William Clarke retrospective, part 2, with Paul Barry

01:32 - This is a second interview with Paul, after the first one about William (Bill) Clarke was released in June 2022

01:45 - Paul has now released his biography about Bill Clarke

02:15 - I’ve read the book recently and it’s a great achievement and has received lots of good reviews and comments from people

02:29 - Where people can obtain the book

03:23 - Was working on a harmonica instruction book before Bill died. Paul decided to write a biography instead, as lots of instructional material already available

03:44 - Bill died in 1996, before the internet became widely used, and he probably isn’t as well known as he deserves to be

04:58 - Looking into Bill’s life story when writing the book, saw the humble beginnings that he came from, to become the great bluesman he became

05:29 - How Paul approached writing the biography, and what research did he conduct

05:52 - Bill’s wife Jeanette was a great help in providing material for the book, as were his children and many of the musicians he performed with

06:44 - The pressure Paul felt in making sure the biography did justice to Bill

07:00 - Wife Jeanette maintains the Facebook page: William Clarke Remembered

07:31 - Paul wrote the book in his spare time, on top of his job and being a part-time musician

08:47 - What Paul learnt about Bill, and playing the harmonica, from writing the biography, including how hard he worked

10:22 - Torn between being a family man and being the best musician he could be

10:46 - Bill would practice back in the hotel room after the gig

11:36 - Learned from the blues harmonica greats early on in his development, but then was keen to forge his own sound

11:58 - Bill also liked to listen to organ players, saxophonists and swing jazz and learn licks from those

12:54 - Bill played chromatic in the middle of third position blues and the jazz approach on chromatic from the Toots Thielemans school of playing

13:43 - George Smith showed Bill how to play chromatic initially, especially the octaves

14:21 - Bill learnt by ear, didn’t work on music theory

15:14 - Bill’s later albums became more sophisticated as he developed his playing skills

16:09 - Was determined to forge his own sound

16:30 - Was also a great diatonic player, which he started out on when he took up harmonica

17:19 - Played a lot of octaves on diatonic, so approached it in a similar way to his chromatic playing at times

17:56 - Proportion of how much third position he played on diatonic versus second position (and others)

18:10 - Most of his chromatic playing is third position

18:50 - Was always keen to entertain the audience with stage antics and to give 100% to entertain the crowd, things he learnt from George Smith

20:10 - Live video of Bill playing Lollipop Man is a great example of Bill’s showmanship

20:55 - Every performance from Bill was different, nothing was scripted, he played and did what he felt like at the time

21:19 - Kept the band on his toes by not telling them which song was coming next, or taking extended solos, etc.

22:29 - Didn’t use a set-list, and the lesson that can teach us to be more spontaneous during live performance

24:11 - Touring and playing every night no doubt helps tighten up the band for such spontaneity

24:27 - Bill’s band didn’t practise, because they had gigs every night and also Bill wanted that freshen when recording in the studio

25:42 - I committed on the podcast to lie down during a solo on my next gig as per Bill and George antics, and Paul wants photographic evidence

25:57 - Bill also picked up a lot of the stagecraft in the LA blues clubs

26:26 - People often remember the visual antics over your wonderful harmonica playing

27:07 - Worked hard mixing the songs in the studio, to the extent that Bruce Iglauer gave him free reign to mix his own Alligator albums

28:35 - How Bill approached recording in the studio

29:31 - Wrote lots of his own songs, to bring a modern take on blues

30:52 - Sang from the beginning, but worked hard at it and it improved as his career developed

33:13 - Bill’s struggle with alcohol, and how he eventually overcame it

34:59 - May have started drinking to overcome his shyness for when performing music

36:04 - Performed better than ever when he quit drinking

37:19 - Wife Jeanette provided fantastic support to Bill during his struggle with alcohol

39:02 - Felt lonely when on the road

39:48 - Was planning to tour less, spend more time at home and give harmonica lessons before he died

40:30 - Did his first tour alongside George Smith in 1983, but George died later that year

41:53 - Bill played with George around LA from 1977-1983

42:23 - Bill quit his day job in 1986 to go full-time as a musician and toured extensively through the US and Europe, which was often hard going on the road

44:09 - Signed with Alligator records in 1989, with the Blowin’ Like Hell album recorded before he signed with Alligator, but released on that label

45:04 - Blowin’ Like Hell song is Bill’s anthem, and he would often perform 20 minute versions live, and the biography partly uses the song name

45:45 - Other great songs from the Blowin’ Like Hell album

47:18 - Blues Blast magazine said Blowin’ Like Hell album was the best harmonica album of the last twenty years

47:45 - Won three WC Handy awards for the Blowin’ Like Hell album, including best instrumentalist for harmonica

48:01 - Recorded three more albums on Alligator, with Paul thinking the four albums with Alligator are his best work, although there are other great earlier albums

49:04 - Groove Time album is a favourite of mine

49:34 - Had 18 top LA musicians with him on Groove Time album, and the great LA blues scene

50:19 - LA Blues scene had more of a jazz and swing influence than the Chicago scene

51:03 - Final album was The Hard Way, released in 1996

51:48 - Bill’s funeral was well attended by his fans, who played his music

52:12 - Paul was a pallbearer for Bill

52:46 - Had an open casket where he was wearing sunglasses and had a Hering harmonica in his top pocket out of respect to the people of Brazil, who he admired

53:31 - George Smith’s widow sang in the choir at the funeral

53:56 - Bruce Iglauer read a eulogy at the funeral

54:23 - Last section of the biography contains comments from various harmonica players and others, about Bill’s legacy to blues music and harmonica, and Paul’s view on this

55:54 - Paul’s favourite songs of Bills

56:19 - Wife Jeanette released some albums after he died, from some early recordings

57:17 - Live In Germany is a great live album to listen to, and an extended version being released this year (2024)

57:45 - Does Paul have any plans to write any more books?