Clydie King

King was born in Dallas, Texas on August 21, 1943. At the time of King's death, the media related that her alleged parents, Lula Mae King and Curtis Crittendon, had raised her after her mother's 1945 death.{{Cite web |title=1940 Census Population Schedules, Texas, Dallas County, Enumeration District 57-57A |url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/138502592?objectPage=15 |access-date=November 7, 2024 |publisher=United States of America, Bureau of the Census |at=Lines 60 to 69 |publication-place=Washington, D. C. |via=National Archives and Records Administration}}{{Cite web |title=Clyde Mae Crittendon |url=https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/records?recordId=3770841&collectionId=8781&tid=&pid=&queryId=29d3fa57-6e03-41b8-bb79-0c8b3bee9383&_phsrc=csZ27&_phstart=successSource |url-access=subscription |access-date=November 7, 2024 |website=Texas Department of State Health Services |at=Texas, U.S., Birth Index, 1903-1997 |via=Ancestry.com}}{{Cite web |title=Jennie V King |url=https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/records?recordId=21704275&collectionId=2272 |access-date=November 7, 2024 |publisher=Texas Department of State Health Services |at=Texas Death Certificates, 1903–1982 |publication-place=Austin, Texas}} According to a 1950 census record, it is proven that King was the child of Tom and Genevieve King, as she is listed as Curtis's sister-in-law, and as Lula was born to the same parents.{{cite web|title=1950 United States Census|url=https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/62308/records/257854254|access-date=May 27, 2025|publisher=National Archives and Records Administration|at=1950 United States Federal Census|via=Ancestry.com}} After starting to sing in the local church, King moved with her family to Los Angeles when she was young, where she graduated from Fremont High School in 1961.{{cite news|last=Russonello |first=Giovanni | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/14/obituaries/clydie-king-dead.html|title=Clydie King, Top-Tier Backup Singer, Is Dead at 75|date=January 14, 2019|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=July 25, 2020}}{{Cite web |title=Clydie Crittendon in the U.S., School Yearbooks, 1900-2016 |url=https://www.ancestryinstitution.com/discoveryui-content/view/580001667:1265 |url-access=subscription |access-date=November 7, 2024 |website=ancestry.com}}

Discovered by songwriter Richard Berry, King began her recording career in 1956 with Little Clydie and the Teens. She contributed to early 1960s recordings by producer Phil Spector, such as "River Deep – Mountain High, and was a member of Ray Charles' Raelettes from 1965 to 1968.{{Cite book|last=Love|first=Darlene|url=https://archive.org/details/mynameislovedarl00love/page/100/mode/2up?q=grazia|title=My name is Love|date=1998|publisher=William Morrow and Co.|others=Internet Archive|isbn=978-0-688-15657-2|pages=100}} She recorded solo singles for Specialty Records, Kent Records and others. Her 1971 solo single "'Bout Love" reached No. 45 on the R&B chart.{{cite book |title=Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–1995 |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=1996 |publisher=Record Research |isbn=0-89820-115-2 |page=[https://archive.org/details/joelwhitburnstopr00whit/page/247 247] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/joelwhitburnstopr00whit/page/247 }}{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9wgEAAAAMBAJ&dq=clydie+king&pg=PA47-IA1|title=Billboard|date=May 22, 1971|access-date=January 16, 2024|via=Google Books}} Reviewing her 1972 debut album Direct Me, Robert Christgau wrote in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981): "Clydie has a voice that's more sly Diana than robust Martha and addresses the title plea to Gabriel Mekler, who (this time, anyway) proves neither as sly nor as robust as Berry Gordy."{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|publisher=Ticknor & Fields|isbn=089919026X|chapter=Consumer Guide '70s: K|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=K&bk=70|accessdate=February 28, 2019|via=robertchristgau.com}}

King provided backing vocals for Humble Pie, which had great success in the United States, and she went on to become an in-demand session singer, worked with Venetta Fields and Sherlie Matthews and recorded with B.B. King, The Rolling Stones, Steely Dan, Barbra Streisand, Bob Dylan, Linda Ronstadt, Joe Cocker, Dickey Betts, Joe Walsh, and many others. She was a member of The Blackberries with Fields and Matthews and sang on Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour, which became a feature film. In 1971, she was featured on the Beaver and Krause album Gandarva. She sang the lead vocal on the gospel-inflected "Walkin' By the River," on which Ray Brown played bass. Along with Merry Clayton, she sang the background vocals on Lynyrd Skynyrd's seminal hit "Sweet Home Alabama".

King was married multiple times. She married Robin Hale on November 10, 1960 and with him had three sons: Christopher, Randy, and Magge Hale.{{Cite web |title=Clydie M Crittendon |url=https://www.ancestryinstitution.com/discoveryui-content/view/7955261:1144 |url-access=subscription |access-date=November 7, 2024 |publisher=State of California, Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services. |at=California Marriage Index, 1960-1985 }} King and Hale divorced in August of 1969.{{Cite web |title=Clydie M Crittendon |url=https://www.ancestryinstitution.com/discoveryui-content/view/5048102:1141 |publisher=Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health |at=California Divorce Index, 1966-1984 |publication-place=Sacramento, California}} A subsequent husband was Tony Collins, with whom she had a daughter, Delores Collins.

In 1998, newspapers reported that Bob Dylan's girlfriend at the time, Susan Ross, had stated that Dylan had been secretly married to Clydie King and had two children by her. Ross also stated that he had had long-term relationships with other backing vocalists including Helena Springs, Carol Woods and Carol Dennis.{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.ie/life/bob-dylan-the-secret-life-and-loves-of-a-musical-icon-35664688.html|title=Bob Dylan: The secret life and loves of a musical icon|website=The Irish Independent|date=May 2017 |accessdate=January 14, 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2001/may/24/artsfeatures1|title=Things you ought to know about Bob Dylan.|first=Stephen|last=Moss|date=May 24, 2001|website=The Guardian|accessdate=January 14, 2019}}{{cite news|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/news/bob-dylans-love-life-has-proved-to-be-every-bit-as-complex-as-his-legendary-songs-35681268.html|title=Bob Dylan's love life has proved to be every bit as complex as his legendary songs|newspaper=Belfasttelegraph|accessdate=January 14, 2019}}

King died on January 7, 2019, in a Monrovia, California hospital at the age of 75 from complications of a blood infection.

• 1956 Little Clydie & The Teens: "A Casual Look" / "Oh Me" (RPM 462)
• 1957 Clydie King: "Our Romance" / "Written On The Wall" (Specialty 605)
• 1958 Clydie King: "I'm Invited To Your Party" / "Young Foolish Love" (Specialty 642)
• 1960 The Meadowlarks: "There's A Girl" / "Blue Mood" (Original Sound 12)
• 1961 The Meadowlarks: "It's Stompin' Time (Part 1)" / "It's Stompin' Time (Part 2)" (Interlude 101)
• 1962 Clydie King & The Sweet Things: "The Boys In My Life" / "Promises" (Philips 40001)
• 1962 Clydie King & Mel Carter: "Who Do You Love" / "The Wrong Side Of Town" (Philips 40049)
• 1962 Clydie King: "Turn Around" / "Don't Hang Up The Phone" (Philips 40051)
• 1963 Clydie King and The Sweet Things: "Only The Guilty Cry" / "By Now" (Philips 40107)
• 1965 Bonnie & The Treasures: "Home Of The Brave" / "Our Song" (Phi-Dan 5005)
• 1965 Clydie King: "The Thrill Is Gone" / "If You Were A Man" (Imperial 66109)
• 1965 Clydie King: "Missin' My Baby" / "My Love Grows Deeper" (Imperial 66139)
• 1966 Clydie King: "He Always Comes Back To Me" / "Soft and Gentle Ways" (Imperial 66172)
• 1967 Jimmy Holiday and Clydie King: "Ready, Willing and Able" / "We Got a Good Thing Goin'" (Minit 32021)
• 1967 Clydie King: "One Of Those Good For Cryin' Over You Days" / "My Mistakes Of Yesterday" (Minit 32025)
• 1967 Clydie King: "I'll Never Stop Loving You" / "Shing-A-Ling" (Minit 32032)
• 1969 Clydie King: "Love Now, Pay Later" / "One Part, Two Part" (Minit 32054)
• 1969 The Brothers and Sisters of Los Angeles: "The Mighty Quinn" / "Chimes of Freedom" (Ode 121)
• 1969 The Brothers and Sisters of Los Angeles: "The Times They Are A-Changin'" / "Mr. Tambourine Man" (Ode 123)
• 1970 Clydie King: "Never Like This Before" / "The Long and Winding Road" (Lizard 21005)
• 1971 Clydie King: "'Bout Love" / "First Time, Last Time" (Lizard 21007)
• 1972 Barry Goldberg & Clydie King: "Mockingbird"" / "Jackson Highway" (Reprise 1120)
• 1972 Brown Sugar: "Somebody Stronger" / "One Way Street Called Love" (Abkco 5001)
• 1972 The Blackberries: "Somebody Up There" / "But I Love Him" (Mowest 5020)
• 1973 The Blackberries: "Don't Change On Me" / "Twist and Shout" (A & M 1442)
• 1973 Brown Sugar: "Don't Hold Back" / "Loneliness (Will Bring Us Together Again)" (Bullet 711)
• 1973 Brown Sugar: "Don't Hold Back" / "Loneliness (Will Bring Us Together Again)" (Chelsea 78–0125)
• 1973 Brown Sugar: "Sugar, Didn't I" / "Moonlight and Taming You" (RCA APBO-0149)
• 1974 Clydie King & Brown Sugar: "Dance To The Music" / "Love Can Bring You Down" (RCA APBO-0239)
• 1974 The Blackberries: "Life Is Full Of Joy" / "Yesterday's Music" (A & M 1630)
• 1975 Clydie King: "Punish Me" / "Punish Me" (instrumental) (U.K. 2801)
• 1977 Clydie King: "Streets Full Of Flowers" / "Streets Full Of Flowers" (instrumental) (Whisper WX 2345)

• 1972 Clydie King: Direct Me (Lizard / Ampex Records, A-20104)
• 1973 Brown Sugar: Brown Sugar featuring Clydie King (Chelsea Records, BCL1-0368)
• 1976 Clydie King: Rushing to Meet You (Tiger Lily Records, TL 14037)
• 2007 Clydie King: The Imperial & Minit Years (Stateside Records, 5099950958122)

• Ray Charles: It's a Blues Thing 1995 – King sang "Ode to Billie Joe" rec. 1968
• Diana Ross and the Supremes: "No Matter What Sign You Are" 1969
• Ray Charles: Love Country Style 1970 – duet on "Sweet Memories"
• Crabby Appleton: Rotten to the Core 1971
• The Supremes: "Nathan Jones" 1971
• Beaver and Krause: "Walkin' By the River" on Gandarva 1971
• Martha Reeves and the Vandellas: "Bless You" 1971
• Madura: Madura II 1973
• Dickey Betts: Atlanta's Burning Down 1978
• Neil Diamond: Tap Root Manuscript 1970 – backing vocals to "Childsong" and "Missa"
• Bob Dylan: Saved 1980, Shot of Love 1981, Infidels 1983, Biograph 1985, Down in the Groove 1988, The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991 1991, The Bootleg Series Vol. 13: Trouble No More 1979–1981 2017
• Chuck Girard: Take It Easy 1979
• Humble Pie: Eat It 1973
• Elton John: Caribou 1974
• B.B. King: Indianola Mississippi Seeds 1970 – Angelic Chorus on "Hummingbird"
• Gary St. Clair: Gary St. Clair 1971
• Lynyrd Skynyrd: "Sweet Home Alabama" 1974Dupree, Tom. [https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/alkooper/articles/story/9437632/lynyrd_skynyrd_in_sweet_home_atlanta Lynyrd Skynyrd in Sweet Home Atlanta] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327072347/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/alkooper/articles/story/9437632/lynyrd_skynyrd_in_sweet_home_atlanta |date=March 27, 2009 }}, Rolling Stone, October 24, 1974. Retrieved September 17, 2006.
• Martha Reeves: Martha Reeves, Produced by Richard Perry 1974
• The Rolling Stones: Exile on Main St. 1972
• The Doors: Full Circle 1972
• Linda Ronstadt: Don't Cry Now 1973, Heart Like A Wheel 1974
• Diana Ross: Baby It's Me 1977
• Dusty Springfield: Cameo 1973
• Steely Dan: Can't Buy A Thrill 1972, The Royal Scam 1976, Aja 1977
• Jean Terrell: I Had to Fall in Love 1978
• Joe Walsh: The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get 1973
• Barbra Streisand: A Star Is Born – backup vocals with Venetta Fields as The Oreos 1976
• B.W. Stevenson: "My Maria" 1973 - backup vocals with Bill & Taffy Danoff, Daniel J. Moore*, Lorna Willard, Venetta Fields

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.soulfulkindamusic.net/cking.htm Soulful Kinda Music] — Clydie King Discography
• [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p18681|pure_url=yes}} Clydie King credits] at AllMusic
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070907031705/http://humble-pie.net/the_blackberries/html/the_blackberries.html The Complete Blackberries ] – Documentation of the lady singers in Humble Pie

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Category:1943 births

Category:2019 deaths

Category:20th-century African-American women singers

Category:20th-century American women singers

Category:20th-century American singers

Category:American women singers

Category:American session musicians

Category:Singers from Dallas

Category:RPM Records (United States) artists

Category:Specialty Records artists

Category:Kent Records artists

Category:Imperial Records artists

Category:Capitol Records artists

Category:RCA Victor artists

Category:American soul singers

Category:21st-century African-American musicians

Category:21st-century African-American women

Category:The Blackberries members

Category:The Raelettes members