Clara McDaniel (born November 26, 1948) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

blues singer and songwriter. She released her debut album, ''Unwanted Child'', in 1997 and has worked with notable blues musicians including

Albert King Albert Nelson (April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992), known by his stage name Albert King, was an American guitarist and singer who is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential blues guitarists of all time. He is perhaps b ...

Tommy Bankhead Tommy Bankhead (October 24, 1931 – December 16, 2000) was an American Delta blues guitarist and singer who played with Howlin' Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson I, Elmore James (his cousin), Joe Willie Wilkins, Robert Nighthawk, and Joe Hill Louis. H ...

Bobby Bland Robert Calvin Bland (born Robert Calvin Brooks; January 27, 1930 – June 23, 2013), known professionally as Bobby "Blue" Bland, was an American blues singer. Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and R&B. He was descr ...

Little Milton James Milton Campbell Jr. (September 7, 1934 – August 4, 2005), better known as Little Milton, was an American blues singer and guitarist, best known for his number-one R&B single " We're Gonna Make It". His other hits include " Baby, I Love ...

Oliver Sain Oliver Sain Jr. (March 1, 1932 – October 28, 2003) was an American saxophonist, songwriter, bandleader, drummer and record producer, who was an important figure in the development of rhythm and blues music, notably in St Louis, Missouri. ...

, and

Ike Turner Izear Luster "Ike" Turner Jr. (November 5, 1931 – December 12, 2007) was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, record producer, and talent scout. An early pioneer of 1950s rock and roll, he is best known for his work in the 1960s and ...

Life and career

McDaniel was born in Pontiac, Michigan, United States, and raised in a musical family. Her uncle, Dusty Brown, played the harmonica and recorded for

Parrot Records Parrot Records was an American record label, a division of London Records, which started in 1964. The label usually licensed (or leased) recordings made by Decca Records, England, for release in the United States and Canada, most notably by the ...

in the 1950s, releasing a single "Yes She's Gone" b/w "He Don't Love You" (Parrot 820). She sang and played the piano at her local church. She moved with her family in 1966 to

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

, and here as a teenager McDaniel met

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago ...

. Her musical education continued as she frequented a string of

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

s including Ned Love's, Club Caravan, Cass, and Dynaflow at Glasgow. She performed alongside Big Bad Smitty and Big George at Club Caravan, but more significantly for her future career, she teamed up with

at Ned Love's. This led to her touring with King in the Deep South in the 1970s. When McDaniel returned home she managed King's fleet of

taxicabs A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...

. She later performed with

, and

amongst others. Over that period she had to combine two or three jobs, with her singing being mainly restricted to weekends. Billed as Big Clara and the Magnatones, she performed at the St. Louis Blues Festival and, in 1995, appeared at the Blues Estafette in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

as part of a European tour. In 1997, McDaniel recorded her debut album, ''Unwanted Child'', which was released on

HighTone Records HighTone Records was an American independent record label based in Oakland, California, United States. HighTone specialized in American roots music including, country, rockabilly, western swing, blues and gospel. The label was created by Larry ...

. It followed a family tragedy, as her husband and the keyboard player in her backing band, the Magnatones, Albert "Falstaff" Foster, (1941 – 1997) had died earlier the same year. McDaniel subsequently moved to

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

, where she gave birth to twins. Her maternal instincts extended to becoming a foster mother for many children, some of whom she adopted. ''

Blues & Rhythm ''Blues & Rhythm'' is a British monthly music magazine dealing with all aspects of blues and gospel music. Founded in July 1984 it is - along with its American counterpart '' Living Blues'' - considered to be the premier magazine for all aspects o ...

'', a monthly British-based blues magazine, named McDaniel 'Discovery of the Year', and in 1998, she was nominated as ''

Living Blues ''Living Blues: The Magazine of the African American Blues Tradition'' is a bi-monthly magazine focused on blues music, and America's oldest blues periodical. The magazine was founded as a quarterly in Chicago in 1970 by Jim O'Neal and Amy van ...

'' 'Female Blues Artist of the Year'.

Discography

Albums

References

External links

1998 interview with McDaniel
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDaniel, Clara 1948 births Living people African-American women singer-songwriters American blues singers Electric blues musicians People from Pontiac, Michigan 20th-century African-American women singers 21st-century African-American women singers Singer-songwriters from Michigan

Life and career

Discography

Albums

See also

References

External links