Michael Clarke (musician)
Template:Short description {{#invoke:Other people|otherPeople}} Template:More citations needed Template:Infobox musical artist
Michael Clarke (born Michael James Dick; June 3, 1946 – December 19, 1993) was an American musician, best known as the drummer for the 1960s rock group the Byrds from 1964 to 1967.<ref name=unterbio>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He died in 1993, at age 47, from liver failure, a direct result of more than three decades of heavy alcohol consumption.
Biography
Early years
Clarke was born in Spokane, Washington. His father was a pipefitter and his mother was an amateur musician. Clarke left home when he was 17 years old and hitchhiked to California to become a musician.Template:Cn
The Byrds
Clarke was not an accomplished musician prior to joining the Byrds but he did have previous experience drumming in his younger years before joining the group. Despite his prior experience playing the drums, Clarke had no drum set upon joining the Byrds. He practiced on a makeshift kit of cardboard boxes<ref name=unterbio/> and a tambourine with real drum sticks.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> According to lead guitarist Roger McGuinn's web site, Clarke was hired by McGuinn and Gene Clark for his resemblance to Rolling Stones' guitarist Brian Jones. Clarke's strength as a drummer is considered to be illustrated by his jazz-oriented playing on the Byrds' "Eight Miles High",<ref name=unterbio/> on the Fifth Dimension album.
Although not a prolific songwriter like the other members of the Byrds, Clarke’s compositional contributions with the band encompass co-writing credits for the songs "Captain Soul", an instrumental from the Fifth Dimension album (based on Lee Dorsey's "Get Out Of My Life, Woman"), and "Artificial Energy" from The Notorious Byrd Brothers.<ref name=timeless>Template:Cite book</ref> He was also given an arrangement co-credit for two traditional songs that appeared on Fifth Dimension: "Wild Mountain Thyme" and "John Riley" (although the latter is credited to Bob Gibson and songwriter/arranger Ricky Neff on the album itself).<ref name=timeless/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
In August 1967, during the recording sessions for The Notorious Byrd Brothers album, Clarke walked out on the Byrds and was temporarily replaced by session drummers Jim Gordon and Hal Blaine.<ref name=Hjort>Template:Cite book</ref>
Clarke had recently become dissatisfied with his role in the band and didn't particularly like the new material that the songwriting members were providing.<ref name=timeless/> However, he continued to honor his live concert commitments, appearing at a handful of shows during late August and early September 1967.<ref name=Hjort/> Clarke returned from his self-imposed exile in time to contribute drums to the song "Artificial Energy" in early December 1967,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> but was subsequently fired from the band by McGuinn and bass player Chris Hillman once The Notorious Byrd Brothers album was completed.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Hiatus from music, Dillard and Clark and Flying Burrito Brothers
After a short stint in Hawaii working in the hotel business and pursuing his interest in painting,<ref name=unterbio/> Clarke played briefly with Gene Clark in Dillard and Clark, before following Hillman and Gram Parsons to country-rock pioneers The Flying Burrito Brothers, after their first album had been recorded. Clarke served with the Burritos between early 1969 and 1972, appearing with the band at the infamous Altamont Free Concert in California, headlined by The Rolling Stones, in December 1969. During the 1974-1980 period, Clarke was a member of Firefall, followed by a period as the drummer for Jerry Jeff Walker, ending in 1982.Template:Cn
Byrds lawsuit controversy and Hall of Fame induction
Between 1983 and 1985, Clarke joined former Byrds' singer Gene Clark in The Firebyrds, a touring band which had been put together to promote Gene Clark's 1984 solo album Firebyrd.<ref name = einar>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1985, following the breakup of The Firebyrds, Clarke and Clark again joined forces for a series of controversial shows billed as a "20th Anniversary Tribute to The Byrds".<ref name = einar/> Among the other musicians involved in this project were John York, another ex-Byrd from the late 1960s line-up of the group, ex-Burritos and Firefall singer Rick Roberts, ex-member of The Beach Boys early 1970s line-up Blondie Chaplin, and Rick Danko, formerly of The Band.<ref name=byrdwatcher>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Many nightclubs simply shortened the billing to "The Byrds,"<ref name=byrdwatcher/> and the pair soon found themselves involved in acrimonious court battles with Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, and Chris Hillman over use of the group's name.
The Byrds set aside their differences long enough to appear together at their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in January 1991, where the original lineup played three songs together: "Mr. Tambourine Man", "Turn! Turn! Turn!" and "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better". Gene Clark died less than five months later, of a heart attack, on May 24, 1991.<ref>Byrds v. Byrds: A Byrds Celebration and A "Byrds Celebration" 1991-1997 Template:Webarchive. Byrd Watcher: A Field Guide to the Byrds of Los Angeles; www.ebni.com.</ref>
From 1987 until his death in 1993, Clarke toured as The Byrds featuring Michael Clarke. Skip Battin and John York, who had played with Roger McGuinn in later versions of the Byrds, also played at various points in The Byrds featuring Michael Clarke. Following the failure of McGuinn, Crosby and Hillman to obtain an injunction against Clarke,<ref name=battle>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> it was generally accepted that Clarke's continuing usage of the name was tantamount to ownership, particularly when not used by any other group member and where other group members, particularly Roger McGuinn, had repeatedly denied any interest in performing again under the Byrds name.<ref name = battle/>
Declining health and death
By the late 1980s, Clarke's health had declined from a lifetime of hard drinking, resulting in a number of hospital stays. He died of liver failure at the age of 47 at his Treasure Island, Florida, condominium on December 19, 1993.<ref name=clarkedeath>Template:Cite news</ref> Billy Moore, who had organized a New Year's Eve concert at a resort where Clarke and his band were scheduled to perform, stated that at the time of his death, Clarke had recently learned that he had become terminally ill due to his liver problems.<ref name=clarkedeath />
During his final days, Clarke had expressed a wish to appear on television in the hope of alerting children to the dangers of alcoholism. Following his wishes, Clarke's girlfriend Susan Paul started a foundation in Clarke's name, called the Campaign for Alcohol-Free Kids. In 1994, a year after his death, Clarke's paintings were published in Dick Gautier and Jim McMullan's book, Musicians As Artists.Template:Cn
Discography
With The Byrds
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Mr. Tambourine Man | ||
| Turn! Turn! Turn! |
|
|
| Fifth Dimension |
|
|
| Younger Than Yesterday |
|
|
| The Notorious Byrd Brothers |
|
Left during production of the album. |
| Byrds |
|
Extended plays
| Title | Released |
|---|---|
| The Times They Are a-Changin' | February 1966 |
| Eight Miles High | October 1966 |
Singles
| Title | Date |
|---|---|
| "Please Let Me Love You" / | October 7, 1964 |
| "Mr. Tambourine Man" / | April 12, 1965 |
| "All I Really Want to Do" / | June 14, 1965 |
| "Turn! Turn! Turn!" / | October 1, 1965 |
| "Set You Free This Time" | January 10, 1966 |
| "It Won't Be Wrong" (B-side) | |
| "Eight Miles High" /
"Why" |
March 14, 1966 |
| "5D (Fifth Dimension)" /
"Captain Soul" |
June 13, 1966 |
| "Mr. Spaceman" /
"What's Happening?!?!" |
September 6, 1966 |
| "So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star" /
"Everybody's Been Burned" |
January 9, 1967 |
| "My Back Pages" /
"Renaissance Fair" |
March 13, 1967 |
| "Have You Seen Her Face" /
"Don't Make Waves" |
May 22, 1967 |
| "Lady Friend" / | July 13, 1967 |
| "Goin' Back" /
"Change Is Now" |
October 20, 1967 |
| "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" /
"Artificial Energy" |
April 2, 1968 |
| "Full Circle" /
"Long Live the King" |
April 11, 1973 |
| "Things Will Be Better" /
"For Free" |
April 24, 1973 |
| "Cowgirl in the Sand" /
"Long Live the King" |
June 1973 |
Studio albums
| Title | Year |
|---|---|
| Burrito Deluxe | 1970 |
| The Flying Burrito Bros | 1971 |
Live albums
| Year | Credited As | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | The Flying Burrito Brothers | Last of the Red Hot Burritos |
Singles
| Single | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| "The Train Song" | 1969 | |
| "If You Gotta Go" | 1970 |
With Roger McGuinn
- Roger McGuinn (1973) (one track)
With Firefall
With Chris Hillman
- Clear Sailin' (1977) (one track)
With Barry McGuire
- Barry McGuire And The Doctor (1971)
With Gene Clark
- Early L.A. Sessions 1972)
- Roadmaster (1973)
With Terry Melcher
- Terry Melcher (1974)
With Jerry Jeff Walker
- Cow Jazz (1980)
References
External links
Template:The ByrdsTemplate:FirefallTemplate:The Flying Burrito BrothersTemplate:1991 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Template:Authority control
- 1946 births
- 1993 deaths
- Musicians from Spokane, Washington
- American rock drummers
- The Byrds members
- The Flying Burrito Brothers members
- Alcohol-related deaths in Florida
- Firefall members
- American folk rock musicians
- American country drummers
- Musicians from Los Angeles
- People from Treasure Island, Florida
- 20th-century American drummers
- American male drummers
- Drummers from Washington (state)