b: 1941 in Surrey, England
British born Clayton-Thomas moved to Toronto, Canada at age 6 as his parents were British-Canadian. From the age of 15 to 21
He spent a fair share of his time in and out of reformatories and learning to play guitar. By 1962 he had found something to focus his life pursuits on and with nothing but $20 in his pocket and his battered old guitar he began performing in Toronto night-clubs as Sonny Thomas.
After a chance meeting at the legendary Club Bluenote, he led the Fabulous Shays on tour and to two hit singles - "Walk That Walk", "Boom Boom" and "Out Of The Sunshine" in 1965. From there the band was able to increase the pay scale at their club appearances and moved onto Le Coq d'Or which was Ronnie Hawkins' establishment. However, The Fabulous Shays soon split up and Clayton-Thomas took keyboardist Collacott to Yorkville Village in Toronto and formed the Bossmen, one of the first rock bands to incorporate elements of jazz. Their only hit single "Brainwashed" was released in 1966 and was an instant hit.
The young singer took every opportunity he could to play alongside great bluesmen such as John Lee Hooker, Lightnin' Sam Hopkins, Son House and Muddy Waters. Hooker took Clayton-Thomas to New York's Greenwich Village to play a gig with him and following the gig, Clayton-Thomas stayed in New York.
He met Bobby Colomby in 1969 and was asked to joined Blood, Sweat & Tears but the band changed their mind following Al Kooper's audition. Clayton-Thomas returned to Canada only to have to fly back to New York a year later following a phone-call from Colomby that Kooper had left the band due to personal reasons. The band's first album featuring Clayton-Thomas as lead singer sold 10 million copies and spawned three top five singles ("Spinning Wheel," "You've Made Me So Very Happy," "And When I Die") and spent seven weeks at No. 1, as well as a total of 109 weeks on the Billboard Album Chart.
B, S & T played everywhere from the Metropolitan Opera to Woodstock to behind the Iron Curtain. By 1972, with five successive gold albums, and singles such as "Hi De Ho," "Lucretia MacEvil" and "Go Down Gamblin'," the band was at its peak. Although most of the original members moved on, a newer version of the group continued to perform throughout the '80s. In 1980 he reformed a new Canadian version of Blood, Sweat & Tears with fellow original member Bobby Economou, who played with the group until 1977 when he left to tour with Maynard Ferguson. Signed to MCA Records in 1980, the second incarnation of Blood, Sweat & Tears first album was called 'Nuclear Blues'.
Lately, Clayton-Thomas has been pursuing a solo career. He released 'The Uptown Album', and has been working on new musical ventures from his state-of-the-art digital home studio in the Catskill Mountains.
with notes from Parker Kenyon.
Singles
as DAVID CLAYTON-THOMAS & THE SHAYS
1964 Barby Lee
1965 Take Me Back
1965 Out Of The Sunshine
as DAVID CLAYTON-THOMAS & THE FABULOUS SHAYS
1966 This Hour Has Seven Days
as DAVID CLAYTON-THOMAS & HIS QUINTET
1965 Walk That Walk
as DAVID CLAYTON-THOMAS & THE BOSSMEN
1966 Brainwashed
as DAVID CLAYTON-THOMAS
1969 No, No, No
1969 Say Boss Man
1970 Father Dear Father
1972 Sing A Song
1972 Magnificent Sanctuary Band
1972 Yesterday's Music
1974 Anytime...Babe
with BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS
1969 You've Made Me So Very Happy
1969 Spinning Wheel
1969 And When I Die
1970 Go Down Gamblin'
1970 Hi-De-Ho
1970 Lucretia MacEvil
1971 Lisa, Listen To Me
Albums
as DAVID CLAYTON-THOMAS & THE SHAYS
1965 David Clayton-thomas & The Shays A Go-go
1966 Sings Like It Is 1966
as DAVID CLAYTON-THOMAS
1969 David Clayton-Thomas (Decca)
1972 David Clayton-Thomas (Columbia)
1973 David Clayton-Thomas (RCA)
with BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS
1969 Blood, Sweat & Tears
1970 Blood, Sweat & Tears 3
1971 Blood, Sweat & Tears 4
1972 Greatest Hits
1975 New City (Columbia)
1976 More Than Ever (Columbia)
1977 Brand New Day (ABC)
1991 Live & Improvised (Columbia/Legacy)
1980 Nuclear Blues (MCA)
Video
Compilation Tracks
as DAVID CLAYTON-THOMAS & THE BOSSMEN
1990 "Brainwashed" on 'Made In Canada - Volume Three: Eclectic Avenue' (BMG) - compilation
Blood, Sweat & Tears.
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