Clay's new CD, Son of a Gun, boasts plenty of gutsy, gritty lyrics laid on a strong musical bed. Clayâs music introduces âalternative countryâ to âcontemporary blues,â and the two genres become fast friends.

11 MP3 Songs
BLUES: Texas Style, COUNTRY: Country Blues



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Singer/songwriter/guitarist Clay McClintonâs musical sound is woven together with rawhide and hemp, barbwire and willow reed. Itâs that eclectic sound born in Texas where honky tonk, Delta blues and soulful rock meld seamlessly. Clayâs music introduces âalternative countryâ to âcontemporary blues,â and the two genres become fast friends.
His new CD, Son of a Gun, boasts plenty of gutsy, gritty lyrics laid on a strong musical bed. âThe Man I Wanna Be,â is an inward-looking, country conversational tune with a haunting melody. Clay moves from there to the Texas romp of âWorn Down To The Bone,â and the two-stepping lost-love tune, âMissing You,â which is one of two songs on the album that he co-wrote with his dad, Delbert McClinton. Delbert provides backup vocals on âMissing Youâ and also co-wrote âHowlinâ at the Moon.â
âThis album has a lot more co-writes than my first one,â Clay says. âI like writing by myself, and I have a lot of songs under my hat that Iâve written, but Iâm enjoying co-writing as well. Iâve been in Nashville for a couple of years now, so Iâve expanded my circle of talented writer and musician friends.â
Like his debut CD, Out of the Blue, this project is mostly self-produced, with Delbertâs keyboard player, Kevin McKendree, adding his ear to some of the cuts. âA Thing For Youâ was actually written in the studio with Kevin and Delbert when Clay brought in the musical base without lyrics. The only song Clay didnât write is âListeninâ to the Rain.â
One of the differences between his first CD and Son of a Gun is that Clay used mostly studio musicians for Out of the Blue. Now he has his own road band, and many of the cuts feature those musicians. His piano player, Andrew Bett, not only plays on most of the cuts, he also co-wrote âThe Man I Wanna Be.â Clayâs drummer, Jim Evans, provides drums and percussion to all the cuts.
âI have a great band, and since the release of my first CD, my focus has been on getting out of town,â Clay says, âgetting on the road and building fans one by one. Weâve done 140 dates this year, from Key West to Rockland, Maine, to Evergreen, Colorado.â
Few artists have pursued their careers with the clarity and conscious exploration that mark Clayâs self-designed path. He grew up in Fort Worth, TX and began learning guitar and harmonica from both his father and older brother, Monty. At 16, he began to pursue music as a career more seriously. Being his fatherâs son, itâs not surprising that Clayâs eclectic influences lean toward songwriters â Willie Nelson, Rodney Crowell, Bob Dylan, J.J. Cal