ROOTS of Country Music

The Professional Work of Roy Clark

(born Apr. 15, 1933)

Career Highlights

Barn Dance Affiliate: Louisiana Hayride

Grand Ole Opry Member -1987

Film, Night Club, Radio & TV

• Austin City Limits, 4
• Billy Bob's Texas, 2
• Ed Sullivan Show, 4
• Ernest Tubb’s  Midnight Jamboree, 3
• Gilley’s Club, 2
• Hee Haw, 4
• Nashville Now, 4
• Pop Goes the Country, 4
• The Beverly Hillbillies, 4
• The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, 4
• The Jimmy Dean Show, 4
• The Johnny Carson Show
• The Johnny cash Show, 4
• The Porter Wagoner Show, 4
• The Statler Brothers Show, 4
• The Wilburn Brothers Show, 4
• Uphill All the Way, 1 

1-Film, 2-Night Club, 3-Radio, 4-TV 

Billboard Chart Data 

• No. 1 Singles: 1
• Top-20 Singles: 11
• Crossover Singles: 1
• Charted Singles: 68
• Chart Years Active: (1963-1989)

Awards

Country Music Association

• Country Music Hall of Fame -2009
• Musician of the Year 1977, 1978, 1980
• Entertainer of the Year -1973

Career Labels:

• Capitol Records
• Dot Records
• ABC/DOT Records

Billboard Top-20 Singles

1. The Tips of My Fingers -1963
2. Yesterday, When I Was Young -1969, 1
3. I Never Picked Cotton -1970
4. Thank God and Greyhound
5. The Lawrence Welk - Hee Haw.. -1972
6. Come Live With Me*# -1973
7. Somewhere Between Love and Tomorrow
8. Honeymoon Feelin' -1974
9. The Great Divide
10. Heart to Heart -1975
11. If I Had It to Do All Over Again -1976

*-No. 1 Chart Single

#Biggest Chart Single

1-Crossover Chart Single

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Yesterday, When I Yas Young: The Roy Clark Story

In the '70s, Roy Clark symbolized country music in the U.S. and abroad. Between guest-hosting for Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show and performing to packed houses in the Soviet Union on a tour that sold out all 18 concerts, he used his musical talent and his entertaining personality to bring country music into homes across the world.

As one of the hosts of TV's Hee Haw (Buck Owens was the other) for more than 20 years, Clark picked and sang and offered country corn to 30 million people weekly. He is first and foremost an entertainer, drawing crowds at venues as varied as Las Vegas, Atlantic City and the Grand Ole Opry. Mr. Clark's middle-of-the-road approach has filled a national void, with Clark offering country that was harder-edged than Kenny Rogers but softer and more accessible than Waylon Jennings.

Among his numerous vocal hits are Yesterday, When I Was Young and Thank God and Greyhound. Instrumentally he has won awards, for both guitar and banjo. Clark has also co-starred on the silver screen with Mel Tillis, in the comedy Uphill All the Way. 

Born in Meherrin, Virginia, Roy Clark grew up in Staten Island, New York and lived as a teenager in Washington, D.C. where his father worked at the Washington Navy Yard. At 14, Clark began playing banjo guitar and mandolin and by age 15 he had already won two National Banjo Championships and world banjo/guitar flatpick championships. At 17, he made his first appearance on the Grand Ole Opry.

By 1955, Mr. Clark was a regular on Jimmy Dean's Washington, D.C. television program. Dean, who valued punctuality among musicians in his band, the Texas Wildcats, fired Clark for habitual tardiness, telling him "you're the most talented person I've ever fired."

In 1960, Roy Clark went out to Las Vegas where he worked as guitarist in a band led by former West Coast Western Swing bandleader-comedian Hank Penny. During the very early 1960s, he was also prominent in the backing band for Wanda Jackson during the latter part of her rockabilly period.

When Jimmy Dean was tapped to host The Tonight Show in the early 1960s, he asked Clark to appear, introducing him to a national audience for the first time. Subsequently, Clark appeared on The Beverly Hillbillies as a recurring character (actually two, he played businessman Roy Halsey and Roy's mother, Myrtle). Once, on an episode of the Sunday evening Jackie Gleason Show dedicated to country music, Clark played a blistering rendition of Down Home. Later, he even appeared on an episode of The Odd Couple where he played Malagueña. 

In 1963, Mr. Clark signed to Capitol Records and had three top 10 hits. He switched to Dot Records and again scored hits. He later recorded for ABC Records, which had acquired Dot and MCA Records, which absorbed the ABC label.

Pictured right Roy Clark, Lisa Todd & Buck Owens

In 1969, Roy Clark and Buck Owens were the hosts of Hee Haw. The show was dropped by CBS Television in 1971 but continued to run in syndication for twenty-one more years. During its tenure, Clark was a member of the Million Dollar Band and participated in a host of comedy sketches.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Researched, written and compiled by Richard Bell. Roots of Country Music. Dec., 15, 2011.