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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels August 25, 2004 McClinton adapts to slower tour life By Steve Zimmerman Ashland Daily Tidings When Delbert McClinton announced on his last studio album that he had "Room To Breathe," he sure ain't kidding. After more than four decades of making music, McClinton is breathing freely with the confidence and energy of an artist who knows that he has mastered his game. His new "Live" CD, recorded in Bergen, Norway, captures the essence of everything McClinton has done over his long illustrious career. And, in the process, he exhales hit after glorious hit. McClinton is one of the hardest working performers in the entire music business. He brings his hot Texas blues sound to the Britt Festivals Sept. 2 with his special guest Leon Russell. Showtime is 7 p.m. "We are always on tour," he said. "This week is unusual in that we are out nine to 10 days a lot of which is dead time in a hotel which I hate. We usually get on the bus Thursday night and come back Sunday or Monday." McClinton said that schedule is just fine with him. The days of the long, grueling months-long tours are over for him. "I couldn't do that anymore," he laughed. "And I wouldn't do that anymore. My mindset is not good for living on the road anymore. I know how to do it about as good as anybody but I am going to be home as much as I can." The "Live" CD is the essence of Delbert live. The CD was a total accident. "We were doing a string of dates in Norway and The Netherlands," he said. "We were scheduled to do a live broadcast from Bergen and I never check the schedule so I had forgotten about it. I completely dismissed it after realizing we were recording live. So we didn't have that week of angst about recording a live CD. "When I heard it, they recorded it so well. They got the energy and everything that went on. It was completely unencumbered and we got lucky. After I heard it, I said, 'Hell, this has got to go be a record.'" McClinton said hanging around the hotel can be the worst part of the day, unless his allergies are acting up. "Then it can be a torturous time," he said. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. We wait around 22 hours to do two hours. You can only do so much with what you have and when you are living in a hotle room. McClinton said it really does seem like 42 years since he played harmonica on Bruce Chanel's "Hey Baby." "I don't even think about it," he said. "I was thinking just today that I had hit the 40 year mark. And it didn't really seem like 42 years at all. That whole thing has been so romanticized and shoved in everybody's face regarding my career that the story is almost automatic. "But that was a great time. But the things I do remember is that in 1962, rock 'n' roll was still in its infancy. There were very few rules and you never knew what to expect. And that was wonderful." 'Givin' It Up For Your Love' is the song that McClinton is best known for. But the "Live" CD displays all the McClinton songs you have heard but forgotten about. "That record did a pretty good job of summing up my career," he said. "I like it and that is as good as it can get for me, that I like it. That is pretty much the set we do live onstage. Most of those songs are staples and people get upset if we don't do them." McClinton has one more big event, the SBC 11 Cruise that leaves from Fort Lauderdale for seven days in January. "Two years prior to me starting my cruise I did a blues cruise," he said. "I love blues music but mediocre blues music on a ship gets really old really fast." So McClinton and his wife talked about it and decided to start their own cruise. This year, the cruise will include songwriters Al Anderson, Marcia Ball, Jeffrey Steele, Gary Nicholson and Bob DiPiero. "I just booked a guy named Paul Thorne," McClinton said. "I haven't met him yet but he has a magic about him." To book a spot on McClinton's Blues Cruise, call 1-800 Delbert or go to www.delbert.com. Tickets for the McClinton, Leon Russell show are priced from $46 to $17 and are available by calling the Britt Box Office at 1-800-8882-7488. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams