W.C. Clark, known as the 'Godfather of Austin Blues,' has died at age 84
Wesley Curley "W.C." Clark, the singer and guitarist dubbed the "Godfather of Austin Blues," died Saturday at Christopher House hospice in Austin. He was 84.
Clark had been diagnosed with cancer at Ascension Seton Hays in Kyle not long after playing his regular gig at Giddy Ups on Feb. 20.
"Although he was known as the 'Godfather of Austin Blues' for the guidance he gave so willingly to blues obsessives looking for the source," wrote music historian and former American-Statesman critic Michael Corcoran in his "Overserved" column on Substack, "he was often overlooked in the pantheon, and was woefully underrated.
"Some could sing as soulfully. A few could play better. But nobody did both better."
Known as much for his hard work and courteous style as for his musical skills, Clark was so closely associated with the texture of Austin's music scene, his likeness was featured on the "Welcome to South Austin" sign on South First Street.
Clark played with — and often mentored — multiple generations of Austin musicians, including Jimmie Vaughan, Lou Ann Barton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Angela Strehli, Charlie Sexton and Will Sexton.
"Clark was an Austin soul blues legend," posted musician Ron Ramelli, a public relations specialist and formerly a Statesman advertising salesman, after Corcoran broke the news of Clark's death. "First person I played a show with when I arrived here in the early '90s, at the Victory Grill. A special night for me. Saw him at the Saxon Pub often, recently as a month or so ago, always on."
From gospel and jazz to blues and rock
Born Nov. 16, 1939, in Austin, Clark sang in the choir at St. Johns College Heights Baptist Church, located in the St. Johns neighborhood in Northeast Austin. He first picked up a guitar in the 1950s.
In the 1960s, he appeared regularly at Charlie's Playhouse, a jazz and blues club at 2016 E. 11th St. operated by businessman Charlie Earnest Gilden. That's where met soul singer and musician Joe Tex, who took Clark on the road, where he was exposed to the great American R&B talents of the day.
After he settled back in Austin, Clark befriended Stevie Ray Vaughan, who drafted him to perform with his Triple Threat Revue. By the 1980s, he had formed the W.C. Clark Blues Revue at a time when blues-based rock became the city's most identifiable sound. Clark's band played often at Antone's, where he opened for some of the biggest blues acts in show business.
Beginning in 1986, Clark recorded seven albums.
“W.C. Clark has it all," wrote a contributor to Living Blues Magazine, "everything from good old rock 'n' roll and gritty roadhouse R&B to strutting Memphis soul, second-line funk and contemporary blues.”
Few Austin musicians worked as steadily as Clark over the course of 70 years in the business.
"Lucky to have seen him since the '70s here in Austin," fan Bill Burns posted. "We caught his Monday shows recently at Hays City Store. Saw him way back with Stevie Ray Vaughan, too. They are glad to see each other again!"
In 1990, "Austin City Limits" celebrated Clark's 50th birthday with tributes and performances by Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmie Vaughan, Kim Wilson, Lou Ann Barton, Angela Strehli and Will Sexton.
"One of the more righteous bookings that 'Austin City Limits' ever made was to shine the spotlight on W.C. Clark,' posted former Statesman music critic Peter Blackstock, "who was little known outside of Austin but was hugely influential to some of the city’s most prominent musicians."
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin blues and soul musician, W.C. Clark, dies of cancer