|
Performs Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World"   
|
 In
the '70s Roy Clark symbolized country music in the US and abroad. Between
guest-hosting for Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show and performing
to packed houses in the Soviet Union on a tour that sold out all 18 concerts,
he used his musical talent and his entertaining personality to bring country
music into homes across the world. As one of the hosts of TV's Hee Haw
(Buck Owens was the other) for more than 20 years Clark picked and sang
and offered country corn to 30 million people weekly. He is first and foremost
an entertainer, drawing crowds at venues as different as Las Vegas, Atlantic
City, and the Opry. Among his numerous vocal hits are "Yesterday When I
Was Young" and "Thank God and Greyhound." Instrumentally he has won awards,
for both guitar and banjo. Clark has also co-starred on the silver screen
with Mel Tillis, in the comedy Uphill All the Way.
In 1963, Clark signed to Capitol Records, and his first single for the label, "Tips of My Fingers," became a Top Ten hit. Over the next two years, he had a handful of minor hits for Capitol before he switched labels, signing with Dot in 1968. At Dot, his career took off again, through covers of pop songs like Charles Aznavour's "Yesterday, When I Was Young" (number nine, 1969). However, what really turned Clark's career around was not records, it was a television show called Hee Haw. Conceived as a country version of Laugh-In, Hee Haw began its run in 1969 on CBS. Roy Clark and Bakersfield country pioneer Buck Owens were picked as co-hosts. Over the next two years, it was one of the most popular shows on television. While Hee Haw was at the height of its popularity, Clark had a string of country hits that ranged from Top Ten singles like "I Never Picked Cotton" (1970), "Thank God and Greyhound" (1970), "The Lawrence Welk - Hee Haw Counter-Revolution Polka" (1972), "Come Live With Me" (1973), "Somewhere Between Love and Tomorrow" (1973), "Honeymoon Feelin'" (1974), and "If I Had It to Do All Over Again" (1976), to a multitude of minor hits. Though he didn't consistently top the country charts, Clark became one of the most recognizable faces in country music, appearing on television commercials, Hee Haw, and touring not only the United States, but a number of other countries, including a ground-breaking sojourn to the Soviet Union in 1976. In 1979, the momentum of his career began to slow down, as he left his long-time label ABC/Dot for MCA. Over the next two years, he had a number of minor hits before leaving the label. He recorded one inspirational album for Songbird in 1981 before signing to Churchill in 1982. None of Clark's recordings for Churchill were big hits, and his brief stays at Silver Dollar in 1986 and Hallmark in 1989 also resulted in no hits. Nevertheless, Clark had become a country icon by the mid-'80s, so his lack of sales didn't matter -- he continued to sell out concerts and win awards; he even made the comedy western Uphill All the Way in 1986 with Mel Tillis. In 1987, he was belatedly made a member of the Grand Ole Opry. During the '90s, Clark concentrated on performing at his theater in Branson, Missouri, sporadically releasing re-recordings of his big hits on a variety of small labels, though 2000's Live At Billy Bob's Texas marked his first live release in nearly a decade. Christmas Memories followed that same year. David
Vinopal
|