Delbert McClinton

Delbert McClinton (born November 4, 1940) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, harmonica player, and pianist.

From his first professional stage appearance in 1957 to his most recent national tour in 2018, he has recorded albums for several major record labels and singles that have reached the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, Mainstream Rock Tracks, and Hot Country Songs charts. His highest-charting single was "Tell Me About It", a 1992 duet with Tanya Tucker, which reached number four on the country chart. Four of his albums have been number one on the blues chart, and another reached number two. His highest-charting pop hit was 1980's "Giving It Up for Your Love", which peaked at number eight on the Hot 100.

McClinton has earned four Grammy Awards – 1992 Rock Performance by a Duo with Bonnie Raitt for "Good Man, Good Woman", 2002 Contemporary Blues Album for Nothing Personal, 2006 Best Contemporary Blues Album for Cost of Living, and 2020 Best Traditional Blues Album for Tall, Dark, & Handsome. He has been nominated for eight Grammy Awards as of 2020.

He was inducted into the Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Fame in March 2011, along with Lee Roy Parnell, Bruce Channel, Gary Nicholson, and Cindy Walker. In 2019, Delbert McClinton was honored by the historic Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas, with the fifth star in their Walk of Fame. (Others are actors Jaston Williams and Joe Sears, and musical artists Jerry Jeff Walker and Lyle Lovett).

McClinton was born in Lubbock, Texas, and moved with his family to Fort Worth when he was 11 years old. He worked in a bar band, the Straitjackets, who backed Sonny Boy Williamson II, Howlin' Wolf, Lightnin' Hopkins, and Jimmy Reed. McClinton recorded several regional singles before hitting the national chart in 1962, playing harmonica on Bruce Channel's "Hey! Baby". On a tour with Channel in the United Kingdom, McClinton instructed John Lennon on the finer points of blues harmonica playing.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.