His 1968 debut album with Blood Sweat & Tears sold 10 million copies worldwide, charting for a staggering 109 weeks and winning five Grammy awards, including Album of the Year and Best Performance by a Male Vocalist. That’s how most Americans know David Clayton-Thomas, but that’s the tip of the iceberg.
Born David Henry Thomsett in England, his family relocated to Canada. At 14, David left home, sleeping in parked cars and abandoned buildings, stealing food and clothing to survive. Arrested several times for vagrancy, petty theft and street brawls, he spent his teen years in and out of jails and reformatories. Released in 1962, he blew off steam with music and came to the attention of Ronnie Hawkins, a bawdy Arkansan playing music unlike anyone else in Toronto. Hawkins had an eye for talent—his band, The Hawks, eventually backed Bob Dylan and became The Band—and took David under his wing. David changed his name to put some distance between his new life and his troubled teenage years, and began fronting his own bands. In 1967, Clayton-Thomas moved from Toronto to New York, and, by 1968—six years after his last incarceration—had released Blood, Sweat & Tears, the first in a string of hit albums. In all, he’s sold over 40 million records.
With his own rise from homelessness to the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, Clayton-Thomas has become one of today’s most powerful voices for change within the youth justice system. With his upcoming album, Say Somethin’, he addresses many other timely issues across today’s social spectrum, including gun violence, climate change, immigration, and politics.
But thankfully, despite the seriousness of the issues, his sense of humor can transcend the gloom-and-doom predictions we hear. Without trivializing the issue, Clayton-Thomas makes us smile with “The Circus.” As he told Elmore, it’s “a whimsical look at today’s politics. The ringmaster, the clowns, the acrobats all playing their parts in this theatre of the absurd. A dazzling display of performance art designed to distract and entertain.”
Say Somethin’ is a 10-track statement in the form of potent music and inspirational songwriting from the legendary artist, who collaborated on Say Somethin’ with Canadian musicians Lou Pomanti, Eric St Laurent, Davide Direnzo and Marc Rogers. The album features singles “Never Again,” Clayton-Thomas’ indictment of gun violence, and “The System,” which echoes his consistent calls to reform the youth justice system.
Learn more about David Clayton-Thomas HERE
Nice review of a beautiful record from David and friends.