The world has known Clay Aiken as a musical star since 2003. It has been so much fun watching him change from a young college student to a handsome, mature man.
I thought it might be fun to see the “Then” and “Now”(or at least later) …Both are amazing…but…is there one that is your favorite?
Singing In Raleigh
Then
Now
Good Morning America
Then
Now
Ruben And Clay
Then
Now
The Tug
Then
Now
Buttercup
Then
Now
I am anxiously awaiting news this week. By the time you read this we might have some new information. With that in mind, my words in this blog will be short! Let’s have some fun!!
Anticipation
Charm
Excitement
Joy
Fun
Treasure
Wit
Trust
Remember, come back for the latest news…I can’t wait!!
It is hard to realize that it has been eight years since Clay Aiken released his first album titled Measure of A Man.
When one tries to imagine what it was like for Clay, I realize I have NO IDEA!! There had to be a combination of excitement, awe, amazement, fear, fatigue, and hopefully, lots of fun!! It was his first time jumping into the blender and going round and round and round!!
And…Clay found himself in New York, making the rounds of all the important shows, singing and charming the hosts and audiences with his talent and charm.
So…now, Clay is back in New York, preparing for another show and another round of hard work!! And, for his fans, it is a time of wait and hope for a picture here and there. Just think, we have to wait until the first of 2012 before we get to see Clay each week on our TV. By this time, you probably saw the newest picture of Clay coming out of Trump Tower. It was posted on-line and is Clay being pre-recorded for the good-bye of the show. Personally, I hope I never see it again as I hope Clay never needs to say good-bye on the show!!
Well….what was Clay doing eight years ago on October 15th?
It was one day after Clay Aiken’s new CD, Measure Of A Man hit the stores. As part of the promotional tour for the CD, Clay visited Good Morning America which is taped in New York City.
Diane Sawyer interviewed Clay and they talked about the sales numbers and expectations for the album. Clay told Diane that he went out the day before and bought his CD at the store on the advice of Randy Jackson. Randy said that it was tradition to do that in the music business for good luck.
It was announced on the show that morning that Clay would be singing the National Anthem at Game 1 of the World Series. Both Diane and Clay seemed excited about that honor.
The audience was filled with Clay fans that arrived early to be sure they could get into the studio to see and hear Clay perform. The enthusiastic group was supportive of Clay and his band and seemed bored with the 50 Hunks from Cosmo Magazine that were introduced to the audience.
The fans on TV saw Clay sing two songs from his album. He performed both Invisible and The Way. But the fans in the studio got a bonus as Clay pre-recorded The First Noel that morning to be shown on Christmas Day.
“When Clay came back out to do TFN, the first thing he did was walk right over to the group of very young children….kneel right down and sign things for them and talk to them. It was absolutely adorable.” This statement was written on-line from a fan that was lucky enough to be at the taping. She also stated that she got the feeling Clay wasn’t 100% awake yet!
The visit and performance at GMA was exciting and wonderful to see. Clay had to be tired, but his performance was fabulous.
Do you remember the name, Allison Glock? If you have been a Clay Aiken fan since 2003, you probably remember that Allison was the writer that co-authored Learning To Sing: Hearing the Music in Your Life with Clay.
Today, Allison is a Senior staff writer at ESPN. She is also a contributing editor at Whole Living Magazine, a part of Martha Stewart Living and at Garden and Gun Magazine…yes, really!!
Allison is also a Whiting Writers’ Award-winner known for her soulful profile writing.
But to Clay Aiken fans, Allison became a name to remember when she worked at Elle Magazine. The September 6, 2003 Elle Magazine featured a three page article on Clay Aiken. Allison was the writer who gave the readers a look into the “rising star”, Clay Aiken.
Did you read the article when it first came out? Do you still have a copy of the magazine? I hope you enjoy reading the article again.
Aching For Aiken, by Alison Glock
How did a baby-faced, jug-eared special ed teacher—and American Idol runner-up—become the fantasy fodder of sophisticated women everywhere? Allison Glock follows the rising star to find out.
Clay Aiken smells like fresh laundry. It’s the first thing you notice about him—that he’s well-scrubbed, radiant in his cleanliness, a walking, freckled dryer sheet. The second thing you notice are his lips, which are plump and ripe and shell pink. Much has been made about his hair—the whole flatironed, geek-hipster red nest of it all—but little, too little, has been made of his lips, perhaps because most of the world has only ever seen them contorted and trembling in song.
Aiken, for the uninitiated, was the second-place finisher in this year’s American Idol contest. “I lost,” he says, then laughs, which is easy enough for him to do since his single “This Is the Night” has already gone platinum. He has also graced the cover of Rolling Stone (before Idol winner Ruben Studdard did; the issue allegedly sold more copies than any in the last two years, including the Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera, and Eminem covers, to name a few). His first album, Measure of a Man (RCA), out in mid-September, was ranked number three on Amazon.com back in July. His fans range from Diane Sawyer (who admitted to a serious Clay crush on Good Morning America ) to Neil Sedaka, who cried on camera when Aiken covered his hit “Solitaire.” “His voice is incredible–the pitch, the tone,” says Sedaka. “I think he’ll be the new Frank Sinatra.”
“So much has happened in the past nine months that I haven’t had time to think,” admits the 24-year-old, from the back of the van that’s shuttling him from New York City to a concert appearance in Hartford, Connecticut. “Honestly, last night I was sitting in the hotel room crying for about an hour. I had to call someone back in Raleigh to wake them up because I needed to talk. Certain things have just hit me.”
Most recently, it was his inability to take a walk.
“I wanted to clear my head, and I realized that if I were to take a stroll in New York, I’d have to wake my bodyguard, Jerome, and then I’m not really alone, so what’s the point? I felt trapped and miserable. Sometimes I just want to go back to teaching.”
That’s unlikely, because while Aiken was, by all accounts, a gifted special ed teacher working mostly with grade-school children, he possesses a voice that’s impossible to ignore.
CALLING ALL CLAYMATES
“I was going to go to music school but decided against it,” Aiken says. “I didn’t see the point. Then I was running an after-school program at the YMCA, and I thought, Forget music, I love this. I want to work with kids with behavioral disabilities.”
But Aiken still sang at the Y, and when he sang, people noticed. Whenever he belted out a song—and he is a belter—the whole room quieted. Heads lifted. Eyes widened. Hearts swelled. When American Idol happened along, the mother of one of his students encouraged him to try out. Reluctantly, he did.
“I liked singing, but I never wanted to make a career out of it,” he says with a sigh. “When you work with kids who have autism, they don’t reciprocate any affection. You learn to find your self-worth within what you do, not what people tell you about yourself. Now with all of this, I really have flip-flopped. Also, I’m not much of a crowd person. It’s a lot to get used to.”
Unlike many of his fellow Idol finalists, Aiken didn’t grow up a fan: “I never idolized celebrities or musicians.” Even now, he can barely name one. “I liked that guy in The Pianist [Adrien Brody],” he offers lamely when asked which famous people he admires. As a boy growing up in a conservative family in Raleigh, North Carolina, Aiken enjoyed TV but was limited in his viewing options. Even The Golden Girls was considered too risqué. As a result, Aiken is the rare pop idol who knows next to nothing about pop culture.
“You know who I idolized? Mr. Rogers. Is there a market for the next Mr. Rogers? Because I’d love to do that. I’d much rather be quiet and important like him than live large and be some useless celebrity.”
Aiken’s ignorance of all things hot translates into a doofy authenticity and a captivating vulnerability. He’s so uncool, he’s cool. Dressed in loose khakis, a striped polo-style shirt, New Balance running shoes, and his ever-present WWJD bracelet, Aiken resembles a slimmed-down, Christian Charlie Brown. His hair is mussed but not in the artful, deliberate way it was on Idol. His teeth are white, square, and shiny. The only concession to his newfound stardom is a $15,000 diamond-studded Jacob & Co. watch that was a gift from the Idol producers but that he’s embarrassed to wear. “I was going to auction it off for charity, but it was a present, so I wear it. It’s really a woman’s watch. I liked it because it wasn’t as ostentatious. Ruben wears the men’s. He’ll probably show it to you.”
Standing over 6′ tall but weighing only 145 pounds, Aiken appears recessive, unintimidating, a gentle giant who consistently drives women between the ages of 16 and 60 into a frothy lather of lust. In addition to the Rolling Stone cover, there are the requisite Web sites devoted to all things Clay, run by women who call themselves Claymates and shilling everything from Clay coffee mugs to Claytionary (stationary embossed with his face). And then there are the panties.
“I got seven one night,” says Aiken with a giggle. “And last night, I got five thongs and two Depend diapers. One had a note attached that said, ‘Clay, we love you too, from your older fans.’”
That women are so moved by his presence that they hurl their undergarments onstage as if he were Elvis mystifies Aiken: “Ruben always jokes with me that I could have any woman out there. He says, ‘You need to hook up with somebody before you leave the tour.’ But I try and explain that that’s not what this is about for me. The reason women like me, I think, is because I don’t threaten them. I realize Ruben’s right, I probably could”—he pauses, blushes—“you know, but I respect women more than that.”
He wrinkles his brow, then shakes his head. “I am extremely flattered. There are some gorgeous women who are, quote, in love with me. But I think taking advantage of that is wrong.”
Besides, Aiken is a man who takes sex seriously. “I was raised by my mother and grandmothers, and a lot of what I am is because I wanted to be different from my birth father. He was a womanizer. When I had to go visit him, there would be a different woman over every time. I thought that was really tacky.”
When it’s suggested that not many young men would forgo voluntary, anonymous sex with beautiful, knickerless girls, Aiken shrugs.
“If anything, women want to take care of me, to mother me. I think that’s part of the reason I’ve sold a lot of records.”
The other part is the fact that Aiken can wring the juice out of any song he sings. The vocal love child of Celine Dion and Freddy Mercury, he belongs to the grand tradition of powerful, house-rattling singers who own the money note. When you listen to Aiken, two things happen: You want to hear more, and you want to sing along. There’s also the unfiltered intensity of the sound mixed with the “Aw, shucks” innocent who’s creating it. That dissonance is what first captured the judges’ attention. “Where is that voice coming from?” they repeatedly queried, staring Aiken down, waiting for the true source to be revealed. Here was a sweet Southern mama’s boy who sang like a big bad man. No wonder the panties are flying!
INSIDE THE IDOL BUS
It’s four hours before show time, and crowds are already forming at the Hartford Civic Center. Many of the fans hold cardboard signs with Clay’s name written in big bubble letters. Other fans wear T-shirts printed with his photo.
Once safely beneath the stadium, Aiken emerges from the van and brushes the remnants of his Burger King fries off his pants. “I prefer Wendy’s, but they aren’t as popular up here.” He then explains how much he misses sweet tea, fried chicken, and all the other familiar amenities displaced Southerners long for when above the Mason-Dixon Line. “I had never left the state of North Carolina before American Idol,” he reveals. “I knew what I was going to be doing when I was 50—I was going to teach, then get a master’s at William & Mary in administration, then be a principal somewhere. Now I don’t know what I’m going to do next week.”
Even when Aiken talks, his voice is difficult to contain. The words rush out from his mouth in torrents, pitching and rising, quiet and loud.
“I want to live in Raleigh, but I know I can’t. I tried to go to the ATM the one day I was home last year, and people swarmed my car. I was like, People, please, I just want to check my balance. Ironically, the only place I can really breathe is L.A. People there don’t care.”
Just then, Studdard pulls up in a white Cadillac Escalade. He emerges in a white sweatsuit, his diamond watch blinging on his arm. He gives a friendly nod to Aiken, then scowls at his publicist for no ostensible reason.
“Don’t look at me that way,” she chides, patting his shoulder with a familiarity suggesting this isn’t the first time she’s had to diffuse his annoyance.
Aiken pulls me aside. He wants to show me the tour bus, something I was told was off-limits to reporters. Aiken disagrees and confronts a tour manager.
“Ned, you’re a lying sack of crap. Don’t lie to the lady in front of me.”
“I guess I forgot,” Ned says sheepishly.
“You didn’t forget for squat. Now we’re going to have to have a fight. That burns me up.”
Aiken turns to me and says through his teeth, “You know what? You are so going on that bus.”
Aiken is nothing if not chivalrous. Considerate. Polite. He’s the guy who asks you questions and actually listens to the answers—and even asks follow-up questions hours later, thereby proving that he finds you worth his attention. And he notices things. Like that the empty Burger King bag is rattling at your feet on the floor of the van, so he picks it up. Or that the air conditioner is too cold, and turns it down. It’s this empathy and inherent graciousness evident in every press appearance and performance that leads many men to speculate that Aiken is gay (he has denied it) and even more women to say, Who cares?
“I don’t think people know what to do with me,” Aiken says. “I’m interesting because they don’t know what to do with me.”
The American Idol bus is less bus than nightclub. There are black leather lounge chairs, plasma TVs, marble floors, a neon-trimmed alcohol-free minibar, and beds with privacy curtains. As we open the back lounge door, Kimberley Locke (who came in third) lifts her head from the couch.
“Cla-ay,” she whines, “I’m having a crisis. I need you. I need you now.”
Aiken apologizes, then steps inside the lounge, says, “What is it, honey?” and shuts the door. Outside the bus, the other Idol girls walk around in skinny jeans and mascara, alternately complaining and striking poses like they’re on MTV. In time Aiken emerges, apologizes again, then sits down with the crew for a dinner of peanut butter and jelly and a glass of, yes, milk. He playfully scolds a staff member for swearing. Idol Kimberly Caldwell (the sixth Idol to get the hook) joins the table wearing a handwritten T-shirt that says QUIT STARING, I’M HER.
While she picks apart a cinnamon bun, Aiken tries to articulate his ambition.
“Am I going to turn into a diva or try to make sure I do something valuable with my influence?” Caldwell chews and looks off into the distance. “That’s why I’m starting a foundation for individuals with disabilities. [His charity, named the Bubel-Aiken Foundation, is named for the woman who encouraged him to try out for the show.] I would be more than happy to do this for three years and have enough clout to make a difference. I don’t need to win a Grammy. Still, there are some people who would say I’ve turned into a diva already.” Caldwell laughs.
Aiken proceeds to give an example of the last time he went to KFC. “It was half an hour before closing, and they said they were out of chicken. It’s KFC—how can you be out of chicken? So I’m starving and probably crankier than I should have been, and I said, ‘You don’t have any chicken in the building anywhere?’ And she said, ‘We have some wings that are kind of warm.’ I said, ‘I don’t want wings, I want chicken.’ And she maintains that she doesn’t have any, so I say, ‘You can’t tell me that every morning you go out and kill some chickens and make it fresh. You know you’ve got chicken back there, so why don’t you go back into the kitchen and cook it up?’”
Now the whole table is laughing.
“The point is, I would have said the same things before American Idol, but I wouldn’t have been considered a diva. I just would have been considered myself.”
“Where did you learn to sing, Clay?” Caldwell asks, flipping her shoulder-length extensions behind her neck.
“At church, like everybody else.”
“I learned at a bar,” scoffs Caldwell, pushing back her chair and heading to makeup. Aiken looks around, lowers his voice, then whispers, “I’ll bet she did.”
The Hartford show is sold out. Sixteen thousand people have come to watch the nine touring Idols sing and dance. The set resembles a beauty pageant, with dual staircases descending in a heart shape to center stage. There are three giant screens that simulcast the show. The tour is sponsored by Pop-Tarts.
Backstage, Aiken gets his hair ironed. He’s wearing a dark suit and pointy Kenneth Cole shoes. Next to him, all the Idol girls pile on the makeup and hairspray. Aiken rolls his eyes.
“You know, Ruben and I did the radio show Zootopia at Giant Stadium, and 60,000 people showed up. I just laughed, because I don’t get it. And people will chase the bus! And sometimes I laugh because, you know, we probably aren’t gonna stop, honey.”
From the makeup mirror, Idol Julia DeMato announces that she and Aiken have been dating for six months. Uproarious laughter all around. Aiken says, “You wish.”
“I do wish,” she coos, kissing him on the cheek. Aiken smiles, wipes away the lipstick. “I think I’m probably not as innocent as I seem.”
Has he ever done anything he regrets?
“When I was 15, before I got my license, my dad bought me a car, and it was sitting in the yard, so I took it out. I drove it all around the city. I got caught and they sold the car.”
Rebel.
“Okay. How about I’m starting to regret this interview?”
The show has started, and it’s Aiken’s turn to sing. Kimberley Locke is onstage building him up, but you can’t hear her because of all the “Woo!”ing. A look at the audience reveals that it is not a bunch of preteens, but couples and groups of women in their twenties and thirties who are squealing and raising their arms in anticipation. “We love you, Clay!”
Lifted on a platform from beneath the stage, Aiken emerges like a mirage from a cloud of smoke, microphone in hand.
“When the world wasn’t upside-down/ I could take all the time I had/ But I’m not gonna wait when a moment can vanish so fast/ Lift me up!”
By the time Aiken hits the second chorus, the screaming makes him all but inaudible. He gamely keeps singing, but a smile slips through. It’s clear he can’t believe what’s happening.
Locke gasps. “This crowd is crazy.”
Aiken finishes his number, then does his bit to introduce “Ruben Studdard, your American Idol!” The crowd yells again, but the enthusiasm is different, more appreciation than hysteria. Studdard is a terrific singer, but Aiken is the star.
Backstage, calm and happy, Aiken holds Locke’s jacket while she mikes up. He adjusts her pants, tugging at them a little. “This is my real life now,” he says, dancing a little.
“I’m not going to change who I am. But I am concerned about how I handle myself. Will I be able to stay open and friendly?” His smile drops and he looks, for a moment, genuinely sad. Then he smiles again. “You come back in five years. If I’ve become someone else, you can look me up and slap me in the face.”
Back in the van, before the show and the fans and the shrieking, Aiken was stuck in traffic. He did not complain. He just told stories. About how he was approached about the leads in Rent and Urinetown. About how he can’t dance. About how Justin Guarini’s smoothness kind of gives him the willies.
And then he told a story about London, where he recorded his album.
“It was sunny the whole time I was there. But I was recording all day and everything closes at six, so I sat in the hotel room all night. I was only recognized once, when some South Africans who were still watching the show back home stopped me on the street. They said, ‘Who wins?’ I said, ‘Do you really want to know?’ And they said, ‘Yes! Yes! Yes!’ So I said, ‘Me!’ and then took off running down the street.”
Aiken laughs for a full minute, then exhales. “For one brief moment, I hadn’t lost yet.”
One of the traditions of summer in New York is the summer concerts that are sponsored by the morning news shows. Both the Today Show and Good Morning America ask oustanding artists to be a part of their popular concert series. The crowds are huge and the artists have the opportunity to perform both a live audience and a built- in TV audience.
Clay Aiken has participated in many of the Summer Concerts. I think my favorite was on July 29th, 2005. As part of the Summer Concert Series sponsored by Good Morning America, the concert was held in Bryant Park. The crowd was very excited and huge!! The night before, Clay had opened the JukeBox Tour in Tom’s River, New Jersey. He claimed to have only about 2 hours of sleep before the his appearance at Bryant Park.
Clay performed three songs on the program; Invisible, Suspicious Minds, and Back For More. The fans who were there in person said that he also sang Twisting The Night Away in the warm-up….and Clay actually did the TWIST!! During the show, when Clay sang Invisible, the audience sang along. It really looked like Clay enjoyed it and he smiled a lot!!
Besides the concert, Clay was interviewed by Diane Sawyer. They talked about Clay trips for UNICEF and his move back to Raleigh. Diane asked, “What do you know about do-wop, anyway?” Answer: “Not much, but it’s good stuff.”
Clay had a lot of fun with the audience. Someone in the audience asked about Clay’s shoe..”We want to see your shoe.” So…Clay took off his shoe and showed it to the audience.
The following review was posted at the ABC Website:
Aiken’s loyal fans got a real treat this morning when he debuted a new song called “Coming Back for More” and performed Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Minds” at New York City’s Bryant Park as part of “Good Morning America’s” Summer Concert Series.
The 26-year-old began his Jukebox Summer Tour 2005 on Thursday in Tom’s River, N.J. Aiken will visit 25 cities and sing covers of more than 70 songs from five decades of rock ‘n’ roll on the tour, his fifth in the past two years. The tour will finish Sept. 1.
In addition to performing, his work as a UNICEF ambassador has been keeping him busy.
“It’s the closest thing I can do now to being in a classroom and teaching,” said Aiken, who studied special education at UNC-Charlotte. He recently returned from northern Uganda, where he visited “night commuters” — children who must leave their homes in the countryside every night to sleep in UNICEF shelters to avoid being abducted by a rebel group. In March, Aiken visited children living in camps for tsunami survivors in Aceh, Indonesia.
Aiken said he has decided to leave Los Angeles and return to his hometown of Raleigh, N.C. “I like L.A., I like California, but there’s a different energy there,” he said.
In June 2003, Aiken made history when his debut single, “This is the Night” went to No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, selling more than 392,000 copies in its first week and beating Elton John’s 1997 record for “Candle in the Wind.” In October 2003, he released his first album, “Measure of a Man.” His second, “Merry Christmas with Love,” came out last November.
Despite his success in the music industry, Aiken hasn’t forgotten his first passion: helping children with disabilities. Shortly after “American Idol” ended, he created the Bubel/Aiken Foundation, named after an autistic boy he took care of while he was at UNC-Charlotte. The foundation provides grants, services and inclusive programs for children with special needs and their typical peers.
Do you think we will see Clay perform on a Summer Concert Series again? Did any of you get to see any of the concerts live? Be sure and check out the great video that is at the bottom of this post. what agreat performance!!
This week on American Idol, the theme is Now & Then. That means tonight, the Idols will have to sing two songs: one current song and one song from the 1960s.
Well, Clay Aiken does not belong on American Idol this year, but I still can’t help but think of him as I think of this theme. What do you think??
Singing In Raleigh
Then
Now
Good Morning America
Then
Now
Ruben And Clay
Then
Now
The Tug
Then
Now
Buttercup
Then
Now
The ABC show, Good Morning America has always opened their doors to Clay Aiken. He has visited the show many times. Sometimes he performs and other times he talks about his music, his career and the many projects that he supports.
On December 25th, 2005, Clay Aiken sang a moving rendition of David Fosters Grown Up Christmas List. Clay had performed a few days earlier for a live performance on GMA and took a few minutes to record this beautiful song so it could be broadcast on Christmas Day. This particular performance is one of my favorites. It isn’t because it is perfect, or that Clay looked great, or that I am in the holiday mood. I think it’s because the performance is understated and shows that Clay is singing from his heart. I know that I have posted Grown Up Christmas List on this blog before, but this is right there at the top. I hope you think so too!!
Good Morning America
If you watched Good Morning America on Tuesday morning, you had the opportunity to see Clay Aiken. Clay fans were excited about hearing Clay sing and chat about the album.
There were many Clay fans in the audience and some of them had their cameras filming some of the activities that happened in the background. One of the captivating videos shows Clay making friends with some of the exotic animals that were visiting the set. Thank you to the fans for sharing this on YouTube.
It looks like the Aiken household needs more pets at their home!
Joy Behar Show
Did you watch Clay on the Joy Behar show on Tuesday evening? Although there was not enough time, Clay and Joy had a great conversation and covered many subjects. I particularly enjoyed Clays description of Simon Cowell.
If you enjoyed seeing Joy and Clay chat, why not leave a message for her. Perhaps Joy will ask Clay to be a panel member for one segment. I would love to hear Clay talk about some of the news of the day. You can comment HERE
The following are some great screen caps from Tuesday nights show.
Tried & True Review – Herald Dispatch
Angela Henderson write a blog titled Idol Chit-Chat for the Herald Dispatch. On June 1st, she wrote a wonderful review of the album. Please make sure you visit the site and let Ms. Henderson know how much you appreciate her exciting review.
Clay Aiken CD Review: “Tried and True” and Perfectly Suited
I’ve kind of gained a reputation among some of my friends as the go-to-person when it comes to putting together music for certain events. I painstakingly try and match the music perfectly to the occasion and the audience in attendance.
But when the event calls for light and jazzy, I admit I struggle. It’s hard to find the right combination of subtle, yet not depressing or annoying.
Well now I’m happy to report that dilemma has been solved forever. Because the next time someone makes that request for their event, I will simply present them with a copy of Clay Aiken’s latest, “Tried and True.” It really is the perfect mix for that jazzy evening with a good combination of slow and fast songs.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed that Clay decided to do a CD of classics instead of a new pop CD. But when he’s this perfectly suited for these songs, it’s hard to argue. Clearly Clay understands his audience and they’re going to love this one. The CD has a big band sound throughout that suits Clay’s voice perfectly. And that voice is in fine form as Clay tackles “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” “What Kind of Fool Am I?” (featuring David Sanborn), “It’s Only Make Believe,” “Misty,” “Mack the Knife,” “It’s Impossible,” “Unchained Melody,” “There’s a Kind of Hush” and “Moon River” (featuring Vince Gill). He also turns the Roy Orbison classic, “Crying,” into a gorgeous duet with Broadway star Linda Eder. Plus he takes on my dad’s favorite Elvis song, “Suspicious Minds.” And in case, you’re wondering, yes, I am already trying to turn it into my dad’s ringtone.
The deluxe edition of the CD includes “Who’s Sorry Now” and “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do” plus a DVD with a live performance of “Build Me Up Buttercup” and other clips from Clay’s PBS special, which is scheduled to premiere later this month.
Now in the interest of full disclosure, I should probably confess that I would listen to Clay sing the phone book. So I’m probably not the most objective person when it comes to reviewing this CD. But I have to believe that even a non-Claymate would find something to like about this one.
“Tried and True” is now available in stores and online…
Reviews On Decca
It is important to give Decca some positive feed-back on Tried & True. They did such a great job on this beautiful album and they deserve a thank you from us. So, why not post a review on the Decca site. The more buzz we can create, the better it is for Clay!
The View
Don’t forget to tune into The View on Wednesday morning.
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