# Clay Blaker

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Clay_Blaker
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Clay_Blaker.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_Blaker
> Source revision: 1280736734
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{short description|American singer-songwriter}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name            = Clay Blaker
| image           =
| caption         =
| landscape       =
| birth_name      = Randall Clay Blaker
| alias           =
| birth_date      = {{birth date and age|1950|6|27}}
| birth_place     = [Houston](/source/Houston), Texas, United States
| death_date      =
| death_place     =
| origin          =
| instrument      = {{flatlist| 
* Vocals
* guitar
}}
| genre           = [country](/source/Country_music)
| occupation      = Musician, songwriter, producer
| years_active    = 1970–present
| label           = Texas Musik, Neobilly
| associated_acts = [George Strait](/source/George_Strait), [Ace in the Hole Band](/source/Ace_in_the_Hole_Band), Texas Honky-Tonk Band
| website         = 
}}
'''Randall Clay Blaker''' (born June 27, 1950) is an American [country](/source/country_music) musician, singer-songwriter,<ref name=dbio>{{cite web|title=Clay Baker|url=https://www.discogs.com/artist/1122166-Clay-Blaker|website=Discogs|accessdate=August 25, 2016}}</ref> and producer based in [Texas](/source/Texas) for most of his career. His songs have been recorded by many other artists, including [George Strait](/source/George_Strait), [Tim McGraw](/source/Tim_McGraw), [The Derailers](/source/The_Derailers), [LeAnn Rimes](/source/LeAnn_Rimes), [Doug Sahm](/source/Doug_Sahm), [Johnny Mathis](/source/Johnny_Mathis) and [Barbra Streisand](/source/Barbra_Streisand).<ref name="acehole">{{cite web|last1=Caligiuri|first1=Jim|title=Ace in the Hole: Clay Blaker and His Songwriter's Tan|url=http://www.austinchronicle.com/music/2001-02-23/ace-in-the-hole/|publisher=[The Austin Chronicle](/source/The_Austin_Chronicle)|accessdate=August 25, 2016}}</ref><ref name="wcred">{{cite web|title=Clay Blaker Discography at Discogs: Writing-Arrangement – Credits|url=https://www.discogs.com/artist/1122166-Clay-Blaker?filter_anv=0&subtype=Writing-Arrangement&type=Credits|website=Discogs|accessdate=August 25, 2016}}</ref> Blaker has also been a popular regional entertainer and has released several albums of his own material with his band, the Texas Honky-Tonk Band.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Wahlert|first1=Brian|title=Clay Blaker: Artist Biography|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/clay-blaker-mn0000148667/biography|website=allmusic|accessdate=August 25, 2016}}</ref>

==Biography==
After growing up in [Texas](/source/Texas), Blaker spent time in Hawaii and California before returning to Texas in the 1970s. In [San Marcos, Texas](/source/San_Marcos%2C_Texas) he got to know the members of the [Ace in the Hole Band](/source/Ace_in_the_Hole_Band), including their front-man [George Strait](/source/George_Strait). Blaker's Texas Honky Tonk Band played with the Ace in the Hole Band at a number of venues in Houston and Central Texas.<ref name=acehole/>

In 1982, Strait included Blaker's song "The Only Thing I Have Left" on his second album, ''[Strait from the Heart](/source/Strait_from_the_Heart)''.<ref name=acehole/> [Tim McGraw](/source/Tim_McGraw) later covered the song.<ref name=cst>{{cite web|last1=Bernstein|first1=Joel|title=Clay Blaker: just another fine Texas country boy|url=http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/article.asp?xid=287|website=Country Standard Time|accessdate=September 1, 2016|date=January 2001}}</ref> Strait has since recorded six more songs by Blaker, including "[She Lays It All on the Line](/source/She_Lays_It_All_on_the_Line)" for the soundtrack to Strait's 1992 film ''[Pure Country](/source/Pure_Country)''.<ref name=acehole/><ref>{{cite web|title=Pure Country (1992) – Soundtracks|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105191/soundtrack?ref_=tt_trv_snd|website=imdb|accessdate=August 25, 2016}}</ref>

In 1999, [Barbra Streisand](/source/Barbra_Streisand) recorded his song "We Must Be Loving Right", co-written with [Roger Brown](/source/Roger_Brown_(songwriter)), after hearing Strait's version of it.<ref name=acehole/> According to Blaker, Streisand's husband [James Brolin](/source/James_Brolin) had been playing Strait's album, and Streisand "heard the song and liked it enough to put it on her next album. That album was all love songs, so it fit right in."<ref name=cst/> He has also written songs with [Jim Lauderdale](/source/Jim_Lauderdale) and others.<ref name=cst/>

Also in 1999, Blaker participated in Doug Sahm's last recording project, "Doug Sahm – [The Return of Wayne Douglas](/source/The_Return_of_Wayne_Douglas)", which turned out to be Sahm's final album, as he died later that year. The ''[Austin Chronicle](/source/Austin_Chronicle)'' called it "... pure Texas-style country music ...".<ref>[https://www.austinchronicle.com/music/2000-11-10/79323/ Doug Sahm The Return of Wayne Douglas (Texas Tornado) by Margaret Moser, The Austin Chronicle]</ref> Blaker was the acoustic guitarist and assistant engineer on the album and co-wrote one of the songs with Sahm that they recorded as a duet, "I Don’t Trust No One When it Comes to My Heart".

Blaker has produced records, mostly for himself and other regional Texas artists, including the Ed Burleson song "My Perfect World".<ref name=cst/>

In 2002, Blaker announced that he was retiring and moving to an island off the coast of Panama.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Martin|first1=Dale|title=Clay Blaker retires: Country star following his dreams to Panama island|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=861&dat=20020512&id=FTNSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HDYNAAAAIBAJ&pg=6080,2918433&hl=en|accessdate=August 25, 2016|publisher=[The Victoria Advocate](/source/The_Victoria_Advocate)|date=May 12, 2002}}</ref> Although retired from touring, Blaker is still writing songs and in 2015 released a trilogy of [EP](/source/Extended_play)s of all new music called "Still Swingin'", "Still Rockin'", and "Still Country".<ref>{{cite web|title=Music News – April 30, 2015|url=http://martinsmusic.com/wordpress1/music-news-april-30-2015?ref_=tt_trv_snd|website=Martins Music|accessdate=April 26, 2015}}</ref>

In 2017, a double live album was released of Blaker and his Texas Honky-Tonk Band called "Live-Through the Years 1979–2002".<ref>{{cite web|title=Music News – Oct. 5, 2017|url=http://martinsmusic.com/wordpress1/music-news-oct-5-2017?ref_=tt_trv_snd|website=Martins Music|accessdate=April 26, 2017}}</ref> Also in 2017, an article in the Houston Chronicle named Blaker's 1998 album "Rumor Town" one of the best Texas singer-songwriter albums of all-time.<ref>{{cite web|title=50 great Texas singer-songwriter albums|url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/entertainment/music/article/50-great-Texas-singer-songwriter-albums-10868783.php#photo-12213109?ref_=tt_trv_snd|website=Houstin Chronicle|accessdate=January 23, 2017}}</ref>

== Discography ==
Blaker recorded the following albums:<ref>{{cite web|title=Clay Blaker: Album Discography|url=https://music.apple.com/us/artist/clay-blaker/875728|access-date=August 31, 2016}}</ref>
* ''What a Way to Live'' – Texas Musik Records (1982)
* ''Sooner or Later'' – Texas Musik Records (1986)
* ''Layin' it All on the Line'' – Neobilly Records (1993)
* ''Rumor Town'' – Neobilly Records (1998)
* ''Welcome to the Wasteland'' – Neobilly Records (2000)
* ''Still Rockin''' – Neobilly Records (2015)
* ''Still Swingin''' – Neobilly Records (2015)
* ''Still Country''' – Neobilly Records (2015)
* ''The Early Singles: 1978–1987''' – Neobilly Records (2016)
* ''What a Way To Live – Re-release Edition''' – Neobilly Records (2016)
* ''Through the Years 1979–2002, Vol. 1 (Live)''' – Neobilly Records (2017)
* ''Through the Years 1979–2002, Vol. 2 (Live)''' – Neobilly Records (2017)
* ''The Lost Nashville Session''' – Neobilly Records (2019)

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blaker, Clay}}
Category:1950 births
Category:Living people
Category:American male singer-songwriters
Category:Country musicians from Texas
Category:American country singer-songwriters
Category:Singer-songwriters from Texas

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Clay Blaker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_Blaker) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_Blaker?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.