Here I am, leaning into the cut-out bin at Korvette’s, my hair down to my shoulders, with an armful of records for 99 cents a piece.
Will there be treasure in these grooves?
E.J. Korvettes was a New York department store chain founded in 1948, and it closed its doors in 1980. I have a vague memory of a few of us heading down to their record department before they closed a store nearby to see what they would be selling off. I can’t recall the haul.
All my vinyl was sold when kids needed the room more than my grooves—soul sacrifice early in this century.
Subject To Change (1973)was the second and final record by Delbert and Glenn. The cover caught my eye, and I began to read the credits. I had heard the name Delbert McClinton as it had popped up in a Rolling Stone magazine.
What else caught my eye? David Newman on sax was a name I was familiar with. He had played with Ray Charles and seemed to be a session musician on a number of blues/roots records I had seen around. There was a pedal steel involved and the late Tommy Spurlock played that. I knew nada of Tommy but I was/am a sucker for that steel.
This was my introduction to the fabulous vocals of Delbert McClinton. From that point on, I became a fan. There was a lot of country, but some funk and blues were involved. If You Don’t Leave Me Alone features a 7-piece horn section and Delbert doing what he has done for most of his career. Have a listen….if you like this, you will love most of McClinton’s records.
California Livin’ a song about being on the road and needing a rest back in Texas.
Cold November is another McClinton-penned tune I really loved. There were a couple of other tracks that I liked, but those were the three that stood out.
Delbert and Glenn re-grouped in 2013 for a record called Blind, Crippled or Crazy. That is another record that would have found it’s way into the cut out bin quickly. I would have been disappointed if I picked that one up as it just did not make your ears or feet perk up.
Living in New York in the 70s, I was able to get to the Lone Star Café a few times and catch some fabulous moments with Delbert McClinton. I have written about it before that just about any night spent in the Lone Star was a long, boozy one. You never knew who would show up and it was always party time. You’d walk home with tequila on your tongue and smoke in your clothes…or vice versa.
Not long after finding Subject To Change, I came across Genuine Cowhide (1976) which was McClinton’s second solo outing. Some fabulous covers, great production, singing and a damn fine horn section. Delbert was not selling many discs as through the years they would crop up in the cut out bin.
And if you want to catch possibly Delbert’s last record, recorded in 2022 at the young age of 82, Outdated Emotion is a fabulous collection of the songs that made Delbert the Lone Star soulful Grammy Award-winning dude he is.
This little piece of trivia, he educated John Lennon on the finer points of playing blues harmonica on a tour of the UK in the early 60s.
Lest we forget Glen Clark. He continued to collaborate with artists like Bonnie Raitt and others throughout the years and released "You Tell Me" in 2019, which is available to stream wherever you swim.
Coming up from the cut-out bin….Do you recognise this man?
