PETER CLEIGHTON a.k.a DOCTOR CLAYTON

                             

Artist Biography by arwulf arwulf in allmusic 

Sometimes cited as one whose edgy performing style helped to ignite rhythm & blues and eventually led to the rise of rock & roll, Doctor Clayton was an attention-getting vocalist whose sense of humor was best displayed on his initially unissued 1941 recording of "Jitterbug Swing," a lively stomp peppered with exhortations to the pianist like "knock yourself out" and "kill yourself." His best recordings featured instrumental backing by Blind John Davis, Big Bill Broonzy, and string bassist Ransom Knowling, who during one session switched over to the tuba with wonderful results. Clayton set a standard for the now-familiar stop-time storytelling blues with an over the top shout chorus in the form of his 1942 recording "Ain't No Business We Can Do." This formula, destined to serve as a primary ingredient in the compound eventually known as rock & roll, was mimicked by dozens of other performers, most prominently Ray Charles, whose "It Should Have Been Me" was eventually covered by Commander Cody, and loudmouth Louis Prima who, backed by Sam Butera & the Witnesses, made a big splash with "There'll Be No Next Time," a novelty routine based upon that same formula tracing back to Doctor Clayton, a largely forgotten individual whose influence on Wynonie Harris, B.B. King, and Professor Longhair is unmistakable.

Peter J. Cleighton was born somewhere in Georgia on April 19, 1898, and raised in St. Louis, where he got married and worked in a factory while developing his abilities as singer and piano player. He made his first recordings for the Bluebird label in 1935 with a pianist by the name of Beatrice "Toots" Willis. From the get-go, Clayton's voice was decidedly unusual; he pitched himself in frantic high octaves, whining in a driven falsetto for comical emphasis. His rowdy mannerisms place him in league with Sunnyland Slim, a man who also liked to holler and who would outlive Clayton by many decades. When recording for Victor and Bluebird, the two men were often backed by the rock-solid rhythm section of Davis, Broonzy, and Knowling. In an example of competitive marketing, Victor Records billed Sunnyland Slim as "Doctor Clayton's Buddy" in imitation of Decca's practice of referring to Jimmie Gordon as "Peetie Wheatstraw's Brother." Sunnyland was almost certainly inspired by Clayton to whoop and scream the way he did on his early recordings. In a very real sense, both men set a precedent for the ululating excesses of Screamin' Jay Hawkins and Little Richard.

It is said that Clayton never fully recovered from the shock of losing his wife and children in a fire in 1937. He made no records between July 1935 and July 1941, but did perform in nightclubs and even hit the road in a bus with his picture painted on the side of it. Clayton's performance wardrobe was similar to that of a burlesque comedian and included quite a number of funny hats and goofy specs. During the summer of 1941 he cut a dozen sides for OKeh, including a cover of Jay McShann and Walter Brown's hit tune "Confessin' the Blues"; a large number of songs about sex, love, and alcohol; and the topical "'41 Blues," an outspoken commentary on Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini proving that Clayton, like many of his fellow citizens, was reading the newspapers carefully. A comparable song of similar vintage was "Blitzkrieg Baby (You Can't Bomb Me)" by Una Mae Carlisle. Clayton was still hollering and carrying on, sometimes holding one high note for a long time like a hungry ghost howling at the crescent moon.

In November 1941 he resumed making records for Bluebird, now with bassist Alfred Elkins alongside Clayton's preferred pianist, Blind John Davis, destined to develop his own Clayton-inspired vocal delivery during the 1950s. A session that took place on March 27, 1942, is especially notable for bassist Ransom Knowling's resonant tuba solos and obbligato; this was a very unusual choice of instrument for Chicago blues in the early '40s, when saxophones and electrically amplified guitars were poised and ready to begin dominating the scene. "Pearl Harbor Blues" picks up where "'41 Blues" left off, expressing outrage at Imperial Japan's sneak attack on U.S. military bases in the Hawaiian Islands a few months earlier. As popular and influential as he was, Doctor Clayton only recorded about 30 songs altogether. The intensity of his delivery and the brevity of his life and career bring to mind the tragic case of James P. Johnson's vocalist Anna Robinson. By the time his final sessions took place in August 1946, Peter Clayton was clearly grappling with a death wish. He consumed vast quantities of alcohol, wandered around in the freezing cold without a hat or coat, and frequently passed out cold in the snow banks. He died in Chicago on January 7, 1947, from the classic northern winter combo of alcoholism and pneumonia. Big Bill Broonzy and nine other people showed up at his funeral.

                       
                  

                           



                       
                  

Something Going on Wrong by Peter Cleighton from the album The OKeh Blues Story

Released 2015-02-27 on One Day Music

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If Mamie Smith's Crazy Blues is the very first blues record then OKeh must stand proudly as the pioneering Blues label. This 50-track compilation showcases OKeh's superlative output in the early half of the Twentieth century with songs that would go on to define modern music.

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℗ 2015 One Day Music

                              


Composed by Peter Joe Clayton

Peter Cleighton (Peter Joe "Doctor" Clayton):Vocals

Robert Lockwood:Guitar

Blind John Davis:Piano

Unknown:Stand-Up Bass

Recorded in Chicago, IL. Tuesday, July 1, 1941

Originally issued on the 1941 single (OKeh 06375) (78 RPM)

This recording taken from the 1996 album "Messed Up In Love...And Other Tales Of Woe" (Columbia/Legacy CK 52831) (CD)