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Clifford Antone | |
|---|---|
 Clifford Antone talking with a patron of his namesake blues club, Antone's, 2005. | |
| Born | October 27, 1949 |
| Died | May 22, 2006(2006-05-22) (aged 56) |
Clifford Antone (October 27, 1949 – May 22, 2006) was the founder of the eponymous Austinbluesclub Antone's andindependent record labelAntone's Records and Tapes, as well as a mentor toStevie Ray Vaughan,Jimmie Vaughan,Kim Wilson,Gary Clark, Jr., and numerous other musicians. He was the nephew of Jalal Antone, the founder of the Houston-basedAntone's Import Co, known for itspo-boy sandwiches.[1]
Born inPort Arthur, Texas, toGreek OrthodoxLebanese andSyrian American parents who had settled in Eastern Texas,[2][3] Antone moved to Austin in 1968 and attendedThe University of Texas at Austin. An arrest for marijuana led to his dropping out of school.
Nurturing a passion forChicago blues, On July 15, 1975, Antone started a blues club at age 25. The club, Antone's, became one of the first music venues on Austin's6th Street[4] and helped lead to Austin's reputation as a music city.Clifton Chenier,Fats Domino,John Lee Hooker,Delbert McClinton,Pinetop Perkins,Muddy Waters,Albert Collins,Jimmy Reed,Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown,B.B. King,Sue Foley,Gary Clark Jr., and many other notable blues musicians have performed at Antone's since 1975. Two years before his death, a documentary film Antone's: Home of the Blues was made filled with historical and dynamic blues performances from the earliest days of the club.
In 1987, Antone founded a recording label, Antone's Records and Tapes (later renamed as Antone's Records). He also opened Antone's Record Shop, a record store specializing in blues and roots music. Antone served time in federal prisons for drug charges in the early 1980s and in 2000. He lectured onsocial change and thehistory of the blues atThe University of Texas,Austin Community College, andTexas State University inSan Marcos, Texas. On hearing of Antone's death, Austin MayorWill Wynn was quoted as saying, "One of the primary reasons Austin is known as theLive Music Capital of the World is because of Clifford Antone."[5]
In June 1997 the United States court system charged Antone with 11 counts of drug trafficking.[6] The accusation stated that he helped traffic drugs from Mexico.[7] He pleaded guilty to a money laundering count and a distribution count, relating to marijuana, on January 6, 1999. He was sentenced to four years in federal prison.[6]
He died inAustin, Texas, on May 22, 2006, at age 56.[8]
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