Cowboy Jack Clement, Hall Of Famer, dies aged 82
Sources / LINKS show in RED
Jack Clement (April 5, 1931 - August 8, 2013)
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| "Cowboy" Jack Clement Montage - CLICK TO ENLARGE |
Country Music Hall of Famer, died at 82 at his Nashville home. He had suffered from liver
cancer.
- Mr.Jack
Henderson Clement became one of the most respected and influential figures
in the country music industry.
- He
gained success not only as a songwriter, but also as a studio engineer,
producer, recording studio owner, music publisher, and artist.
- He
was known as “Cowboy Jack” in
spite of his avowed dislike of horses and his propensity for wearing
sneakers and Hawaiian shirts. At Sun Records in Memphis, he was the first
to record Jerry Lee Lewis and Roy Orbison.
- He
wrote and produced historic records for best friend Johnny Cash.
- He
schooled studio protégés such as Garth Fundis, Allen Reynolds (Crystal
Gayle, Kathy Mattea, Garth Brooks), Jim Rooney, and Mark Howard.
- A 2013 inductee into CMA’s Country Music
Hall of Fame he was the only person ever to produce recordings by members
of the Rock and Roll, Country, Jazz, Blues, Bluegrass, Gospel and Polka
Halls of Fame.
Jack Clement Timeline
30's - 40's
1931: Born
Jack Henderson Clement April 5, 1931. A native of Whitehaven, Tennessee, near
Memphis, along the famed Highway 61. His father was a church choir director,
and his early childhood included repeated exposure to the sounds of Roy Acuff
and Wayne Raney, via Memphis radio station WMC.
Education: Grade
School--Levi Grammar School (from 1937-1945) , High School--Whitehaven High
(from 1945-1948)
College--Washington Bible College (1951)
1948: Enlisted in the Marines at age 17 and was
stationed in the Washington, D.C., area (last two of his four years of service)
1950's
1951: As a drill team member, he was chosen to be among the
few soldiers who officially saluted Princess Elizabeth during her visit to the Capitol.
A captured photo later hung in Mr. Clement’s
music office.[Apparently, this photo was in LIFE MAGAZINE at the time, and when
the British press got a hold of it, they ran it with a caption something like,
"Pardon us, your Highness, but your slip is showing"]
1953: While in the Marines, he met the Stonemans, a
family whose roots in country music were even deeper than those of the famed
Carter Family. He teamed up with Scotty Stoneman. When discharged from service
they performed on the radio as Buzz and Jack and the Bayou Boys. Began career as recording
artist for Sheraton Records in Boston.
1954: Settled temporarily in Memphis and enrolled at
Memphis State University (studied English and Literature to 1955) He
began playing
steel guitar for a local country bandleader, Slim Wallace; the two
formed their own record label, Fernwood.
1956: Sun Records owner Sam Phillips heard a Billy
Lee Riley song Mr. Clement had produced, he was offered a job as a Sun Records engineer and
producer, at $60 a week. His salary eventually rose to $90 a week,
on the strength of his work with Lewis, Cash, Orbison, Charlie Rich, Carl
Perkins and others. He engineered the famed Presley/Cash/Lewis/Perkins session
eventually released as “The Million
Dollar Quartet.” He participated in rock’s first great wave.
1958: "Ballad
of a Teenage Queen" and "Guess
Things Happen That Way" both penned by Clement were #1 country and Top
Twenty pop hits for Johnny Cash.
1959: Sam Phillips “fired” him after a boozy night,
but Mr. Clement could have stayed on. He created first publishing company, Jack Music Inc.
1960's
1960: Moved to Nashville to work as a songwriter and
producer for Chet Atkins at RCA. Soon, however, Clement relocated to Beaumont,
Texas, where he and producer Bill Hall opened Gulf Coast Recording Studios.
1962: He met George Jones in Beaumont and suggested he
cut Dickey Lee's "She Thinks I
Still Care," a #1 hit for Jones who also hit #3 with Clement's "A Girl I Used to Know".
1964: Johnny Cash called him saying he had a dream
about a mariachi band playing on a song called “Ring of Fire.” The result was Mr. Clement wound up arranging the
unusual horn part on the now-classic, and he played the rhythm guitar part on
the record. He acquired
his nickname, Cowboy, after a role in a made-up radio show he
created with Dickey Lee and songwriter-producer Allen Reynolds.
1965: Re-established his production and publishing
company, Jack Music. Clement moved back to Nashville and began a lengthy association with singer Charley
Pride. He financed a demo session and gave the tape to Chet Atkins,
who signed Pride to RCA. Clement produced or co-produced Pride's first thirteen
RCA albums.
Kris Kristofferson arrived in Nashville on vacation
in 1965, wearing an Army uniform. Mr. Clement persuaded Kris Kristofferson (who resigned
his military commission) to move to town.
1968: Clement had two self-penned songs on Johnny
Cash’s epic 1968 “Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison” album: “Dirty Old Egg-Sucking Dog” and “Flushed From the Bathroom of Your Heart.” Aided by money rolling in
from the Charlie Pride projects, he decided to engage in some empire building.
1970's:
Clement expanded his publishing company and opened
three Nashville recording studios. He made Dear Dead Delilah, which would wind up to
be a tremendous financial bust. Clement established the JMI label, the early home base
for country star Don Williams (who later moved to ABC/Dot)
1970: He built Jack Clement Recording Studios, he early
home base for country star Don Williams
now known as Sound Emporium and which has been the spot for many hit
recordings.
1973: He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame
(along with included Harlan Howard, Don Gibson, Roger Miller and Willie Nelson).
He was also inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and Nashville's Music
City Walk of Fame.
1975: He produced Waylon Jennings's classic album "Dreaming My Dreams" and hosted recording sessions for Merle
Haggard, Ray Stevens, and Mickey Newbury, as well as Don Williams. Like
Williams, Bob McDill ("Amanda") and Allen Reynolds ("Dreaming My
Dreams with You") were members of Clement's songwriting stable. Artists
who cut songs from Clement's vast publishing catalog ranged from Tammy Wynette
to Eric Clapton, Perry Como, and Elvis Presley.
1978: Recorded originally for Sun Records in the
1950s, his album
debut surfaced, "All I
Want to Do in Life" (Elektra Records 1978), included "When I Dream," a Sandy Mason song
Crystal Gayle took to #3 in 1979. Clement sold his studio "Jack’s Tracks", to
producer Allen Reynolds.
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| "Cowboy" Jack Clement Montage - CLICK TO ENLARGE |
1980's:
Produced records for Johnny Cash as well as tracks for U2's Rattle and Hum (“When Love Comes
To Town”), the band's 1988 tribute to American roots music.
90's and 2000's:
Drew inspiration from young artists Billy Burnette and Shawn Camp. He performed shows during a sold-out residency at the
Country Music Hall of Fame. He worked on a movie score with T Bone Burnett.
2004: Dualtone Records released the second album of
his career, the critically lauded album "Guess Things Happen That Way" (his first album in more than
25-years). He took bows as an Americana Music Association award winner
(Lifetime Achievement Award)
2005: His Cowboy Jack's Home Movies was named best
documentary at the Nashville Film Festival.
2007: Clement released the DVD "Shakespeare was a Big George Jones Fan",
a documentary made up largely of home movies.
2009: Inducted into the Music City Walk of Fame along
with five others on April 19 in Nashville.
2011: Clement hosted a regular show on Sirius XM
satellite radio’s Outlaw
Country channel bringing listeners into the world of the
"Cowboy Arms Hotel & Recording
Spa". A June 2011 fire destroyed his home and he stood safely and
sadly outside,
wearing an Elvis Presley bathrobe as the
"Cowboy Arms". Clement and his companion, Aleene Jackson, were
unharmed by the fire. They spent time in other residences while the Cowboy Arms
was rebuilt.
2013: Clement's musical colleagues and friends
(including Kristofferson, Pride, Emmylou Harris, John Prine, Rodney Crowell,
Vince Gill) staged a concert in his honour on January 30, 2013, at
War Memorial Auditorium in Nashville.
Mr. Clement was in ill health, but he made his way to the stage at night’s end
delivering a mini-set that concluded with a version of the Rolling Stones’ “No
Expectations”. The show also included video
tributes from President Bill Clinton, first lady Michelle Obama, Bono of
U2, country star Taylor Swift (at Mr. Clement’s insistence: He loved Taylor
Swift) and other dignitaries. The tribute featured speakers including ABC
"Nashville" TV co-creator Callie Khouri who spoke about Clement's
magical spirit. Nashville's Connie Britton presented an award to Clement. (photo)
The CMA announced in April 2013 that Mr.Clement had been elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame.
He will be inducted officially on October 27, 2013.
He died at his home in Nashville on August 8, 2013, after a long bout with liver cancer.
He is survived by daughter Allison (singer and
writer) and son Niles.
Mr.
Clement liked to say:
“If we’re not having fun then
we’re not doing our job.”
Tributes:
“He’s the
first guy I met in Nashville, and we’ve been friends ever since,” “One of my favorite people on the planet. An
amazing character. Totally supportive of the right things in music, and funny
on top of it.” - Kris Kristofferson
(2013)
RIP Cowboy Jack Clement We are sad to report that Cowboy Jack Clement passed away
peacefully this morning at the Cowboy Arms Hotel and Recording Spa in Music
City U.S.A. Gone but not forgotten. A true legend. - SiriusXM
It is impossible to love country music and not feel
a canyon sized gulf of sadness over the passing of Jack Clement. Happy trails,
Cowboy. - Jaida Dreyer
Kris
Kristofferson, Marty
Stuart remember ‘Cowboy’ Jack Clement - The Tennessean
Jack Clement Catalog Highlights:
"Ballad of a Teenage Queen" - Johnny Cash (1957)
"Guess Things Happen That Way" - Johnny Cash (1958)
"A Girl I Used to Know" (George Jones, Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton, Ray Charles)
"Miller's Cave" (Hank
Snow, Bobby Bare)
"California Girl and the Tennessee
Square" (Tompall and the Glaser Brothers)
"Not What I Had in Mind" (George Jones)
"Does My Ring Hurt Your Finger"
(Co-writen with Don Robertson; recorded by Charley
Pride)
"It'll Be Me" (Co-writen with Jerry
Gillespie, Rory Bourke, recorded by Jerry Lee Lewis,
Cliff Richard, Tom Jones)
"Fools Like Me" (Co-written with Murphy
Maddox, recorded by Jerry Lee Lewis)
"I Know One" (Jim
Reeves, Charley Pride)
"Everybody Loves a Nut", "The One On
The Right Is On The Left" (Johnny Cash)
"Let the Chips Fall", "Just Between
You and Me" (Charley Pride)
"Let All Help the Cowboys (Sing the
Blues)" (Waylon Jennings)
"The Moods of Mary", "Gone
Girl" (The Glaser Brothers)
"Dirty Old Egg Sucking Dog" (Johnny Cash)
"Don't Tennessee Waltz Out On Me"
"Just Someone I Used to Know" (Lee Ann Womack Track 13, Album “There's More Where
That Came From”)
"Someone I Used to Know" (Patty Loveless, album Mountain Soul 2001)
Pineapple Jack Clement's Ten Tips For Songwriters -
Sources:
Yahoo! (Nashville' Stars Turn Out for
Cowboy Jack Clement Tribute Event) -
Related Links:
CMA Close Up - Cowboy Jack Clement (1931-2013)
Photo Gallery:
Audio:
Jack Clement "I
Guess Things Happen That Way"
SiriusXM Outlaw Country's Mojo Nixon pays tribute
to Cowboy Jack Clement - soundcloud.com
Spotify:
Music Purchase
Video:
Interviewed by
singer/songwriter/budding journalist Jacque Faye about early days at Sun and
more.
Cowboy Jack Clement performing "It'll Be Me" live at Music City Roots
on Jan 27, 2010
R.I.P Cowboy Jack Clement
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