Paul Barry joins me again on episode 105, for another look at the life and career of the great William Clarke.
Paul has now released his biography: Blowin’ Like Hell: The William Clarke Story, writing it from insights he gained from Bill’s wife Jeanette, and Bill's children, and the musicians who played with him, as well as many others.
Bill dedicated his life from the age of sixteen to become the bluesman he dreamed he could be, and he worked extremely hard at it. He honed his craft from woodshedding at home, attending the blues clubs of LA, becoming the protege of George Smith, and pushing himself hard to create his unique voice both vocally and especially on the diatonic and chromatic harmonica. All this despite his personal demons, to become one of the leading players of his generation.
Links:
Paul’s website:
https://www.paulbarryblues.com/
Where to buy the biography:
https://www.paulbarryblues.com/william-clarke.html
Blues Blast magazine review of the William Clarke book:
https://www.bluesblastmagazine.com/issue-18-7-february-15-2024/?fbclid=IwAR3lctX2K7JrotYoAczEp_JE_rIktqg6QejnVrSMR52OYIvKiEM-GeyJS9Q
William Clarke Remembered Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/171827912850208/
The first William Clarke retrospective with Paul:
https://www.harmonicahappyhour.com/william-clarke-retrospective-with-paul-barry/
Videos:
Bill playing Lollipop Mama at the San Fran Blues Festival in 1991:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrXrsmUWAGM
Interview with Bill, and concert footage from Byron Bay festival in Australia:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfgWsyKvC3o
Podcast website:
https://www.harmonicahappyhour.com
Donations:
If you want to make a voluntary donation to help support the running costs of the podcast then please use this link (or visit the podcast website link above):
https://paypal.me/harmonicahappyhour?locale.x=en_GB
Spotify Playlist:
Also check out the Spotify Playlist, which contains most of the songs discussed in the podcast:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5QC6RF2VTfs4iPuasJBqwT?si=M-j3IkiISeefhR7ybm9qIQ
Podcast sponsors:
This podcast is sponsored by SEYDEL harmonicas - visit the oldest harmonica factory in the world at www.seydel1847.com or on Facebook or Instagram at SEYDEL HARMONICAS
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This is a second interview with Paul, after the first one about William (Bill) Clarke was released in June 2022
Paul has now released his biography about Bill Clarke
I’ve read the book recently and it’s a great achievement and has received lots of good reviews and comments from people
Where people can obtain the book
Was working on a harmonica instruction book before Bill died. Paul decided to write a biography instead, as lots of instructional material already available
Bill died in 1996, before the internet became widely used, and he probably isn’t as well known as he deserves to be
Looking into Bill’s life story when writing the book, saw the humble beginnings that he came from, to become the great bluesman he became
How Paul approached writing the biography, and what research did he conduct
Bill’s wife Jeanette was a great help in providing material for the book, as were his children and many of the musicians he performed with
The pressure Paul felt in making sure the biography did justice to Bill
Wife Jeanette maintains the Facebook page: William Clarke Remembered
Paul wrote the book in his spare time, on top of his job and being a part-time musician
What Paul learnt about Bill, and playing the harmonica, from writing the biography, including how hard he worked
Torn between being a family man and being the best musician he could be
Bill would practice back in the hotel room after the gig
Learned from the blues harmonica greats early on in his development, but then was keen to forge his own sound
Bill also liked to listen to organ players, saxophonists and swing jazz and learn licks from those
Bill played chromatic in the middle of third position blues and the jazz approach on chromatic from the Toots Thielemans school of playing
George Smith showed Bill how to play chromatic initially, especially the octaves
Bill learnt by ear, didn’t work on music theory
Bill’s later albums became more sophisticated as he developed his playing skills
Was determined to forge his own sound
Was also a great diatonic player, which he started out on when he took up harmonica
Played a lot of octaves on diatonic, so approached it in a similar way to his chromatic playing at times
Proportion of how much third position he played on diatonic versus second position (and others)
Most of his chromatic playing is third position
Was always keen to entertain the audience with stage antics and to give 100% to entertain the crowd, things he learnt from George Smith
Live video of Bill playing Lollipop Man is a great example of Bill’s showmanship
Every performance from Bill was different, nothing was scripted, he played and did what he felt like at the time
Kept the band on his toes by not telling them which song was coming next, or taking extended solos, etc.
Didn’t use a set-list, and the lesson that can teach us to be more spontaneous during live performance
Touring and playing every night no doubt helps tighten up the band for such spontaneity
Bill’s band didn’t practise, because they had gigs every night and also Bill wanted that freshen when recording in the studio
I committed on the podcast to lie down during a solo on my next gig as per Bill and George antics, and Paul wants photographic evidence
Bill also picked up a lot of the stagecraft in the LA blues clubs
People often remember the visual antics over your wonderful harmonica playing
Worked hard mixing the songs in the studio, to the extent that Bruce Iglauer gave him free reign to mix his own Alligator albums
How Bill approached recording in the studio
Wrote lots of his own songs, to bring a modern take on blues
Sang from the beginning, but worked hard at it and it improved as his career developed
Bill’s struggle with alcohol, and how he eventually overcame it
May have started drinking to overcome his shyness for when performing music
Performed better than ever when he quit drinking
Wife Jeanette provided fantastic support to Bill during his struggle with alcohol
Felt lonely when on the road
Was planning to tour less, spend more time at home and give harmonica lessons before he died
Did his first tour alongside George Smith in 1983, but George died later that year
Bill played with George around LA from 1977-1983
Bill quit his day job in 1986 to go full-time as a musician and toured extensively through the US and Europe, which was often hard going on the road
Signed with Alligator records in 1989, with the Blowin’ Like Hell album recorded before he signed with Alligator, but released on that label
Blowin’ Like Hell song is Bill’s anthem, and he would often perform 20 minute versions live, and the biography partly uses the song name
Other great songs from the Blowin’ Like Hell album
Blues Blast magazine said Blowin’ Like Hell album was the best harmonica album of the last twenty years
Won three WC Handy awards for the Blowin’ Like Hell album, including best instrumentalist for harmonica
Recorded three more albums on Alligator, with Paul thinking the four albums with Alligator are his best work, although there are other great earlier albums
Groove Time album is a favourite of mine
Had 18 top LA musicians with him on Groove Time album, and the great LA blues scene
LA Blues scene had more of a jazz and swing influence than the Chicago scene
Final album was The Hard Way, released in 1996
Bill’s funeral was well attended by his fans, who played his music
Paul was a pallbearer for Bill
Had an open casket where he was wearing sunglasses and had a Hering harmonica in his top pocket out of respect to the people of Brazil, who he admired
George Smith’s widow sang in the choir at the funeral
Bruce Iglauer read a eulogy at the funeral
Last section of the biography contains comments from various harmonica players and others, about Bill’s legacy to blues music and harmonica, and Paul’s view on this
Paul’s favourite songs of Bills
Wife Jeanette released some albums after he died, from some early recordings
Live In Germany is a great live album to listen to, and an extended version being released this year (2024)
Does Paul have any plans to write any more books?
