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Guy Clark (born 6 November 1941) is an American country music artist. In his career, he has released more than twenty albums, primarily on major labels. He has also written singles for other artists, including Ricky Skaggs, Steve Wariner and Rodney Crowell.
BiographyClark was born in Monahans, Texas.[Clark finds a set of Keepers. Country Standard Time. Jeffrey B. Remz, June 1997. Accessed January 8, 2009.] His early musical influences were the Spanish music and songs he heard in West Texas.[No Lonesome Tune. Austin Chronicle. Accessed on November 10, 2008]
CareerHe is an accomplished luthier and often plays his own guitars.[Article on Guy Clark] He achieved success as a songwriter with Jerry Jeff Walker’s recordings of "L.A. Freeway" and "Desperados Waiting For A Train". Artists such as Johnny Cash, David Allan Coe, Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, Steve Wariner, Brad Paisley, Alan Jackson, Rodney Crowell and The Highwaymen have recorded Clark’s songs.
Clark has been a mentor to such other singers as Steve Earle and Rodney Crowell. He organized Earle's first job as a writer in Nashville. In the 1970s, the Clarks' home in Nashville was an open house for songwriters and musicians and it features in the video Heartworn Highways, an evocation of the songwriter scene in Nashville at that time.Citation needed
Numerous artists have charted with Clark-penned tunes. In 1982, Bobby Bare made it to the Country Top Twenty with Clark’s "New Cut Road". That same year, bluegrass leader Ricky Skaggs hit No. 1 with Clark’s "Heartbroke", a song that permanently established his reputation as an ingenious songwriter. Among the many others who have covered Clark's songs are Vince Gill, who took "Oklahoma Borderline" to the Top Ten in 1985; the Highwaymen, who introduced
"Desperados Waiting For A Train" to a new generation that same year; and John Conlee, whose interpretation of “The Carpenter” rode into the Top Ten in 1987.
Steve Wariner sideswiped #l with his Top Five Clark cover "Baby I’m Yours" in 1988, and the same year Asleep at the Wheel charted with his "Blowin’ Like a Bandit". Crowell was Clark’s co-writer on "She’s Crazy for Leavin’", which in 1989 became the third of five straight #l hits for Crowell. Brad Paisley and Alan Jackson cover Clark’s "Out in the Parkin' Lot" on Paisley's Time Well Wasted CD. Jimmy Buffett has covered Clark’s "Boats to Build" and "Cinco de Mayo in Memphis".
Clark's latest album, released in 2006, is Workbench Songs. The album was nominated for "Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album" at the Grammy Awards. He also toured with Lyle Lovett, Joe Ely, and John Hiatt in 2007.
In May 2008, Clark cancelled four concerts after breaking his leg. After two months on crutches, he began to perform again on July 4 at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, DC where he appeared with Verlon Thompson. On June 20, 2009, Clark announced a new album entitled "Somedays the Song Writes You" is due on September 22, 2009, it will feature originals along with a Van Zandt song entitled "If I Needed You".
Discography Albums Singles FamilyHe is married to songwriter and artist Susanna Clark.
Filmography- Heartworn Highways Documentary, Snapper/Catfish, 1981/2003, with Townes Van Zandt, David Allan Coe, and Steve Earle
Copyright Citations
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