Gene Clark will always be best remembered for his two-year stint as a vocalist with between 1964 and 1966. A fine legacy to be sure, but the shame of it is that there was far more to Clark's body of work than that; he was a superb songwriter, one of the founding fathers of country-rock, and recorded a number of fine albums with an impressive array of collaborators whose quality far outstripped their modest sales figures.
Gene Clark was born in Tipton, MO, in 1944.
Clark's father was an amateur musician with a passion for country music which rubbed off on young Gene; he began learning the guitar at age nine and was soon picking out Hank Williams tunes, as well as material by early rockers such as and . Before long, Clark started writing his own songs, and at 13, he cut his first record with a local rock roll combo, Joe Meyers and the Sharks, but Clark developed an interest in folk music after rose to popularity. Clark began performing with several folk groups working out of Kansas City which led to a more lucrative position with , a well-scrubbed folk-pop ensemble who scored a hit single with "Green Green.
" However, Clark longed to perform his own songs and didn't care for life on the road; after hearing for the first time, Clark decided he wanted to form a rock band and he quit the NCM and moved to Los Angeles. There, he met a fellow folky who had his head turned around by , (he would later change his name to Roger) and in 1964 they started assembling a band that would, in time, come to be known as .
Gene Clark quickly became ' dominant songwriter, penning most of their best-known originals, including "Feel a Whole Lot Better," "Here Without You," and "Eight Miles High," and was one of the group's strongest vocal presences.
However, Clark's less-than-impressive skills as a guitarist often made him look like a backing vocalist on-stage and the combination of Clark's dislike of traveling (including a fear of flying) and resentment that his songwriting income made him the best-paid member of the group led to tensions within , and in 1966, Clark opted to leave the group. Columbia Records, the label recorded for, signed Clark as a solo artist, and in 1967, he released his first solo set, , a pioneering fusion of country and rock. However, Clark's album was released almost simultaneously with ' , and Clark's set was a commercial bust.
With the future of his solo career in doubt, Clark briefly rejoined in 1967, but by the end of the year, he once again parted ways with the group.
In 1968, Clark signed with A M Records and, once again following his interest in blending country with rock, he began a collaboration with virtuoso multi-instrumentalist . recorded a pair of fine albums for A M, but they fared no better at the marketplace than Clark's efforts with , and in 1969, Clark began work on his first proper solo album, recording a pair of tracks with several members of .
However, legal problems prevented their release at the time, and it wasn't until 1971 that a Gene Clark solo set finally emerged, entitled . A strong, primarily acoustic set, sold poorly in America but was an unexpected hit in the Netherlands. Clark's next album, , combined new material with the unreleased 1969 tracks cut with ; while it was a strong album, A M chose not to release it and it was initially released only in Holland.
Clark left A M just in time for to cut a reunion album with their original lineup; Clark contributed a pair of fine songs to the project, "Full Circle" and "Changing Heart," but most of the album sounded uninspired and the reunion quickly splintered.
In 1974, Clark signed to Asylum Records and cut the polished but heartfelt . Clark, however, had hoped to release the set as a double album, which did not please labelhead , and the album stalled in the marketplace without promotion.
In 1977, Clark returned with a new album, Two Sides to Every Story, and put his fear of flying on hold to mount an international tour to promote it. For his British dates, Clark found himself booked on a tour with ex- Roger McGuinn and ; audiences were clearly hoping for a reunion and while the three men had planned nothing of the sort, they didn't want to let down their fans and played a short set of hits as an encore for several dates on the tour. This led the three men to begin working up new material together once they returned to America, and in 1978, they began touring as .
After a well-received acoustic tour, the trio signed a major deal with Capitol Records and released their self-titled debut in 1979. However, the slick production (designed to make sure the group didn't sound too much like ) didn't flatter the group, and the album was a critical and commercial disappointment. Clark soon became disenchanted with the project, and on their second album, 1980s , the billing had changed to Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman, with Gene Clark.
By 1981, Clark had left and the group briefly continued on as McGuinn/Hillman.
After splitting with and , Clark stayed on the sidelines of music for several years, assembling a band called Flyte that failed to score a record deal. Clark finally re-emerged in 1984 with a new band and album called ; the rising popularity of jangle-rockers R.
E.M. sparked a new interest in , and Clark began developing new fans among L.
A.'s roots-conscious paisley underground scene. Clark appeared as a guest on an album by , and in 1987, he cut a duo album with of the Textones called .
So Rebellious was well-received and became a modest commercial success (it was the biggest selling album of Clark's solo career), but Clark began to develop serious health problems around this time; he had ulcers, aggravated by years of heavy drinking, and in 1988, he underwent surgery, during which much of his stomach and intestines had to be removed. Clark also lost a certain amount of goodwill among longtime fans when he joined drummer for a series of shows billed A 20th Anniversary Celebration of the Byrds. Many clubs simply shortened the billing to , and Clarke and Clark soon found themselves in an ugly legal battle with Roger McGuinn, , and over use of the group's name.
set aside their differences long enough to appear together at their induction into the Rock Roll Hall of Fame in January of 1991, where the original lineup played a few songs together, including Clark's "Feel a Whole Lot Better." However, Clark's health continued to decline as his drinking accelerated, and on May 24, 1991, not long after he had begun work on a second album with , Gene Clark died, with the coroner declaring he succumbed as a result of "natural causes" brought on by a bleeding ulcer. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide but there was much more to his body of work than that legacy.
He was a prolific music in several genres which failed to achieve great commercial success. He was one of the earliest exponents of Born in Tipton, Missouri, the eldest of thirteen children, Clark began learning the at age nine and was soon picking out tunes, as well as material by early rockers such as and the . Before long, he was writing his own songs and at 13 cut his first record with a local combo, Joe Meyers and the Sharks.
Like many of his generation, Clark developed an interest in because of the popularity of the . Clark graduated from Bonner Springs High School in Bonner Springs, Kansas in 1962. He began performing with several folk groups working out of at the Castaways Lounge, owned by Hal Harbaum, where he was discovered by the , who hired him for their ensemble.
After hearing the , Clark quit the Christys and moved to they began to assemble a band that would become The Byrds.
Gene Clark wrote most of The Byrds' best-known originals, including: "Feel a Whole Lot Better", "Set You Free This Time", "Here Without You", "She Don't Care About Time" and "Eight Miles High", and was one of the group's strongest vocalists. However, squabbling and in early Clark left the group.
After a torrid affair with , he briefly moved to Kansas City before returning to Los Angeles to form the Gene Clark Group.
signed Clark as a solo artist and in he released his first solo LP, , a mixture of pop, country rock and baroque-psychedelic tracks. Unfortunately for Clark, the album was released almost simultaneously with the Byrds' absence) was a commercial failure.
With the future of his solo career in doubt, Clark briefly rejoined the Byrds in panic attack in Minneapolis while attempting to board an aircraft.
but were praised by critics. The timing of such crossover material was undoubtedly a little premature for current popular tastes on the soundtrack of the 1972 Sam Peckinpah movie The Getaway).
In hindsight,
In 1970 and 1971, Clark contributed vocals and two of his compositions ("Tried So Hard" and "Here Tonight") to albums by the Flying Burrito Brothers. It's been rumored that Clark was invited to replace leave the solitude of Mendocino.
It wasn't until that a further Gene Clark solo set finally emerged, , produced by guitarist .
A largely-acoustic work, the album contained (hailed by Bob Dylan as a song he would have been proud to compose). All of the material was written by Clark, with the exception of the Dylan number "Tears of Rage". Launched to almost universal critical acclaim, the LP failed to gain commercial success, except in Holland where it was also voted album of the year.
In the spring of 1971, Clark was commissioned by to contribute the tracks "American Dreamer" and "Outlaw Song" to Hopper's film project, "The American Dreamer". Both songs encapsulated the most characteristic qualities of mid-to-late period Clark: melancholy and self-reflection.
In 1972, Clark assembled a backing group to accompany him on a further album with A M.
The resulting eight tracks, together with those recorded with The Byrds in 1970/71 and another with The Flying Burrito Brothers, were belatedly released as seller.
tracks on a record which received overwhelmingly negative critical response. Disheartened by the bad reviews and unhappy with David Crosby's performance as the record's producer, the group members chose to dissolve The Byrds.
Clark briefly joined McGuinn's solo group, with which he premiered "Silver Raven", arguably his most recognizable post-Byrds opus.
Once more solo and on the basis of the quality of his Byrds contributions, Clark signed with 's in early 1974. Asylum was the home of the kind of hip cachet that Clark hadn't experienced since his days with The Byrds.
He retired to Mendocino and spent long periods at the picture window of his living room with a notebook and acoustic guitar in hand, staring at the rolling Pacific below. Deeply affected by his visions, he composed numerous songs which would serve as the basis for his only Asylum LP, the singers, the album was an amalgam of country rock, folk, gospel, soul and choral music with poetic, mystical lyrics but it was not well received by contemporary critics who categorised it as an overproduced baroque indulgence. Because "No Other" was not a conventional pop/rock opus, its chances of success were greatly minimised by Clark's relative obscurity.
Furthermore, it was released with only eight tracks, although Clark had hoped to release the set as a double album with additional material. However, the huge recording costs infuriated Geffen, who ended the sessions after recording costs skyrocketed into the $100,000 range, leaving five songs unrecorded. Shortly after, Clark drunkenly assailed Geffen and the label refused to expand or promote the album which stalled in the charts at #144.
In recent years, it's been rediscovered and championed by many listeners and critics who have dubbed it a lost masterpiece. On a more personal note, the singer's return to Los Angeles and his adoption of the hedonistic lifestyle of the era resulted in the disintegration of his marriage. In spite of these setbacks, he mounted his first solo tour in an attempt to salvage No Other, playing colleges and clubs with backing group the Silverados.
Throughout 1975 and 1976, Clark hinted to the press that he was assembling a set of "cosmic " songs fusing country-rock with and Asylum who promptly bought out Clark's contract.
country-rock balladry but failed to achieve US chart success. In a belated attempt to find an appreciative public, he temporarily overcame his fear of flying and launched an international promotional tour.
For his British dates, Clark found himself booked McGuinn, Clark and Hillman was a rebirth in both performing and songwriting for Clark. The media loved the band and they performed on many TV rock shows, including repeated performances on , where they played both new material and Byrds hits. "Don't You Write Her Off" reached #33 in April 1979 and Clark contributed heavily to the band since it was an outgrowth of his London shows.
While some reviews both critically and commercially, it sold enough to generate a follow up. McGuinn, Clark and Hillman's second release was change on their next LP "City" to "Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman, featuring Gene Clark". Despite the turmoil, Clark penned a classic love song, "Won't Let You Down", rumoured to have been offered as an olive branch to the other former Byrds.
By Clark had left and the group briefly continued as "McGuinn/Hillman."
Clark stayed on the sidelines for several years, assembling a band called Flyte which failed to score a record deal, before roots-conscious scene. He embraced his new status by appearing he underwent surgery, during which much of his and had to be removed.
Clark also lost a certain amount of goodwill among longtime "A 20th Anniversary Celebration of the Byrds." Many clubs simply shortened the billing to "the Byrds" and the pair soon found themselves in an ugly legal battle with Roger McGuinn, , and over usage of the group's name. The Byrds set aside their differences long enough to appear of , where the original lineup played a few songs together, including Clark's "Feel a Whole Lot Better.
" However, Clark's health continued to decline as his drinking accelerated and on , not long after he had begun work on a second album with Carla Olson, Gene Clark died at the age of 46, the declaring that he succumbed as a result of "natural causes" brought on by a bleeding ulcer. He was buried in Tipton under a simple headstone inscribed "Harold Eugene Clark - No Other".
to disco and alternative country); his erratic personality and lifestyle (drunken tirades at social gatherings, including one in the mid-1970s against ardent supporter Bob Dylan) possibly caused by undiagnosed bipolar disorder, which alienated professional and fan support; his chronic fear of flying which severely limited the personal promotion of his music.
It may also surprise White Light and No Other rarely read.
In spite of his personal problems, it is apparent that Clark's continued support by both the plethora of distinguished executives alike.
Currently, Clark's legacy continues with the re-issue of his original albums and the release of compilation works.
The recent releases of separate American, Australian and Swedish tribute CD's by a wide ranging group of contemporary artists suggests that his work is still widely appreciated.
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