{{Short description|American jazz musician (1899–1973)}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Sonny Clay | image = | caption = | birth_name = William Rogers Campbell Clay | birth_date = {{Birth date|1899|5|15}} | birth_place = [[Chapel Hill, Texas]], U.S. | death_date = {{Death date|1973|4|10}} | death_place = [[Los Angeles, California]], U.S. | genre = [[Jazz]] | occupation = {{flatlist| * Musician * bandleader }} | instrument = {{flatlist| * piano * drums }} | years_active = {{flatlist| * 1921-1941 }} | label = | past_member_of = {{flatlist| * [[Charlie Green (musician)|Charlie Green]] *[[Jelly Roll Morton]] }} | website = }} '''William Rogers Campbell "Sonny" Clay''' (May 15, 1899, [[Chapel Hill, Texas]] – April 13, 1973, [[Los Angeles, California]]) was an American [[jazz]] pianist, drummer, and bandleader,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/clay-william-roger-campbell-sonny|title = TSHA &#124; Clay, William Roger Campbell &#91;Sonny&#93;}}</ref> who had an unusual impact on the development of [[Australian jazz]].

[[File:Sonny Clay Band, Australia, 1928.jpg|thumb|Sonny Clay Band, Australia, 1928]]

==Biography== Clay's family moved to [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]] when he was eight years old; he played drums and [[xylophone]] early in life. From 1915 he studied piano, playing with [[Charlie Green (musician)|Charlie Green]] and [[Jelly Roll Morton]] in [[Mexico]] around 1920. He drummed for [[Reb Spikes]] in [[California]] in 1921, and had his first recording experience backing [[Camille Allen]] in 1922. Later that year he played with [[Kid Ory]] at the Hiawatha Dancing Academy in Los Angeles.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sonny Clay (1899-1973)|url=https://syncopatedtimes.com/sonny-clay-1899-1972/|website=Red Hot Jazz Archive |date=21 July 2020 |accessdate=21 July 2020 }}</ref>

In 1923 he formed his own band, the Eccentric Harmony Six; this ensemble recorded on [[Vocalion Records]] as the California Poppies<ref>{{cite web |title=California Poppies)|url=https://syncopatedtimes.com/california-poppies/|website=Red Hot Jazz Archive |date=21 July 2020 |accessdate=21 July 2020 }}</ref> in 1923 and the Stompin' Six<ref>{{cite web |title=Stompin' Six|url=https://syncopatedtimes.com/the-stompin-six/|website=Red Hot Jazz Archive |date=21 July 2020 |accessdate=21 July 2020 }}</ref> in 1925. He also performed under the band names Plantation Orchestra<ref>{{cite web |title=Sonny Clay's Plantation Orchestra|url=https://syncopatedtimes.com/sonny-clays-planation-orchestra/|website=Red Hot Jazz Archive |date=21 July 2020 |accessdate=21 July 2020 }}</ref> and Hartford Ballroom Orchestra. His band scored a regular gig broadcasting on radio stations [[KNX (AM)|KNX]] in 1925 and [[KFI]] in 1926.

In 1928 Clay took his band (billed as Sonny Clay's Colored Idea) on a tour of [[Australia]], with [[Ivie Anderson]] (later a vocalist with [[Duke Ellington]]) as one of the singers accompanying the orchestra.<ref>{{Cite journal|s2cid=130252736|doi=10.5429/2079-3871(2010)V1I1.5EN|title=Deportation Blues|year=2011|last1=Johnson|first1=Bruce|journal=IASPM@Journal|volume=1|pages=1–13|doi-access=free}}</ref> The group played in [[Sydney]] and [[Melbourne]] to great success, but problems with [[Trade union|unions]] and with venue changes (their initial bookings were on [[vaudeville]] stages, but additional dates in dance halls led them into [[Race (classification of human beings)|race]]-related trouble with local authorities) resulted in their gaining some notoriety. As rumors of [[Recreational drug use|drug use]] and [[miscegenation]] between the [[black people|black]] band members and [[white people|white]] women flew, the group was subject to a [[police raid]] which became a national press sensation.<ref>{{cite news |title=Clay's Colored Act Cancelled in Australia: Musicians Caught in Nude Orgy with White Women of Melbourne |newspaper=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |location=New York City |pages=3 |date=March 28, 1928 |url=https://archive.org/details/variety90-1928-03/page/n210/mode/1up |access-date=February 25, 2024}}</ref> As a result, Clay and his band were [[deportation|deported]] and the Australian government resolved to bar the entry of all black musicians into the country, a ban which kept [[Louis Armstrong]] from touring the country until 1954.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sonny Clay (1899-1973)|url=https://syncopatedtimes.com/sonny-clay-1899-1972/|website=Red Hot Jazz Archive |date=21 July 2020 |accessdate=21 July 2020 }}</ref>

Upon Clay's return, he held a residency at the Vernon County Club in Los Angeles, then broke up this band and formed a new one called the Dixie Serenaders,<ref>{{cite web |title=Dixie Serenaders|url=https://syncopatedtimes.com/the-dixie-serenaders/|website=Red Hot Jazz Archive |date=21 July 2020 |accessdate=21 July 2020 }}</ref> which counted [[Teddy Buckner]] and [[Les Hite]] among its members. Clay played solo and led bands until 1941, at which time he led a band as a member of the [[Special Services Division]]. He retired from music in the 1940s but returned around 1960 to record solo and play in clubs.

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Additional references== {{commons category|Sonny Clay}} *[{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p508168/biography|pure_url=yes}} Sonny Clay] at [[Allmusic]] *Howard Rye, "Sonny Clay". ''[[The New Grove|Grove Jazz]]'' online. *Andrew Bissett, ''Black Roots, White Flowers: A History of Australian Jazz'' (ABC Books, 1979)

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Clay, Sonny}} [[Category:1899 births]] [[Category:1973 deaths]] [[Category:American jazz bandleaders]] [[Category:American jazz pianists]] [[Category:American male jazz pianists]] [[Category:20th-century American conductors (music)]] [[Category:20th-century American pianists]] [[Category:People from Chappell Hill, Texas]] [[Category:Jazz musicians from Texas]] [[Category:20th-century American male pianists]]