It was with great sadness, when at the last meet up I learnt of the latest loss to our music, the death of Judy Clay on July 19 aged 62, from complications following a car accident.
Judith Guions (Judy Clay) was
born September 12 1938 in St Paul, North Carolina. Judith, as with many of the
great soul artists, began singing in church at a very early age. Moving to
Brooklyn, New York via Fayetteville, North Carolina with her grandmother in the
early fifties, she soon joined a church choir that also sang on Sunday night
radio broadcasts. Returning to North Carolina the young Judith longed to return
to New York. She did, staying with a girl friend under the watchful eye of a
church minister. Lee Warrick Drinkard of the Drinkard Singers adopted her and,
from the age of 14, became a regular member of the family gospel group in 1953
(the group was originally formed in 1938). Judith was in good company - Cissy
Houston, Dionne Warwick, Dee Dee Warwick, plus other family members. Judith
regularly shared lead vocal duties with the other girls. Three Drinkard Singers
albums were released in the fifties which feature Judy. The Drinkards name was
dropped as the girls pursued a secular path, which lead to the formation of a
unique team of recording session back up singers - Cissy, Dee Dee, Dionne, and
Judy. What a line up. Their first session was with Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks.
Incidentally after subsequent changes the group emerged as The Sweet
Inspirations.
In the early 60's Judith becomes
Judy Clay, and begins her own, if not too successful solo career, with releases
in 1961/62 on Ember, 1963 Lavette, 1964/65 Scepter. Her next port of call in
1967 was to Stax in Memphis, via Atlantic Records, where she recorded 'You Can't Run Away From Your Heart'. A return to New York, and with
Atlantic Records she finally makes the charts in 1968 with 'Storybook
Children' and 'Country Girl - City
Man' both duets with Billy Vera. No more success for the duo finds Judy back
at Stax. A chance meeting with William Bell after Judy had finished a recording
session results in her biggest chart success, 17 R&B, 75 US Pop, 8 UK Pop in
late 1968,a duet with William Bell - 'Private
Number' which was originally written with Otis Redding and Carla Thomas in
mind. A solo outing 'Bed of Roses'
failed, but another duet with William Bell 'My
Baby Specialises' charted. After another solo release 'Sister Pitiful' failed to chart, it was back to Atlantic to cut my
favourite, with Billy Vera, 'Reachin’
For The Moon', which was recorded for Atlantic at the Fame studio (was
everything recorded there?) down in Muscle Shoals. Alas this gem was
non-charting. She did follow this up with a solo R&B Hit in 1969 'Greatest
Love', which was recorded at the 'Reachin' session. Judy continued during
the 70s as an in demand session singer, but major surgery in the late 70s forced
her into retirement. A brief return in the eighties was short lived, finally
giving up the music business for her family and home life, although she
occasionally made an odd excursion into gospel work.
Judy is survived by a sister,
brother, two children, and four grandchildren.