Thomas McClary (born October 6, 1949) is an American musician, guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer best known as the founder and lead guitarist of

The Commodores Commodores, often billed as The Commodores, are an American funk and Soul music, soul group. The group's most successful period was in the late 1970s and early 1980s when Lionel Richie was the co-lead singer. The members of the group met as m ...

. McClary is widely credited with having created the signature sound of The Commodores' original music.

Early life

McClary was born in

Eustis, Florida Eustis is a city in Lake County, Florida, United States. It lies about 35 miles northwest of Orlando, Florida and is part of the Greater Orlando, Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population in the city ...

, in 1949. He became one of the first African-American students to integrate the Florida school system prior to the enforcement of

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the ...

. McClary began playing music at a very early age, starting with the

ukulele The ukulele ( ; ); also called a uke (informally), is a member of the lute (ancient guitar) family of instruments. The ukulele is of Portuguese origin and was popularized in Hawaii. The tone and volume of the instrument vary with size and con ...

and then adding the acoustic guitar and later the electric guitar to his repertoire. After graduation, McClary went to college at

Tuskegee University Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU; formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute) is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States. It was founded as a normal school for teachers on July 4, 1881, by the ...

in Alabama where he majored in business.Thompson, Dave. "Funk". Backbeat Books. 2001. Page 110 – 114. .

Career

As a freshman student at Tuskegee University, McClary met

Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of the Motown group Commodores; writing and recor ...

in the registration line. The two became friends and in 1968 they began to put together a band which they originally called The Mystics. McClary played the lead guitar. The group played local gigs, added members and changed their name to the Commodores. In 1972, the Commodores signed with

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), also known as Berry Gordy Jr., is an American retired record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record label and i ...

and

Motown Records Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

. McClary spent 15 years as the lead guitarist for the Commodores. His guitar solo in the Commodores song "Easy" earned him his first write-up in ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' and was called "one of the best solo guitar performances of all time" by writer Dave Thompson. While with the Commodores, McClary wrote one of the group's early number one singles "Slippery When Wet". "Brick House"," " Too Hot ta Trot", and "I Feel Sanctified" are among the many songs McClary contributed to, along with the Commodores. He sang lead on "Sexy Lady" and "Ooo Woman You" (a duet with

Melissa Manchester Melissa Manchester (born February 15, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Since the 1970s, her songs have been played by adult contemporary radio stations. She has also appeared on television, in films, and on stage. Early li ...

). He played on songs like "Flying High", "Come Inside", "High On Sunshine", "Girl, I Think the World About You", "Midnight Magic", "12:01 am", "Got To Be Together", "Wake Up Children", "Funny Feelings", "Heaven Knows", "Won't You Come Dance With Me", "Visions", "Hold On" and "Free", "Welcome Home" (with

Bill Champlin William Bradford Champlin (born May 21, 1947) is an American singer, keyboardist, guitarist and songwriter. He formed the band Sons of Champlin in 1965, which still performs today, and was a member of the rock band Chicago (band), Chicago from 1 ...

), "You Don't Know That I Know", "Let's Get Started", "Time", "Captured", "Celebrate" (with Larry Davis and Harold Hudson), "Saturday Night" and "Keep On Taking Me Higher". McClary's musical influence then moved outside of just The Commodores. From the '' Endless Love'' soundtrack, he co-wrote (with Lionel Richie) "Dreaming of You" which was performed by Richie and

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

as well as

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (born Kenneth Donald Rogers) (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particul ...

' "Without You in My Life". Another was the track "Steam Room" off of Jayne Kennedy's ''Complete Exercise Program''. McClary co-wrote and produced multiple songs for the 1980s pop group Klique's album ''Try It Out'' (one of which was "Stop Dogging Me Around" which became the No. 1 song on the Black Contemporary Charts") and "Love Circles". McClary also co-wrote and produced four songs for bassist Michael Henderson's ''Fickel'' album.

After deciding to leave the Commodores in 1984, McClary signed a solo contract with Motown and the following year released a solo album titled, ''Thomas McClary'', which featured the single "Thin Walls". It peaked at No. 57 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart. In 1986, McClary returned to Florida and turned to his Christian roots by becoming the music director of his church and forming a gospel music record label, under which he released the 2008 album titled ''A Revolution Not a Revival.'' On September 18, 2017, McClary's memoir ''Rock and Soul'', was released.

Solo discography

*1984 – ''Thomas McClary'' (Motown) *2008 – ''A Revolution Not a Revival'' (CDBY)

Filmography

*1977 – ''

Scott Joplin Scott Joplin (November 24, 1868 – April 1, 1917) was an American composer and pianist. Dubbed the "King of Ragtime", he composed more than 40 ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas. One of his first and most popular pieces, the ...

'' (w/The Commodores) *1977 – '' Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (w/The Commodores) *1977 – ''

James at 15 ''James at 15'' (later ''James at 16'') is an American drama series that aired on NBC during the 1977–78 season. The series was preceded by the 1977 TV movie ''James at 15'', which aired on Monday September 5, 1977 and was intended as a telev ...

'' (w/The Commodores) *1978 – '' Thank God It's Friday'' (w/The Commodores) *1982 – '' The Last American Virgin'' (w/The Commodores) *1986 – '' One More Saturday Night'' (songwriter)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:McClary, Thomas 1949 births Living people Commodores members People from Eustis, Florida Tuskegee University alumni American funk guitarists American lead guitarists American male songwriters American rhythm and blues guitarists American soul guitarists American male guitarists Motown artists Record producers from Florida American rhythm and blues singers American soul singers American funk singers American performers of Christian music Songwriters from Florida Guitarists from Florida 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers