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 are an American funk and soul band, which were at their peak in the late 1970s through the mid 1980s. The members of the group met as mostly freshmen at Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in 1968, and signed with Motown in ...

. McClary is 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. The population was 23,189 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area. Eustis High School is the town's local public high sc ...

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

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

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. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature. The campus was de ...

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 funk band the 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), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record l ...

and

Motown Records Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''mot ...

. 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. It was first known for its ...

'' 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 carried by adult contemporary radio stations. She has also appeared on television, in films, and on stage. Early l ...

). 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, musician, arranger, producer, and songwriter. He formed the band Sons of Champlin in 1965, which still performs today, and was a member of the band Chicago from 1981–2009. ...

), "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 March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups ...

as well as

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted mo ...

' "Without You in My Life". Another was the track "Steam Room" off of

Jayne Kennedy Jayne Kennedy Overton (née Harrison; born October 27, 1951) is an American television personality, actress, model, corporate spokeswoman, producer, writer, public speaker, philanthropist, and sports broadcaster. Personal life Jayne Kennedy g ...

's ''Complete Exercise Program''. McClary co-wrote and produced multiple songs for the 1980s pop group

Klique Klique was an American R&B trio, consisting of Howard Huntsberry, Isaac Suthers and his sister, Deborah Hunter. They released four albums, starting with ''It's Winning Time'' in 1981, concluding with ''Love Cycles'' in 1985. Their only song ...

'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 Michael Earl Henderson (July 7, 1951 – July 19, 2022) was an American bass guitarist and vocalist. He was known for his work with Miles Davis in the early 1970s and on early fusion albums such as '' Jack Johnson'', '' Live-Evil'', and '' Ag ...

'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.'' In 2016, during litigation with the two of the original remaining members of The Commodores it was established that McClary is the founder of The Commodores. 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 ( 1868 – April 1, 1917) was an American composer and pianist. Because of the fame achieved for his ragtime compositions, he was dubbed the "King of Ragtime." During his career, he wrote over 40 original ragtime pieces, one ra ...

'' (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 1977–1978 season. The series was preceded by the 1977 made-for-TV movie ''James at 15'', which aired on Monday September 5, 1977, and was intended ...

'' (w/The Commodores) *1978 – '' Thank God It's Friday'' (w/The Commodores) *1982 – ''

The Last American Virgin ''The Last American Virgin'' is a 1982 American sex comedy film written and directed by Boaz Davidson. It is a remake of Davidson's 1978 Israeli film '' Eskimo Limon (Lemon Popsicle)''. After the success of the original film and its sequels in ...

'' (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 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