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He is a singer-songwriter and musician born in Cochran,
Georgia, nicknamed "Blowfly" by his grandmother after hearing him let out
some obscenities and saying "You is nastier than a blowfly". In the 1960s he became a member of
the group The Del Mires and he would soon go on to find a career as a solo
artist for TK Records and also as a songwriter in collaboration with Steve
Alaimo and Willie Clarke. 1969
saw his first chart hit with "Nobody but You Babe", which was followed in
the 1970s by his "Good Old Days" and "Funky Party". Making his name as a songwriter he
wrote hits such as Betty Wright's No. 6, "Clean Up Woman", Gwen McCrae's No. 1, "Rockin' Chair"
and KC & The Sunshine Band's "Sound Your Funky Horn" as well as songs
for artists that include Sam & Dave, Irma Thomas and Helene Smith. He also got a name for himself as "Blowfly"
where he would perform parodies based on sex and adult material and in this
guise he has released several albums including The Weird World of
Blowfly and Blowfly's Punk Rock Party. He was instrumental into introducing the successful songwriting
team and founding members of KC & The Sunshine Band, Harry Wayne Casey
and Richard Finch and has worked on releases such as "Jazz Freak" by
Paulette Reaves, "I'll Do the Rockin'" by George & Gwen McCrae, "Somebody Will" that was produced by
Buddy Killen and Jimmy Bo Horne's Gimme Some! His work appears on Classic Dinah
Washington, Rockin' Chair by Gwen Mcrae, Rock Your Baby
by George McCrae, Hard to Stop by Betty Wright, Back from the
Dead by Bobby Byrd, Heaven in the Afternoon by Lew Kirton, Classic
R&B from the 1960s by J.P. Robertson and he has released the solo
albums Dancin With Nobody But You Baby, Running Water and Clarence
Reid On the Job. Rapper
DMX in his "We In Here" and Beyonce's "Upgrade U" has also sampled his work,
as has other songs by artists such as Wu Tang Clan, Suggs from the group
Madness, P. Diddy, Ice Cube and Jurassic 5. Keeping up in the recording industry he released the
single "Prime Time" in June 2007.
George & Gwen McCrae recordings
I'll Do the Rockin' (Clarence Reid)
I'm Comin' At You (Clarence Reid)
Sources:
- http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/Clarence%20Reid.html
- http://www.myspace.com/clarencereid
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blowfly_(artist)
- http://cdbaby.com/cd/clarencereid
- http://www.forcedexposure.com/artists/reid.clarence.html
- http://shopping.yahoo.com/p:Clarence%20Reid:1927200947
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