W.C. Clark (November 16, 1939 – March 2, 2024) was an American blues musician. He is known as the "Godfather of Austin Blues" for his influence on the Austin, Texas blues scene since the late 1960s.
Wesley Curley Clark was born and raised in Austin, and grew up in its segregated east side, singing Gospel in in the choir at St. Johns College Heights Baptist Church, and learning guitar at the age of 14. Clark played his first solo show at the city’s legendary Victory Grill at the age of 16, and learned all kinds of styles, including jazz and R&B. He found his first major gig playing in the band of Joe Tex, who was famous for fusing R&B with soul and country. It was this early experience with the “rub” between genres that would make W.C. Clark so important to all aspects of Austin music.
The gig with Joe Tex took W.C. Clark all around the United States, which was good because at the time, W.C. felt the scene in the Texas Capital had grown stale. But when he returned, he found a new crop of young White performers hanging out on Austin’s east side and learning from the oldtimers. This renewed the energy in the Austin blues scene, especially through two brothers originally from the south Dallas area—guitarist Jimmie Vaughan who would go on to found The Fabulous Thunderbirds, and his little brother named Stevie Ray.
When W.C. Clark left the trio in May of 1978, Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Double Trouble came to life, but the influence of W.C. Clark would remain, while Clark found world-renown success all his own through a solo career. Clark played with the likes of B.B. King, James Brown, along with Albert King and Freddie King throughout the era. Jimmie and Stevie Ray Vaughan weren’t W.C. Clark’s only protégé’s. Brothers Will and Charlie Sexton also became big acolytes of the W.C. Clark sound, with Charlie Sexton carrying that influence on as a producer and a mainstay in the band of Bob Dylan, speaking to W.C. Clark’s far-reaching impact.
Here’s “My Texas Home” from above CD
Clark released his first solo album called Something for Everybody in 1986 on his own label. He famously appeared on the vaunted Austin City Limits TV show in 1990, with Stevie Ray, Jimmie, Lou Ann Barton, Will Sexton, and others showing up to pay respects to their mentor. W.C. Clark would later release Heart of Gold in 1994, and Texas Soul in 1996 on the BlackTop label. Texas Soul won a WC Handy Award for “Soul Blues Album of The Year.”
In 1997, tragedy struck W. C. Clark when his tour van was involved in a fatality accident near Sherman, TX while returning to Austin for SXSW from a show in Milwaukee. Clark only injured his arm, but his fiancée and drummer Brenda Jasek died in the accident. Clark was driving the van, and this sent both his personal life and his professional career in a tailspin. The experience would later inspire Clark’s 1998 album Lover Plea, and the song “Are You Here, Are You There?” dedicated to his fiancée. Throughout his career, he has released 8 albums, with W.C. Clark being his last in 2018.
In recent years, W.C. Clark had settled into being considered the preeminent blues legend of Austin, while also touring regularly. In 2016 he appeared with his song Rough Edges on the album Texas Blues Voices by Italian harmonica player and Grammy Nominee, Fabrizio Poggi. Clark played his final show at Austin, TX honky tonk Giddy Ups in Manchaca on February 20th, and reportedly entered hospice care shortly thereafter as he was diagnosed with cancer. He died on March 2, 2024 at Christopher House hospice in Austin. He was 84.
His soulful voice, masterful guitar playing, and unwavering dedication to mentoring the next generation of musicians has ensured that his influence would be felt for generations to come. Wesley Curley Clark's life and career stand as a testament to the power of music to inspire, transform, and unite, making him a true legend of the blues world.
(Edited from Saving Country Music, Discogs & Austin American Statesman)