Judy Clay
Wikimp3 information about the music of Judy Clay. On our website we have 3 albums and 70 collections of artist Judy Clay. You can find useful information and download songs of this artist. We also know that Judy Clay represents Soul genres.
Biography
[Edit]Although her deep, potent voice never translated to commercial success, Judy Clay deserves more than footnote status in the annals of Southern soul. The impact of her collaboration with Billy Vera as the first interracial male/female duo to record for a major label should also not be understated.
Born Judy Guions in St. Paul, North Carolina on September 12, 1938, she began singing in church as a small child. As a teen, she relocated to Harlem and continued her choir activities there. At 13, Clay was adopted by Lee Drinkard, of the renowned gospel group the Drinkard Singers, which also included Drinkard's daughters, Dionne and Dee Dee Warwick, and sister Cissy Houston. Clay made her recorded debut with the Drinkards on the 1954 LP The Newport Spiritual Stars and remained with the group for the duration of the decade before she moved on to secular music, signed to Ember, and released her solo debut single "More Than You'd Know" in 1961. "Do You Think That's Right" appeared the following year, and while both captured soul music at its most visceral and poignant, neither record caught on at radio or retail, a pattern Clay proved unable to shake for the majority of her career. In 1963, she signed to the Lavette label, teaming with Little Lee for the duet "Everyday Since You've Been Gone," the first of many such collaborations spread across her discography.
After a solo effort for Lavette, "Let It Be Me," Clay signed to Scepter in late 1963, by then also home to sibling Dionne Warwick. Her label debut, "You Busted My Mind," later earned considerable favor on Britain's Northern soul club circuit, but upon its initial release the record went nowhere, as did its 1964 follow-up "My Arms Aren't Strong Enough." After issuing her third Scepter effort, "Lonely People Do Foolish Things," Clay did not resurface on record until she released "Haven't Got What It Takes" in 1966. Following "He's the Kind of Guy," Scepter terminated her contract, and she issued a one-off single for Stax, 1967's "You Can't Run Away from a Good Heart." Atlantic Records producer Jerry Wexler then paired Clay with Billy Vera, a blue-eyed soul singer who previously recorded a handful of little-noticed singles for the Cameo label. Their debut duet "Storybook Children" seemed poised for success. Audiences at Harlem's famed Apollo Theater and civil-rights proponents alike applauded not only their performance but also their conviction, but network television execs refused to allow Clay and Vera the airtime necessary to vault their music into the mass consciousness. Moreover, Clay was pregnant at the time with her first child by her husband, jazz drummer Leo Gatewood, and many mistakenly believed Vera was the father.
The second Clay and Vera duet, 1968's "A Country Girl and a City Man (Just Across the Line)," likewise stalled on the charts because of corporate myopia, and after an additional Atlantic collaboration, "When Do We Go," the singers went their separate ways. Clay immediately inaugurated a new partnership with longtime Stax artist and writer William Bell, scoring the biggest hit of her career with the bluesy ballad "Private Number." In between their follow-up, "My Baby Specializes," Clay cut a solo disc, "Remove These Clouds," but because Stax's distribution deal with Atlantic was crumbling, the label let her go in late 1968. She and Vera reunited long enough for one final collaboration, 1969's "Reaching for the Moon," but the famously difficult Clay refused a return engagement at the Apollo when the venue refused to accede to her salary demands, effectively denying the single the push it needed. Atlantic abruptly halted its promotional efforts as a result, and the single quickly disappeared from sight. The label nevertheless funded a Muscle Shoals Studio solo session that yielded Clay's 1970 minor chart entry "Greatest Love," soon followed by her Atlantic swan song, "Sister Pitiful." She continued touring and working studio gigs until 1979, when following a successful operation to remove a brain tumor she vowed never to sing secular music again. Clay became a licensed evangelist in 1990. She died July 19, 2001 following complications from an auto accident.
Collections
Title: Stax-Volt: The Complete Singles (1959-1968)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul
Title: Atlantic Unearthed: Soul Sisters
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul
Title: The RZA Presents Shaolin Soul Selection: Vol. 1
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul
Title: Deep Soul Moments (Sometime, Someplace, Somewhere)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul
Title: Almost Big Hits of 1962, Vol. 10 (Original Recordings)
Genre: Pop
Title: Stax/Volt - The Complete Singles 1959-1968 - Volume 8
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul
Title: Soul Review Volume 12
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Pop
Title: Gospel Brunch
Genre: Gospel
Title: Stax 50th Anniversary Celebration (Disc 1)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul
Title: Beg, Scream & Shout! The Big Ol' Box Of '60s Soul
Genre: Soul
Title: 100 Tubes Soul (CD4)
Title: Shaolin Soul 3
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Funk
Title: Lonely Avenue - Soul From New York (CD2)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Rock
Title: Trax From Stax
Title: This Is The Sound Of... Soul
Genre: Soul
Title: Together 20 Timeless Duets
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Pop
Title: Outta Sight ~ The R&B Singles Collection Vol. 4
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul
Title: Blues Brother Soul Sister - Volume Two
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul
Title: Living The Nightlife
Genre: Soul
Title: I Love Sixties (CD2)
Title: Sweet Soul Music: Voices From The Shadows
Genre: Soul
Title: A Soul Awakening From Sacred To Secular (CD2)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B
Title: A Soul Awakening From Sacred To Secular (CD5)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B
Title: Classic Stax (CD1)
Title: 60s R&B
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul
Title: 60s Soul Beyond The Hits
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Funk
Title: Soulsville U. S. A.: A Celebration Of Stax (CD2)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Blues, Funk
Title: 101 Stax Records 5CDs (CD2)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Blues, Gospel, Byzantine/Relegious, Country, Disco
Title: Stax Singles, Vol. 4: Rarities & The Best Of The Rest (CD2)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Blues, Rock, Punk Rock
Title: Epic Soul Ballads
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Jazz, New Wave, Disco, Synth Pop, Funk, Smooth Jazz
Title: Ultimate Blues Guitar 2018
Genre: Blues
Title: Shaolin Soul - Episode 1
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Disco, Pop, Funk
Title: Shaolin Soul - Episode 3
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Disco, Pop, Funk
Title: Funky Southern Soul
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Funk
Title: The 100 Collection 60s 70s Soul And Motown (CD1)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Disco, Funk
Title: 60s Soul: 60 Songs (CD1)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Blues, Rock, Disco, Funk, Easy Listening
Title: Play: Soul Ballads
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Blues, Rock, Country, Disco, Funk, Acoustic
Title: Stax ’68: A Memphis Story (CD5)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Blues
Title: Stax ’68: A Memphis Story (CD3)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Blues
Title: 80s Blues Rock Essentials
Genre: Blues, Blues Rock
Title: 80s Blues Rock Classics
Genre: Blues Rock
Title: Greatest Jazz & Blues Singers 2020
Genre: Blues, Jazz, Vocal Jazz
Title: Great 60s Soul Covers
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Gospel, World Music, Country, Disco, Funk, Folk
Title: Atlantic Soul Classics
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Blues, Rock, Rock & Roll, Country, Rockabilly
Title: American Soul Connexion (1954-1962) (CD3)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Funk
Title: 60's Deep Soul
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Funk
Title: Greatest Ever Classic (CD3)
Genre: Blues, Rock, Garage Rock, Rock & Roll, Disco, Pop Rap, Synth Pop, Funk, Psychedelic
Title: The Funky 60s
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Jazz, Funk
Title: Greatest Ever Soul Ballads 2021
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Blues, Rock, Rock & Roll, Punk Rock, Funk
Title: 60s 70s Soul Ballads
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Funk
Title: I'll Be Loving You, Yes I Will: Rare Soul Sides
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul
Title: '70s Soul Divas
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul
Title: Knock On Wood: Memphis Soul / R&B Classics 2021
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Funk
Title: Early Deep Soul Divas 1954-1962
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul
Title: Mastermix Classic Cuts 098 - Early Soul
Genre: Pop
Title: Classic Soul Deep Cuts 2022 (CD1)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Rock, Punk Rock, World Music, Pop, Kids, Funk, Folk
Title: 220 DJ Loaded - Created Dances 2023 (CD5)
Genre: Electronica
Featuring albums
Title: The Man With The Iron Fists: Deluxe Ultra Pak CD5
Artist: Rza, Howard Drossin
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Rap
Title: Stax Singles, Vol. 4: Rarities & the Best of the Rest
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul
Title: Stax ’68: A Memphis Story / Stax '68: A Memphis Story
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul