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Jack Henderson Clement (April 5, 1931 – August 8, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter,
record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...
, film producer and music executive. He was producer and engineer for Sam Phillips at Sun Records in its early days, discovering
Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock 'n' roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis m ...
and recording the " Million Dollar Quartet" session with Lewis,
Carl Perkins Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998)#nytimesobit, Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, Tennes ...
,
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
, and
Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...
. Clement played a key role in launching the career of
Charley Pride Charley Frank Pride (March 18, 1934 – December 12, 2020) was an American Country music, country singer. Beginning his career as a Negro league baseball player in the early-1950s, he later pursued a career in country music, becoming the gen ...
, writing several of Pride's biggest hit songs and producing 20 albums for the singer. Clement was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, the
Memphis Music Hall of Fame The Memphis Music Hall of Fame, located in Memphis, Tennessee, honors Memphis musicians for their lifetime achievements in music. The induction ceremony and concert is held each year in Memphis. Since its establishment in 2012, the Hall of Fame has ...
and the Music City Walk of Fame.


Biography


Early life

Clement was born on April 5, 1931, in the Whitehaven neighborhood of
Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...
. He grew up and went to school in Memphis, learned guitar and was performing at an early age, playing
guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
and dobro. In 1946 at the age of 15, he ran away from home. In 1948, prior to pursuing a career in music, he commenced his service in the
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
. While serving in Washington, D.C., Clement, fiddler Scotty Stoneman and mandolinist Buzz Busby formed the Tennessee Troupers, a bluegrass band. In 1953 he made his first record for Sheraton Records in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
. From 1953 to 1955 he studied at Memphis State University, where he gained the nickname "Cowboy". During his student days he played steel guitar with a local band, and he co-founded Fernwood publishing company with bandmate Slim Wallace in 1954. Clement's band recorded a demo in a home studio that Clement had built in his garage, and he took the record to Sun Records to be mastered. Upon hearing the demo Sam Philips wanted to meet and talk to Clement, and on June 15, 1956 hired Clement as a recording engineer and producer for Sun Records.


Career

At Sun Records Clement began working with acts like Billy Lee Riley before eventually working with Sun artists Roy Orbison,
Carl Perkins Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998)#nytimesobit, Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, Tennes ...
and
Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...
. He discovered and recorded
Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock 'n' roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis m ...
while Phillips was on a trip to
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
, with one of those recordings, " Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On", selected in 2005 for permanent preservation in the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress. Clement was also the recording engineer present at Sun Studio during the famous December 4, 1956 " Million Dollar Quartet" session involving Cash, Lewis, Perkins and
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
. He made the decision to record the impromptu session. In 1957, Clement wrote Johnny Cash's crossover hit " Ballad of a Teenage Queen", and " Guess Things Happen That Way", which was No. 1 on the country chart and No. 11 on the pop chart for Cash the following year. The following year, Cash scored another hit with the Clement-penned " Guess Things Happen That Way". During this time in Memphis, Clement also wrote " It'll Be Me", recorded by
Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock 'n' roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis m ...
in 1957 and covered by
Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...
and the Shadows in 1962. In 1958, Clement released the single "Ten Years", which was later covered by Johnny Western (1959), Rex Allen (1962), and Roger Mews. In 1959, he was hired by
Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), also known as "Mister Guitar" and "the Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson (musician), Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nash ...
to work as a producer at RCA Victor in
Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
, where he worked for the next year and a half, producing albums for Del Wood and others. In 1960, Jim Reeves had a top-10 country hit with Clement's song " I Know One". In 1961, producer and
publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...
Bill Hall persuaded Clement to move to
Beaumont, Texas Beaumont is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, located in Southeast Texas on the Neches River about east of Houston (city ...
. Together, Hall and Clement founded the Hall-Clement publishing company and Gulf Coast Recording Studios, where Dickey Lee recorded the top 10 hit " Patches". During this time, Clement worked with songwriters Allen Reynolds and Bob McDill, and persuaded
George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American Country music, country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for a long list of hit records, and is well known for his distinctive voice an ...
to record Lee's song " She Thinks I Still Care", as well as Clement's own song " A Girl I Used to Know". The latter was later recorded by Porter Wagoner and
Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...
(as "Just Someone I Used to Know"), and has gone on to become a Country standard. Clement continued to work in Nashville, and contributed arranging, guitar playing, and production on Cash's No. 1 hit, " Ring of Fire" in 1963. While in Beaumont, Clement worked with songwriters Allen Reynolds and Bob McDill, and persuaded
George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American Country music, country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for a long list of hit records, and is well known for his distinctive voice an ...
to record Dickey Lee's " She Thinks I Still Care" and Clement's own " Just Someone I Used to Know". In Beaumont, Clement also worked with artists including
Moon Mullican Aubrey Wilson Mullican (March 29, 1909 – January 1, 1967), known professionally as Moon Mullican and nicknamed "King of the Hillbilly Piano Players", was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and pianist. He was associated with ...
and
Joe Tex Yusuf Hazziez (born Joseph Arrington Jr.; August 8, 1935 – August 13, 1982), known professionally as Joe Tex, was an American singer and musician who gained success in the 1960s and 1970s with his brand of Southern soul, which mixed the style ...
. Clement returned to Nashville in 1965 and became a significant figure in the country music business, and attracting enough music industry professionals to the area that he was called the "Pied Piper of Nashville". He wrote the comedic " The One on the Right Is on the Left", which was a No. 2 country and No. 46 pop hit for Johnny Cash in 1966. In 1968, he produced albums for Townes Van Zandt. Clement was instrumental in launching the career of
Charley Pride Charley Frank Pride (March 18, 1934 – December 12, 2020) was an American Country music, country singer. Beginning his career as a Negro league baseball player in the early-1950s, he later pursued a career in country music, becoming the gen ...
by producing a demo and playing it for
RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...
executive Chet Atkins, resulting in Pride's being offered a recording contract. Clement wrote and produced " Just Between You and Me" and " I Know One", which became Pride's first two major hits. Clement would produce 20 albums for Pride over a six-and-a-half-year stretch, He founded a
music publishing A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music. Music publishers originally published sheet music. When copyright became legally protected, music publishers began to play a role in the management of the intellectua ...
business and established multiple recording studios, including Jack's Tracks on Music Row, and the Jack Clement Recording Studio on Belmont Boulevard, where Ray Stevens recorded " Everything Is Beautiful", which became one of the most successful records of 1969. In 1971 he co-founded Jack's Music Inc. (JMI), which launched the career of
Don Williams Donald Ray Williams (May 27, 1939 – September 8, 2017) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and 2010 inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame. He began his solo career in 1971, singing p ...
. He resumed producing records and writing songs for Johnny Cash, and produced records and wrote songs for The Stonemans and Tompall & the Glaser Brothers. Songs written by Clement were recorded by singing stars such as Johnny Cash,
Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...
, Ray Charles,
Carl Perkins Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998)#nytimesobit, Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, Tennes ...
, Bobby Bare,
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
, Jim Reeves, Jerry Lee Lewis,
Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...
, Charley Pride, Tom Jones, Dickey Lee,
Moon Mullican Aubrey Wilson Mullican (March 29, 1909 – January 1, 1967), known professionally as Moon Mullican and nicknamed "King of the Hillbilly Piano Players", was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and pianist. He was associated with ...
and Hank Snow,
Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American Country music, country singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him his immense popularity, particularly in the United States, ...
, John Prine, Foghat, Roy Orbison and many more. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1973. The same year, Bill Hall took control of Hall-Clement, selling it to the Welk Music Group two years later. In 1974, Clement sold the Jack Clement Recording Studios to producer Larry Butler and Al Mifflin, and established a recording studio in his home, which he named The Cowboy Arms Hotel and Recording Spa. Clement also produced many key recordings by
Waylon Jennings Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Outlaw country, outlaw movement in country music. Jennings started playing ...
, Johnny Cash, John Hartford, Doc Watson, Sheb Wooley,
Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...
, Frankie Yankovic, Eddy Arnold and many more. Clement was involved in a few film projects as a singer or songwriter of soundtracks. He produced and part-financed the 1975
horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...
, '' Dear Dead Delilah'', which was a financial disaster and the last film performance by the actress Agnes Moorehead. In 1978, Clement released a solo album, ''All I Want to Do in Life'', which generated three charting country singles. In 1987, Clement was approached by Irish rock band U2 to record at Sun Studio in Memphis. He was not familiar with the band's music but agreed to arrange the session. The resulting work appeared on U2's next album, ''
Rattle and Hum ''Rattle and Hum'' is a hybrid live/studio album by Irish rock band U2, and a companion rockumentary film directed by Phil Joanou. The album was produced by Jimmy Iovine and was released on 10 October 1988, while the film was distributed by ...
'', (" When Love Comes to Town", with B.B. King; "Angel of Harlem", a tribute to
Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...
; and "Love Rescue Me", with backing vocals by
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
), as well as the Woody Guthrie song "Jesus Christ", which was included on the 1988 album ''Folkways: A Vision Shared — A Tribute to Woody Guthrie & Leadbelly''. Extracts from the sessions appeared in the 1988 film ''
Rattle and Hum ''Rattle and Hum'' is a hybrid live/studio album by Irish rock band U2, and a companion rockumentary film directed by Phil Joanou. The album was produced by Jimmy Iovine and was released on 10 October 1988, while the film was distributed by ...
''.


Later life and death

In November 2003, Clement performed his song made famous by Johnny Cash, "Guess Things Happen That Way", on CMT's ''Johnny Cash Memorial Tribute'' concert TV special. He recorded a second solo album, ''Guess Things Happen That Way'', in 2004. His documentary, ''Cowboy Jack's Home Movies'' was named Best Documentary at the 2005 Nashville Film Festival. In 2005, a documentary about Clement, ''Shakespeare Was a Big George Jones Fan'', was created by Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville. It was pieced together from Clement's home videos and interviews with peers, including Jerry Lee Lewis and Bono, and released on DVD in 2007. Clement hosted a weekly program on Sirius XM's Outlaw Country channel. He was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, the
Memphis Music Hall of Fame The Memphis Music Hall of Fame, located in Memphis, Tennessee, honors Memphis musicians for their lifetime achievements in music. The induction ceremony and concert is held each year in Memphis. Since its establishment in 2012, the Hall of Fame has ...
and the Music City Walk of Fame. On June 25, 2011, a fire destroyed his home and studio on Belmont Boulevard in Nashville. Clement was unhurt, but many priceless recordings and memorabilia were lost. On April 10, 2013, it was announced he would be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Clement died at his home in Nashville on August 8, 2013. He had suffered from liver cancer. He had a daughter, Alison, also a singer and writer; and a son, Niles, an engineer and photographer.


References


External links

*
Nashvillesongwritersfoundation.com

Sirius.com


{{DEFAULTSORT:Clement, Jack 1931 births 2013 deaths Deaths from liver cancer in the United States Film producers from Tennessee American male singer-songwriters Record producers from Tennessee Country Music Hall of Fame inductees Singer-songwriters from Tennessee American country singer-songwriters Musicians from Memphis, Tennessee Sun Records artists RCA Victor artists Smash Records artists Country musicians from Tennessee