DAVID CLAYTONTHOMAS: BETTER NOW THAN EVER
With the release of the must-hear album, Say Somethin’, former Blood, Sweat & Tears vocalist David Clayton-Thomas has not only proved his voice is still an expressive instrument, but that his songwriting has taken on new heights of profundity. In new songs like “The System,” “Dear Mr. Obama,” “Never Again” and seven others, he sings from the heart. And the effect is mesmerizing. Goldmine caught up with the Woodstock survivor as he was preparing not to tour. Hell, he had enough of that. And he’s the first one to tell you.
GOLDMINE: Congratulations on Say Somethin’. Your voice has obviously stood the test of time.
DAVID CLAYTON-THOMAS: Retiring from Blood, Sweat & Tears in 2004, thus stopping the 200 to 250 concerts I’d been doing for 40-plus years, might have helped my longevity a little bit.
GM: Back in the day, it wasn’t only sex, drugs and rock and roll. It was sex, drugs, rock and roll, and politics.
DCT: Well, three out of four ain’t bad.
GM: I mention that because Say Some-thin’ is very political. I assume that was your intent.
Absolutely. I’ve always regretted that the music business lost its protest voice. I came up in the Dylan era. Music had a point back then. Of course, in those years, all music came out of New York City. Manhattan was the headquarters of the music industry for the whole world. If you wanted to make it anywhere, you had to come to New York. And more specifically, Greenwich Village, eight square blocks downtown New York. Most of the political activism was coming out of Greenwich Village, too. Everything from anti-war sentiment to civil rights. Music reflected that. It was potent. Right around the mid-’70s, the entire music industry just packed up and moved to Los Angeles. That’s when music itself sorta became a backing track for dance videos. It lost its point. I
