# Rhys Clark

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{{short description|American drummer}}
{{for|the snooker player|Rhys Clark (snooker player)}}

{{BLP sources|date=November 2019}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Use Australian English|date=October 2011}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name            = Rhys Clark
| image           =
| birth_name      = Rhys Edward Clark
| birth_date      = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1946|9|17}}
| origin          = [Auckland](/source/Auckland), New Zealand
| occupation      = [Drummer](/source/Drummer)
| years_active    = 1963–present
| associated_acts = [The Executives](/source/The_Executives)<br />[Billy Joel](/source/Billy_Joel)<br />[Hoyt Axton](/source/Hoyt_Axton)<br />[Freddy Fender](/source/Freddy_Fender)
}}
'''Rhys Edward Clark''' (born 17 September 1946) is a New Zealand drummer who, since moving to the United States in 1970, has played with such artists as [Hoyt Axton](/source/Hoyt_Axton), [Freddy Fender](/source/Freddy_Fender) and, most notably, [Billy Joel](/source/Billy_Joel).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/rhys-clark-mn0000078818/credits|title=Rhys Clark {{!}} Credits {{!}} AllMusic|website=[AllMusic](/source/AllMusic) |date=2019-11-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114080436/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/rhys-clark-mn0000078818/credits|access-date=2019-11-14|archive-date=14 November 2019}}</ref>

==Biography==
Clark's career as a drummer began when he was a teenager in New Zealand. In 1963, he became the drummer for the Zodiacs, followed by a 1964 stint with The Chequers. In 1965, he joined the Auckland-based pop band, The Silhouettes, who had a number of local hits, as well as a national hit with "Theme From The Endless Summer". He was also a founding member of the very successful Australian pop band, [The Executives](/source/The_Executives). Between 1966 and 1969, the Executives had a number of hit records, performed throughout Australia, and appeared on many television shows, including their own nationwide television specials, as well as in a number of commercials for such companies as [Coca-Cola](/source/The_Coca-Cola_Company), [Qantas](/source/Qantas), [P&O](/source/P%26O_(company)) and [Revlon](/source/Revlon). In 1969, the Executives recorded an album in the United States, but they disbanded shortly thereafter. Some of the band members returned to Australia, but Clark stayed in the States and became a [Los Angeles](/source/Los_Angeles)-based session musician.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

Between 1971 and 1975, Clark toured with Billy Joel and worked on his albums ''[Cold Spring Harbor](/source/Cold_Spring_Harbor_(album))'' and ''[Piano Man](/source/Piano_Man_(Billy_Joel_album))''. Clark was also the drummer on Joel's breakthrough [Sigma Sound](/source/Sigma_Sound_Studios) radio concert, broadcast on WMMR-FM in April 1972, as well as at the [Mar y Sol Festival](/source/Mar_y_Sol_Festival) two weeks prior, where they played to a crowd of 50,000. After his time with Joel, Clark ultimately hooked up with [Hoyt Axton](/source/Hoyt_Axton), and toured and recorded with him from 1979 through 1999. In the 1990s, he also began touring with [Freddy Fender](/source/Freddy_Fender), as well as the [Texas Tornados](/source/Texas_Tornados), which he did until Fender died in late 2006. Since 2006, Clark has performed with a number of artists, such as [Johnny Rodriguez](/source/Johnny_Rodriguez), [Sam the Sham](/source/Sam_the_Sham), Charlie Rich Jr., [Jann Browne](/source/Jann_Browne), [Chris Gaffney](/source/Chris_Gaffney_(musician)), [Sweethearts of the Rodeo](/source/Sweethearts_of_the_Rodeo), [Rosie Flores](/source/Rosie_Flores), [Wanda Jackson](/source/Wanda_Jackson), Michael Chain and Rick Shea.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

In September, 2013, Clark reunited with his former Billy Joel bandmates, [Larry Russell](/source/Larry_Russell_(bassist)) and Don Evans, along with singers/piano players, David Clark and [Elio Pace](/source/Elio_Pace), to re-create the WMMR/Sigma Sound concert that jump-started Joel's career. They did two sold-out performances of "Long Long Time: A Historic Tribute to Billy Joel", in New York, and in Philadelphia where the original show was broadcast. <ref>{{cite web | last=Cormier | first=Ryan | title=Billy Joel bandmates reunite | website=Delawareonline.com | date=2014-08-17 | url=https://www.delawareonline.com/story/entertainment/music/2014/08/17/billy-joel-bandmates-reunite/14207717/ | access-date=2025-03-28}}</ref>

==Partial discography==

'''ALBUMS'''
* 1967 – The Executives – ''The Executives''
* 1968 – The Executives – ''The Executives on Bandstand''
* 1968 – The Executives – ''...Now!''
* 1970 – The Executives – ''Inner Sense''
* 1971 – Kyle – ''Times That Try A Man's Soul''
* 1971 – Burton & Cunico – ''Strive, Seek, Find''
* 1971 – Billy Joel – ''Cold Spring Harbor''
* 1972 – Peter Anders – ''Peter Anders''
* 1972 – [Captain Beefheart](/source/Captain_Beefheart) – ''[The Spotlight Kid](/source/The_Spotlight_Kid)''
* 1973 – Billy Joel – ''[Piano Man](/source/Piano_Man_(Billy_Joel_album))''
* 1981 – Hoyt Axton – ''Live!''
* 1981 – Hoyt Axton – ''Silk Cut Festival''
* 1982 – Hoyt Axton – ''Pistol Packin' Mama''
* 1984 – Hoyt Axton – ''American Dreams''
* 1985 – Billy Joel – ''Greatest Hits: Volume I & Volume II''
* 1986 – Hoyt Axton – ''Greatest Hits''
* 1988 – Re Winkler, Anne Harvey, Ree Van Vleck – ''A Town South of Bakersfield, Vol. 2''
* 1989 – The Executives – ''The Happening World of the Executives: The Festival File Vol. 12''
* 1989 – Billy Joel – ''Souvenir: The Ultimate Collection''
* 1990 – Hoyt Axton – ''Spin of the Wheel''
* 1991 – Jann Browne – ''It Only Hurts When I Laugh''
* 1991 – Billy Truitt & The Barnstormers – ''Billy Truitt & The Barnstormers''
* 1997 – Billy Joel – ''Complete Hits Collection 1973–1997''
* 1998 – The Executives – ''So You Wanna Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star''
* 2000 – Gailyn Addis – ''Gailyn Addis''
* 2001 – Billy Joel – ''The Essential Billy Joel''
* 2002 – Billy Joel – ''The Collection''
* 2002 – The Executives – ''Peculiar Hole in the Sky: Pop Psych From Down Under''
* 2004 – The Silhouettes – ''Very Best of Kiwi Instrumentals''
* 2004 – Billy Joel – ''Piano Man: The Very Best of Billy Joel''
* 2004 – Chris DeMarco – ''Lost And Found''
* 2005 – Billy Joel – ''My Lives''
* 2007 – Rio Rocko – ''Rio Rocko''
* 2011 – Billy Joel – ''Billy Joel: The Complete Albums''
* 2011 – Billy Joel – ''Piano Man (Legacy Edition)''
* 2013 – Billy Joel – ''Original Album Classics''

'''EPS'''

* 1967 – The Executives – ''The Executives Break Out''
* 1968 – The Executives – ''It's A Happening World''
* 1968 – The Executives – ''Windy Day''
* 1969 – The Executives – ''Parenthesis''
* 1969 – The Executives – ''Things Go Better With Coca-Cola''

'''SINGLES'''

* 1965 – The Silhouettes – "Theme From The Endless Summer" / "P.S. I Love You"
* 1965 – The Silhouettes – "Yes It's Time" / "Milkman"
* 1966 – The Silhouettes – "There She Is" / "Where Have You Been All My Life"
* 1966 – The Executives – "Wander Boy" / "You're Bad"
* 1967 – The Executives – "My Aim Is To Please You" / "Bad Reputation"
* 1967 – The Executives – "[Sit Down, I Think I Love You](/source/Sit_Down%2C_I_Think_I_Love_You)" / "Don't You Sometimes, Baby, Find That I'm on Your Mind"
* 1968 – The Executives – "It's A Happening World" / "Moving in a Circle"
* 1968 – The Executives – "Windy Day" / "This Town Ain't The Same Any More"
* 1969 – The Executives – "Christopher Robin" / "Summerhill Road"
* 1969 – The Executives – "Parenthesis" / "Got My Woman"
* 1970 – Frank Day Habit – "Hey Man" / "You're Gonna Love Me"

== References ==
<!--- See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Footnotes on how to create references using <ref></ref> tags which will then appear here automatically -->
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.discogs.com/artist/Rhys+Clark Rhys Clark at Discogs]

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Rhys}}
Category:1946 births
Category:American rock drummers
Category:American session musicians
Category:Australian rock drummers
Category:Living people
Category:New Zealand drummers
Category:New Zealand male drummers
Category:New Zealand expatriates in Australia
Category:New Zealand expatriates in the United States
Category:Musicians from Auckland
Category:Drummers from Los Angeles
Category:New Zealand session musicians
Category:Australian session musicians
Category:20th-century American drummers
Category:American male drummers
Category:20th-century American male musicians
Category:Billy Joel Band members

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