American singer (1943–2019)
Clydie King |
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 King in 1981 |
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| Birth name | Clydie Mae King |
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| Also known as | Brown Sugar |
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| Born | (1943-08-21)August 21, 1943
Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
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| Died | January 7, 2019(2019-01-07) (aged 75)
Monrovia, California, U.S. |
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| Occupation(s) | Singer |
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| Instrument(s) | Vocals |
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| Years active | 1956–1984 |
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| Labels | Specialty Records, Kent Records |
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| Formerly of |
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Musical artist
Clydie Mae King (August 21, 1943 – January 7, 2019)[1][2] was an American singer, best known for her session work as a backing vocalist. King also recorded solo under her name. In the 1970s, she recorded as Brown Sugar, and her single "Loneliness (Will Bring Us Together Again)" reached No. 44 on the Billboard R&B charts in 1973.[3]
Life and career
King was born in Dallas, Texas, and following her mother's death when she was two years old, she was raised by her older sister, Lula Mae Crittendon.[4] After starting to sing in the local church, she moved with her family to Los Angeles in the early 1950s.[4] Discovered by songwriter Richard Berry, King began her recording career in 1956 with Little Clydie and the Teens. She was a member of Ray Charles' Raelettes for three years and contributed to early 1960s recordings by producer Phil Spector, such as "River Deep – Mountain High.[5] She recorded solo singles for Specialty Records, Kent Records and others. Her 1971 solo single "'Bout Love" reached No. 45 on the R&B chart.[6][7] Reviewing her 1972 debut album Direct Me, Robert Christgau wrote in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981): "Clydie has a voice that's more sly Diana than robust Martha and addresses the title plea to Gabriel Mekler, who (this time, anyway) proves neither as sly nor as robust as Berry Gordy."[8]
King provided backing vocals for Humble Pie, which had great success in the United States, and she went on to become an in-demand session singer, worked with Venetta Fields and Sherlie Matthews and recorded with B.B. King, The Rolling Stones, Steely Dan, Barbra Streisand, Bob Dylan, Linda Ronstadt, Joe Cocker, Dickey Betts, Joe Walsh, and many others. She was a member of The Blackberries with Fields and Matthews and sang on Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour, which became a feature film. She sang background for Ray Charles in The Raelettes from 1965 to 1968. In 1971, she was featured on the Beaver and Krause album Gandarva. She sang the lead vocal on the gospel-inflected "Walkin' By the River." Ray Brown played bass on the cut.
Along with Merry Clayton, she sang the background vocals on Lynyrd Skynyrd's seminal hit "Sweet Home Alabama".
King was married two, or three times. Her first husband was Robin Hale, with whom she had three sons: Christopher, Randy, and Magge Hale. Her second husband was Tony Collins, with whom she had a daughter, Delores Collins.[4]
In 1998, newspapers reported that Bob Dylan's then girlfriend, Susan Ross, had stated that Dylan had been secretly married to Clydie King and had two children by her. Ross also stated that he had had long-term relationships with other backing vocalists including Helena Springs, Carol Woods and Carol Dennis.[9][10][11]
Death
King died on January 7, 2019, in a Monrovia, California hospital at the age of 75 from complications of a blood infection.[4][1]
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