 1940) is an American

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...

and electric blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, harmonica player, and pianist. From his first professional stage appearance in 1957 to his most recent national tour in 2018, he has recorded albums for several major

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 ...

s and singles that have reached the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100,

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

, and

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 A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabul ...

. His highest-charting single was "Tell Me About It", a 1992 duet with

Tanya Tucker Tanya Denise Tucker (born October 10, 1958) is an American country music singer and songwriter who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13. Over the succeeding decades, Tucker became one of the few child performers to mature int ...

, which reached number 4 on the Country chart. Four of his albums have been number 1 on the Blues chart, and another reached number 2. His highest charting pop hit was 1980's "Giving It Up for Your Love," which peaked at number 8 on the Hot 100. McClinton has earned four

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

; 1992 Rock Performance by a Duo with

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American blues singer and guitarist. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporated ...

for "Good Man, Good Woman"; 2002 Contemporary Blues Album for ''Nothing Personal''; 2006 Best Contemporary Blues Album for ''Cost of Living,'' and 2020 Best Traditional Blues Album for ''Tall, Dark, & Handsome.'' He has been nominated for eight Grammy Awards as of 2020. He was inducted into the Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Fame in March 2011, along with

Lee Roy Parnell Lee Roy Parnell (born December 21, 1956) is an American country music and blues artist, singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Active since 1990, he has recorded eight studio albums, and has charted more than twenty singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot C ...

, Bruce Channel, Gary Nicholson, and Cindy Walker. In 2019, Delbert McClinton was honored by the historic Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas with the fifth star in their Walk of Fame. (Others are actors Jaston Williams and Joe Sears, and musical artists Jerry Jeff Walker and

Lyle Lovett Lyle Pearce Lovett (born November 1, 1957) Lyle Lovett Pageat Allmusic – Lovett's Genre and Styles. Retrieved February 2, 2007 is an American singer, songwriter, actor and record producer. Active since 1980, he has recorded 13 albums and relea ...

Career

Early years

McClinton was born in

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...

, and relocated with his family to

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

, when he was 11 years old. He worked in a bar band, the Straitjackets, who played backing Sonny Boy Williamson II, Howlin' Wolf, Lightnin' Hopkins, and Jimmy Reed. McClinton recorded several regional singles before hitting the national chart in 1962, playing harmonica on Bruce Channel's " Hey! Baby". On a tour with Channel in the United Kingdom, McClinton instructed

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

on the finer points of blues harmonica playing. McClinton formed the Ron-Dels, sometimes called the Rondells, with Ronnie Kelly and Billy Wade Sanders. The band had a chart single in 1965 with "If You Really Want Me To I'll Go."

1970s

Relocating to Los Angeles in 1972, McClinton partnered with fellow Texan Glen Clark to perform a combination of

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

and

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became po ...

. They achieved a degree of artistic success, releasing two albums before splitting and McClinton embarked on a solo career.

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She has released dozens of albums and singles over the course of her career and has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, including ...

had a number 1 hit in 1978 with her recording of McClinton's composition "

Two More Bottles of Wine "Two More Bottles of Wine" is a song written by Delbert McClinton and recorded by American country music artist Emmylou Harris. It was released in April 1978 as the first single from the album ''Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town''. "Two More Bottles ...

," and a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of his "B Movie Boxcar Blues" was on the first album by the

Blues Brothers The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on ''Saturday Night Live''. Belushi and Aykroyd fronted the band, in character, respective ...

, ''

Briefcase Full of Blues ''Briefcase Full of Blues'' is the debut album by The Blues Brothers, released on November 28, 1978, by Atlantic Records. It was recorded live on September 9, 1978, at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, when the band opened for comedian S ...

''.

1980s and 1990s

McClinton's 1980 album, ''The Jealous Kind'', contained his only

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

hit single, "Giving It Up for Your Love", which peaked at number 8 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 35 Adult Contemporary. He was inactive in the studio during much of the 1980s, though toured heavily. McClinton closed the decade with the

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

-nominated 1989 album ''Live from Austin'', recorded during an appearance on the television program '' Austin City Limits'' and co-produced by sax sideman

Don Wise Donald Grover Wise (born March 24, 1942, in Westerly, Rhode Island) is an American tenor saxophonist, songwriter, and music producer. He gained attention as reliable sideman of the singer-songwriter Delbert McClinton from Lubbock, Texas, for m ...

, who went on to become a longtime fixture in the band. In 1991 McClinton won a Grammy Award for a duet with

, "Good Man, Good Woman", and reached the Top 5 of the Country chart with "Tell Me About It", a duet with

. He re-entered the ''Billboard'' charts in 1992 with the album '' Never Been Rocked Enough'', which included the charting single "Every Time I Roll the Dice" and a cover of John Hiatt's "Have a Little Faith in Me." McClinton recorded the song "Weatherman", which was played with the opening titles of the 1993 film ''

Groundhog Day Groundhog Day ( pdc, Grund'sau dåk, , , ; Nova Scotia: Daks Day) is a popular North American tradition observed in the United States and Canada on February 2. It derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerges from ...

'', starring Bill Murray. The fledgling label

Rising Tide Records Rising Tide Records was a record label started by Doug Morris, former head of Warner Music Group, and Daniel Glass, who became President. The label had success in breaking new artists, including the multi-platinum debut of Erykah Badu, Billie M ...

released ''One of the Fortunate Few'' in 1997, before the label went out of business.

2000–present

McClinton released two studio albums in the early 2000s for New West Records, which also issued ''Delbert McClinton Live'' in 2003, a

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

of songs from his career. In 2006, he won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for his album ''The Cost of Living'' in the category Best Contemporary Blues Album.

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer who performed in various genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, and soul. Starting her career in 1954, sh ...

included two McClinton songs on her 2003 album, '' Let's Roll''. McClinton was a judge for the fourth annual Independent Music Awards, presented to independent artists to support their careers. He is featured in the documentary film '' Rocking the Boat: A Musical Conversation and Journey'', by the filmmaker Jay Curlee. McClinton performed on the Frankie Miller album ''Double Take'', released in 2016; his voice is merged with Miller's in the song "Beginner at the Blues". His 2019 recording, ''Tall, Dark & Handsome'', was chosen as a 'Favorite Blues Album' by

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 ...

. It was awarded the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Singles

Guest singles

Music videos

References

External links

Official websiteAllMusic biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:McClinton, Delbert 1940 births American blues singers American country singer-songwriters American blues harmonica players American blues pianists American male pianists Grammy Award winners Living people People from Lubbock, Texas Charay Records artists New West Records artists Curb Records artists Rising Tide Records artists American blues guitarists American male guitarists Singer-songwriters from Texas Guitarists from Texas 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American pianists Country musicians from Texas 21st-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians Alligator Records artists American male singer-songwriters