Clydie Mae King (August 21, 1943 – January 7, 2019) was an American singer, best known for her session work as a backing vocalist. King also recorded solo under her name. In the 1970s, she recorded as Brown Sugar, and her single "Loneliness (Will Bring Us Together Again)" reached No. 44 on the ''Billboard'' R&B charts in 1973.

Early life and career

King was born in Dallas, Texas on August 21, 1943. At the time of King's death, the media related that her alleged parents, Lula Mae King and Curtis Crittendon, had raised her after her mother's 1945 death. According to a 1950 census record, it is proven that King was the child of Tom and Genevieve King, as she is listed as Curtis's sister-in-law, and as Lula was born to the same parents. After starting to sing in the local church, King moved with her family to Los Angeles when she was young, where she graduated from Fremont High School in 1961. Discovered by songwriter Richard Berry, King began her recording career in 1956 with Little Clydie and the Teens. She contributed to early 1960s recordings by producer

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, such as " River Deep – Mountain High, and was a member of

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' Raelettes from 1965 to 1968. She recorded solo singles for Specialty Records, Kent Records and others. Her 1971 solo single "'Bout Love" reached No. 45 on the

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. Reviewing her 1972 debut album ''Direct Me'',

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wrote in '' Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies'' (1981): "Clydie has a voice that's more sly Diana than robust

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and addresses the title plea to Gabriel Mekler, who (this time, anyway) proves neither as sly nor as robust as

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." King provided backing vocals for

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, which had great success in the United States, and she went on to become an in-demand session singer, worked with Venetta Fields and Sherlie Matthews and recorded with B.B. King,

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, Joe Walsh, and many others. She was a member of The Blackberries with Fields and Matthews and sang on

's '' Mad Dogs and Englishmen'' tour, which became a feature film. In 1971, she was featured on the Beaver and Krause album ''Gandarva''. She sang the lead vocal on the gospel-inflected "Walkin' By the River," on which Ray Brown played bass. Along with Merry Clayton, she sang the background vocals on Lynyrd Skynyrd's seminal hit " Sweet Home Alabama".

Personal life

King was married multiple times. She married Robin Hale on November 10, 1960 and with him had three sons: Christopher, Randy, and Magge Hale. King and Hale divorced in August of 1969. A subsequent husband was Tony Collins, with whom she had a daughter, Delores Collins. In 1998, newspapers reported that

's girlfriend at the time, Susan Ross, had stated that Dylan had been secretly married to Clydie King and had two children by her. Ross also stated that he had had long-term relationships with other backing vocalists including Helena Springs, Carol Woods and Carol Dennis.

Death

King died on January 7, 2019, in a Monrovia, California hospital at the age of 75 from complications of a blood infection.

Discography

Singles

* 1956 Little Clydie & The Teens: "A Casual Look" / "Oh Me" (RPM 462) * 1957 Clydie King: "Our Romance" / "Written On The Wall" (Specialty 605) * 1958 Clydie King: "I'm Invited To Your Party" / "Young Foolish Love" (Specialty 642) * 1960 The Meadowlarks: "There's A Girl" / "Blue Mood" (Original Sound 12) * 1961 The Meadowlarks: "It's Stompin' Time (Part 1)" / "It's Stompin' Time (Part 2)" (Interlude 101) * 1962 Clydie King & The Sweet Things: "The Boys In My Life" / "Promises" (Philips 40001) * 1962 Clydie King & Mel Carter: "Who Do You Love" / "The Wrong Side Of Town" (Philips 40049) * 1962 Clydie King: "Turn Around" / "Don't Hang Up The Phone" (Philips 40051) * 1963 Clydie King and The Sweet Things: "Only The Guilty Cry" / "By Now" (Philips 40107) * 1965 Bonnie & The Treasures: "Home Of The Brave" / "Our Song" (Phi-Dan 5005) * 1965 Clydie King: "The Thrill Is Gone" / "If You Were A Man" (Imperial 66109) * 1965 Clydie King: "Missin' My Baby" / "My Love Grows Deeper" (Imperial 66139) * 1966 Clydie King: "He Always Comes Back To Me" / "Soft and Gentle Ways" (Imperial 66172) * 1967 Jimmy Holiday and Clydie King: "Ready, Willing and Able" / "We Got a Good Thing Goin'" (Minit 32021) * 1967 Clydie King: "One Of Those Good For Cryin' Over You Days" / "My Mistakes Of Yesterday" (Minit 32025) * 1967 Clydie King: "I'll Never Stop Loving You" / "Shing-A-Ling" (Minit 32032) * 1969 Clydie King: "Love Now, Pay Later" / "One Part, Two Part" (Minit 32054) * 1969 The Brothers and Sisters of Los Angeles: " The Mighty Quinn" / " Chimes of Freedom" (Ode 121) * 1969 The Brothers and Sisters of Los Angeles: " The Times They Are A-Changin'" / " Mr. Tambourine Man" (Ode 123) * 1970 Clydie King: "Never Like This Before" / " The Long and Winding Road" (Lizard 21005) * 1971 Clydie King: "'Bout Love" / "First Time, Last Time" (Lizard 21007) * 1972 Barry Goldberg & Clydie King: "Mockingbird"" / "Jackson Highway" (Reprise 1120) * 1972 Brown Sugar: "Somebody Stronger" / "One Way Street Called Love" (Abkco 5001) * 1972 The Blackberries: "Somebody Up There" / "But I Love Him" (Mowest 5020) * 1973 The Blackberries: "Don't Change On Me" / " Twist and Shout" (A & M 1442) * 1973 Brown Sugar: "Don't Hold Back" / "Loneliness (Will Bring Us Together Again)" (Bullet 711) * 1973 Brown Sugar: "Don't Hold Back" / "Loneliness (Will Bring Us Together Again)" (Chelsea 78–0125) * 1973 Brown Sugar: "Sugar, Didn't I" / "Moonlight and Taming You" (RCA APBO-0149) * 1974 Clydie King & Brown Sugar: "Dance To The Music" / "Love Can Bring You Down" (RCA APBO-0239) * 1974 The Blackberries: "Life Is Full Of Joy" / "Yesterday's Music" (A & M 1630) * 1975 Clydie King: "Punish Me" / "Punish Me" (instrumental) (U.K. 2801) * 1977 Clydie King: "Streets Full Of Flowers" / "Streets Full Of Flowers" (instrumental) (Whisper WX 2345)

Albums

* 1972 Clydie King: ''Direct Me'' (Lizard / Ampex Records, A-20104) * 1973 Brown Sugar: ''Brown Sugar featuring Clydie King'' (Chelsea Records, BCL1-0368) * 1976 Clydie King: ''Rushing to Meet You'' (Tiger Lily Records, TL 14037) * 2007 Clydie King: ''The Imperial & Minit Years'' (Stateside Records, 5099950958122)

As backing vocalist (selected)

: ''It's a Blues Thing'' 1995 – King sang " Ode to Billie Joe" rec. 1968 * Diana Ross and the Supremes: " No Matter What Sign You Are" 1969 *

: '' Love Country Style'' 1970 – duet on "Sweet Memories" * Crabby Appleton: ''Rotten to the Core'' 1971 * The Supremes: " Nathan Jones" 1971 * Beaver and Krause: "Walkin' By the River" on ''Gandarva'' 1971 * Martha Reeves and the Vandellas: " Bless You" 1971 *

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: ''Madura II'' 1973 *

: '' Atlanta's Burning Down'' 1978 *

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: '' Tap Root Manuscript'' 1970 – backing vocals to "Childsong" and "Missa" *

: '' Saved'' 1980, '' Shot of Love'' 1981, ''

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'' 1983, '' Biograph'' 1985, '' Down in the Groove'' 1988, '' The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991'' 1991, '' The Bootleg Series Vol. 13: Trouble No More 1979–1981'' 2017 * Chuck Girard: ''Take It Easy'' 1979 *

: '' Eat It'' 1973 *

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: '' Caribou'' 1974 * B.B. King: ''Indianola Mississippi Seeds'' 1970 – Angelic Chorus on "Hummingbird" * Gary St. Clair: ''Gary St. Clair'' 1971 *

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: " Sweet Home Alabama" 1974Dupree, Tom
Lynyrd Skynyrd in Sweet Home Atlanta
, ''

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'', October 24, 1974. Retrieved September 17, 2006. * Martha Reeves: ''Martha Reeves'', Produced by Richard Perry 1974 *

: '' Exile on Main St.'' 1972 *

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: '' Full Circle'' 1972 *

: '' Don't Cry Now'' 1973, '' Heart Like A Wheel'' 1974 *

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: '' Baby It's Me'' 1977 *

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: '' Cameo'' 1973 *

: '' Can't Buy A Thrill'' 1972, '' The Royal Scam'' 1976, '' Aja'' 1977 * Jean Terrell: '' I Had to Fall in Love'' 1978 * Joe Walsh: '' The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get'' 1973 *

: '' A Star Is Born'' – backup vocals with Venetta Fields as The Oreos 1976 * B.W. Stevenson: " My Maria" 1973 - backup vocals with Bill & Taffy Danoff, Daniel J. Moore*, Lorna Willard, Venetta Fields

References

External links

Soulful Kinda Music
— Clydie King Discography * Clydie King creditsat

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

The Complete Blackberries
– Documentation of the lady singers in Humble Pie {{DEFAULTSORT:King, Clydie 1943 births 2019 deaths 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers American women singers American session musicians Singers from Dallas RPM Records (United States) artists Specialty Records artists Kent Records artists Imperial Records artists Capitol Records artists RCA Victor artists American soul singers 21st-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American women The Blackberries members The Raelettes members