OTIS CLAY : Live In Switzerland 2006 - Otis Clay (February 11, 1942 - January 8, 2016) was an American R&B and soul singer, who started in gospel music. In 2013, Clay was inducted to the Blues Hall of Fame. - Born 1942 in Waxhaw, Miss., Otis Clay grew up in a thoroughly sanctified environment. "Like most traditional black families, Church was a big part of my life not just the religious aspect but the social, it was the center of our community. As kids we imitated what we saw and heard in the church, that was how the singing thing started." Assigned to Atlantic's brand-new Cotillion Records, Otis inaugurated the imprint with a scalding remake of the Sir Douglas Quintet's romping "She's About A Mover". It was cut at Rick Hall's FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals and made a national R&B chart impact in the summer of '68. Otis also recorded for Cotillion in Chicago with fellow soul screamer Syl Johnson at the helm; the torrid "Hard Working Woman" was one of the session's highlights. "I said, 'Man, this could be another "Who's Making Love, "' says Clay. "So Syl said, 'Why don't you take it home and finish it, and then we'll record it?'" Atlantic Cotillion also sent Otis down to Memphis, where he made his initial sides with producer Willie Mitchell, whose yeoman work at Hi Records didn't preclude a little moonlighting. - Clay moved to Mitchell's Hi Records in 1971, and made many of his best known soul blues records for the label. His biggest hit came in late 1972 with "Trying To Live My Life Without You, " a #102 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, #70 on Cash Box, and #24 R&B, which he followed up with "If I Could Reach Out". "Tryin' To Live My Life Without You" was later covered by Bob Seger, whose version hit #5 on the pop chart in 1981. - He remained a popular live act in Europe and Japan, as well as the US, and recorded three live albums, Soul Man: Live in Japan, Otis Clay Live (also in Japan on Victor VDP-5111), and Respect Yourself, recorded live at the Lucerne Blues Festival in Switzerland.[3][4] In the 1990s he also recorded two soul albums for Bullseye Blues: I'll Treat You Right and the Willie Mitchell-produced This Time Around. In 2007, he recorded the gospel album Walk a Mile in My Shoes. - During 2015 Otis Clay and Johnny Rawls won the Blues Blast Award for Soul Album of the Year for their album "Soul Brothers". "Soul Brothers" was also nominated for Blues Music Awards Soul Album of the Year and Living Blues Magazine Blues Album of the Year. It was selected as the #6 Blues Album of the Year in the Downbeat Magazine Critics' Poll, being the only soul album on the list of top 20 albums. - On January 8, 2016, Clay died in Chicago, Illinois, at the age of 73 of a heart attack.[8] Clay's funeral was held on January 16, 2016 at the Liberty Baptist Church in Chicago. After the funeral, he was buried at the Oak Woods Cemetery in Chicago.
3 Love and Happiness / Soul Man / I Just Wanna Testify / Band Introductions / Respect Yourself 23:36
OTIS CLAY : Live In Switzerland 2006 - Otis Clay (February 11, 1942 - January 8, 2016) was an American R&B and soul singer, who started in gospel music. In 2013, Clay was inducted to the Blues Hall of Fame. - Born 1942 in Waxhaw, Miss., Otis Clay grew up in a thoroughly sanctified environment. "Like most traditional black families, Church was a big part of my life not just the religious aspect but the social, it was the center of our community. As kids we imitated what we saw and heard in the church, that was how the singing thing started." Assigned to Atlantic's brand-new Cotillion Records, Otis inaugurated the imprint with a scalding remake of the Sir Douglas Quintet's romping "She's About A Mover". It was cut at Rick Hall's FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals and made a national R&B chart impact in the summer of '68. Otis also recorded for Cotillion in Chicago with fellow soul screamer Syl Johnson at the helm; the torrid "Hard Working Woman" was one of the session's highlights. "I said, 'Man, this could be another "Who's Making Love, "' says Clay. "So Syl said, 'Why don't you take it home and finish it, and then we'll record it?'" Atlantic Cotillion also sent Otis down to Memphis, where he made his initial sides with producer Willie Mitchell, whose yeoman work at Hi Records didn't preclude a little moonlighting. - Clay moved to Mitchell's Hi Records in 1971, and made many of his best known soul blues records for the label. His biggest hit came in late 1972 with "Trying To Live My Life Without You, " a #102 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, #70 on Cash Box, and #24 R&B, which he followed up with "If I Could Reach Out". "Tryin' To Live My Life Without You" was later covered by Bob Seger, whose version hit #5 on the pop chart in 1981. - He remained a popular live act in Europe and Japan, as well as the US, and recorded three live albums, Soul Man: Live in Japan, Otis Clay Live (also in Japan on Victor VDP-5111), and Respect Yourself, recorded live at the Lucerne Blues Festival in Switzerland.[3][4] In the 1990s he also recorded two soul albums for Bullseye Blues: I'll Treat You Right and the Willie Mitchell-produced This Time Around. In 2007, he recorded the gospel album Walk a Mile in My Shoes. - During 2015 Otis Clay and Johnny Rawls won the Blues Blast Award for Soul Album of the Year for their album "Soul Brothers". "Soul Brothers" was also nominated for Blues Music Awards Soul Album of the Year and Living Blues Magazine Blues Album of the Year. It was selected as the #6 Blues Album of the Year in the Downbeat Magazine Critics' Poll, being the only soul album on the list of top 20 albums. - On January 8, 2016, Clay died in Chicago, Illinois, at the age of 73 of a heart attack.[8] Clay's funeral was held on January 16, 2016 at the Liberty Baptist Church in Chicago. After the funeral, he was buried at the Oak Woods Cemetery in Chicago.
