Song:I Wish It Would Rain
Album:Soulsville Sings Hitsville: Stax Sings Songs Of Motown Records
When a black singer sings country it's known as country soul. Of course Ray Charles started this and Charley Pride was very popular. Unfortunately O.B. McClinton never had that kind of fame and died way too young. He was known as The Chocolate Cowboy. Obie Burnett McClinton was born Apr. 25, 1940 in Senatobia, MS and got interested in country music listening to Hank Williams records as a child. Though he wrote several songs for R & B stars James Carr, Clarence Carter & Otis Redding, he was unable to break into R & B as a performer. He met Charley Pride while in the Air Force and Pride encouraged him to try country music. While working as a DJ in Memphis in 1970, he met Stax Records president Al Bell and played his demo tape for him. O.B. McClinton became the first country music artist signed to Stax. A series of singles were released on Enterprise. The most successful of these was Don't Let The Green Grass Fool You in 1972. This version of The Temptations classic I Wish It Would Rain was released in 1973. It doesn't appear that Stax ever released an O.B. McClinton album and other than this song on the Soulsville Sings Hitsville various artists comp, his music doesn't seem to be available. Hopefully Concord Music will correct that. After Stax went broke in 1975, McClinton recorded singles for Mercury, Epic, Sunbird & Moon Shine without much success. He continued to be a popular live act on the country circuit. McClinton recorded the album The Only One in 1987 and successfully sold it through direct marketing with TV commercials. Epic picked up the album and just as it was climbing the charts, O.B. McClinton died of cancer on Sept. 23, 1987 at age 47. A very sad end to a very underappreciated singer. Fortunately, I have found this clip of O.B. McClinton performing Country Roots in 1977.
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