The Doctor of Love--A Gather Look at Doctor Clayton

Peter Clayton was unusual in the pre-war blues world.  He was purely a singer.  In the 1940s he was a star in Chicago on the same level as Tampa Red, Big Bill Broonzy, and Memphis Minnie.  He died a blues death in the late 40s--too much alcohol.  He lost his wife and family in a fire in the late 30s.  Some people say that he was an MD.  Others disagree. 

He was one of the best urban blues song writers.  B. B. King recorded his "Stop that Train, Conductor."  His "Cheating and Lying Blues" became "I'm Gonna Murder My Baby" by Pat Hare and "Going Down to Eli's" by Robert Nighthawk.  Clayton's lyrics were almost completely original.  He didn't need standard verses to pad out a song. 

Here are some sample lyrics from the cd below:

A verse from Ain't No Business We Can Do:

I went down to Eli's to get my suit out of pawn.
Took the last little change I had left and put some new shoes on.
I took a real slow stroll along the avenue.
A high yellow asked me could she go along too.
I said "Hey, good lookin'; have you got any cash on you?
'cause if you're broke like me, ain't no business we can do."

The refrain from Cheating and Lying Blues:

I'm going to murder my baby if she don't stop cheating and lying.
I'd rather be in the penitentiary than be here going out of my mind.

A verse from Roving Gambler:

I shot dice in Memphis
Played cards in Mobile
I played Blackjack in New Orleans and never lost a deal.
I went to Montgomery with three shells and a pea.
I won six hundred bucks before the cats got hip to me.

Clayton's pure tenor voice and good diction set him apart from the more country players. If he'd lived he would have been a big star in the fifties, right up there with Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. 

Footnote:  Sunnyland Slim's first records were released under the name "Doctor Clayton's Buddy."  Steve Freund, who played guitar with Sunnyland Slim for many years, is sometimes called "Doctor Clayton's Buddy's Buddy."

Footnote:  Clayton was usually accompanied by the great piano player Blind John Davis and bass stalwart Ransom Knowling.  On several of the songs Knowling plays tuba and takes solos.  The tuba solos aren't novelties;  they're good music.

Footnote:  Pat Hare went to prison for murdering a woman a couple of years after recording "I'm Gonna Murder my Baby." 

Complete Recorded Works (1935-1942) By Doctor Clayton Release date: By 02 June, 1994