Judy Clay | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Judith Grace Guions September 12, 1938 |
| Died | July 19, 2001(2001-07-19) (aged 62) Fayetteville, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Genres | Soul,gospel |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Labels | Ember, Lavette, Scepter, Stax, Atlantic |
Judy Clay (September 12, 1938 – July 19, 2001)[1] was an Americansoul andgospel singer, who achieved greatest success as a member of tworecordingduos in the 1960s.
BornJudith Grace Guions, inSt. Pauls, North Carolina,[1] she was raised by her grandmother inFayetteville and began singing in church. After moving toBrooklyn in the early 1950s, she was taken in by Lee Drinkard Warrick ofThe Drinkard Singers.[2] From the age of 14, she became a regular performer with the family gospel group, which had originally been formed inNewark, New Jersey, around 1938, and which also at times included Lee Warrick's sister, Emily (later known asCissy Houston), and daughters Dionne and Delia (later better known asDionne andDee Dee Warwick).[2]
She made her recording debut with the Drinkard Singers – who later became better known asThe Sweet Inspirations – on their 1954 album,The Newport Spiritual Stars. She left the Drinkard Singers in 1960 and made her first solo recording, "More Than You Know", onEmber Records. This was followed by furthersingles on Lavette andScepter Records, but with little commercial success, although "You Busted My Mind" later became successful on the UK'sNorthern soulnightclub circuit.[citation needed]
In 1967,Jerry Wexler ofAtlantic Records teamed her up with white singer-songwriterBilly Vera to make the United States' first racially integrated duo, and The Sweet Inspirations,[2] to record "Storybook Children".[1] The record made No. 20 on the USR&Bchart and No. 54pop. It was seen as the first interracial duo recording for a major label.[3][4]
However, Vera has stated[5] that television executives denied them appearances together, believing (wrongly) that Vera and Clay were more than just singing partners, and, to add insult to injury, had the song performed on network TV byNancy Sinatra andLee Hazlewood. Clay was pregnant, at the time, with her first child by her husband, jazz drummer Leo Gatewood.[3]
After another hit duet with Vera, "Country Girl, City Man",[1] which reached No. 41 R&B and No. 36 pop, and an album together, she returned toStax Records.[3] There she had further successes, this time withWilliam Bell. Their recording of "Private Number",[2] reached No. 17 in the R&B chart and No. 75 on the U.S. pop chart, and had greater success in the UK where it reached No. 8 on theUK Singles Chart.[6]
A follow-up, "My Baby Specializes", also made the R&B chart, before she returned to Atlantic for one more record with Vera, "Reaching for the Moon", and a final solo hit "Greatest Love" (No. 45 R&B in 1970).[2]
Subsequently, she worked as a backing vocalist withRay Charles,Aretha Franklin,Van Morrison,Donny Hathaway andWilson Pickett. Diagnosed with a brain tumor in 1979, she returned togospel music shortly after her recovery,[3] and sang occasionally with Cissy Houston's gospel choir inNewark, New Jersey.
Clay died of complications following a car crash. She was 62 years old.[3] She was survived by two sons, Todd and Leo Gatewood, a brother, Raymond Guions, and her sister, Sylvia Shemwell.[7]
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Pop [8] | US R&B [8] | UK [6] | ||||
| 1967 | "Storybook Children"(with Billy Vera) | 54 | 20 | ― | ||
| 1968 | "Country Girl, City Man"(with Billy Vera) | 36 | 41 | ― | ||
| "Private Number"(withWilliam Bell) | 75 | 17 | 8 | |||
| 1969 | "My Baby Specializes"(with William Bell) | ― | 45 | ― | ||
| "Reaching for the Moon"(with Billy Vera) | ― | — | ― | |||
| 1970 | "Greatest Love" | ― | 45 | ― | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
