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

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre, genre and form of rock music, rock and blues music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electri ...

and

electric blues Electric blues is blues music distinguished by the use of electric amplification for musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified and used by early pioneers T-Bone Walker in the late 1930s and John Lee Ho ...

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 "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

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

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" ...

, 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 along with digital sales and streaming. ...

charts. His highest-charting single was "Tell Me About It", a 1992 duet with Tanya Tucker, 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, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

; 1992 Rock Performance by a Duo with Bonnie Raitt 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, 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).

Career

Early years

McClinton was born in

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Lubbock County. With a population of 272,086 in 2024, Lubbock is the 10th-most populous city in Texas and the 84th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the ...

and moved with his family to

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

when he was 11 years old. He worked in a bar band, the Straitjackets, who backed

Sonny Boy Williamson II Alex or Aleck Miller (originally Ford, possibly December 5, 1912 – May 24, 1965), known later in his career as Sonny Boy Williamson, was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter. He was an early and influential blues harp s ...

Howlin' Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player. He was at the forefront of transforming acoustic Delta blues into electric Chica ...

, Lightnin' Hopkins, and

Jimmy Reed Mathis James Reed (September 6, 1925 – August 29, 1976) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His particular style of electric blues was popular with a wide variety of audiences. Reed's songs such as "Honest I Do" (1957), "Baby Wha ...

. 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 activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

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 Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of 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. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

and

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in African-American culture, African-American African-American neighborhood, communities throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps ...

. They released two albums before splitting and McClinton embarked on a solo career.

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and activist. She is considered one of the leading music artists behind the country rock genre in the 1970s and the Americana (music), Americana genre ...

had a number 1 hit in 1978 with her recording of McClinton's composition " Two More Bottles of Wine", 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, '' Briefcase Full of Blues''.

1980s and 1990s

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

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently 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. "To ...

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 he toured heavily. McClinton closed the decade with the

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

-nominated 1989 album ''Live from Austin'', recorded during an appearance on the television program ''

Austin City Limits ''Austin City Limits'' is an American Concert, live music Television show, television program recorded and produced by KLRU, Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", an ...

'' and co-produced by sax sideman Don Wise, who went on to become a longtime fixture in the band. In 1991 McClinton won a Grammy Award for a duet with Bonnie Raitt, "Good Man, Good Woman", and reached the Top 5 of the Country chart with "Tell Me About It", a duet with Tanya Tucker. 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 (, , , ; Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia: Daks Day) is a tradition observed regionally in the United States and Canada on February 2 of every year. It derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if ...

'', starring

Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian, known for his deadpan delivery in roles ranging from studio comedies to independent dramas. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Bill Murra ...

. The fledgling

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product. Labels are most often affixed to packaging and containers using an adhesive, or sewing when affix ...

Rising Tide Records 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 Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

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

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for his album ''

Cost of Living The cost of living is the cost of maintaining a certain standard of living for an individual or a household. Changes in the cost of living over time can be measured in a cost-of-living index. Cost of living calculations are also used to compare t ...

'' 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 and songwriter. Starting her career in 1954, James frequently performed in Nashville's R&B clubs, collectively known as the Ch ...

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 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 ...

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

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Singles

Guest singles

Music videos

Grammy awards and nominations

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2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

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2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, "Midnight Communion" , Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance , , - , ''

Cost Of Living The cost of living is the cost of maintaining a certain standard of living for an individual or a household. Changes in the cost of living over time can be measured in a cost-of-living index. Cost of living calculations are also used to compare t ...

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2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, '' Room To Breathe'' , , - , align=center,

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, '' Nothing Personal'' , , - , align=center,

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

, " Tell Me About It" , Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Collaboration , , - , align=center,

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, "Good Man, Good Woman" ,

Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal The Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal was awarded between 1980 and 2011. The award was discontinued after the 2011 award season in a major overhaul of Grammy categories. Beginning in 2012, all solo or duo/group ...

, , - , align=center, 1990 , ''Live From Austin'' , Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Recording , , -

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 Musicians 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