Clay Walker is a young man with an old-hand's savvy about what's important in life. This rare combination of exuberance and wisdom propelled his first two albums to platinum-plus levels and is the power at the core of his third Giant Records collection, Hypnotize The Moon. Produced by James Stroud - as were its predecessors, Clay Walker (1993) and If I Could Make a Living (1994) - Hypnotize The Moon boasts four of Walker's own compositions as well as a brand new one by singer/songwriter Steve Wariner.
Clay Walker's national romance with millions of fans was love at first sight. Now, five years and four albums later, it is clear that the brown-eyed, handsome Texan and his fans have made a commitment to each other. Clay Walker's Greatest Hits, his fifth album for Giant Records, is the celebratory symbol of that commitment.
It all began during Walker's formative years, in the heart of a close-knit, extended family that included many aunts, uncles and cousins nearly his own age. His father and an uncle taught him to play guitar, a skill they had acquired from their own father. Many family members sang, so it was a musical community. "We made great music together," Clay says. "I decided to try a taking it a little further than the living room."
"I'd made this little reel-to-reel tape of one song and I couldn't wait to take it to the radio station in Beaumont," he said. One midnight, after his shift at a local hotel, the underage Walker knocked on the station's back door. Alas, the tape was the wrong speed for the playback machine. Undaunted, he returned with a new tape. Driving home, crestfallen and disappointed over the lack of an immediate response, he heard the song on the radio. "I was hollerin' and whoopin' it up so bad I almost ran off the road."
Clay began performing professionally at 16, and by the time he was 17, his popularity had expanded beyond the coastal plains of the Beaumont area to include clubs in Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and as far away as Canada. He kept books and acted as his own agent, manager, publicist, and roadie until he was noticed by James Stroud, who had produced hit albums for Tracy Lawrence, Clint Black, and John Anderson.
Stroud, who also headed Giant Records at the time, signed Walker to the label and the two began work on the album that would be the artist's national debut. Always intensely interested in and curious about his fans, Walker was now about to demonstrate his clear understanding of their needs, and his ability to give expression to their hopes and dreams.
In the autumn of 1993, "What's It To You," the first single from Clay Walker, went directly to No. 1. The album, released in August, had sold 500,000 copies by Christmas. "Live Until I Die" hit the top of the charts in early 1994, followed by the top 10 ballad, "Where Do I Fit In The Picture." In May, "Dreaming With My Eyes Open" became Walker's third No. 1 song. Fans nominated him for the TNN/Music City News' Star of Tomorrow Award. By August, Clay Walker had sold a million copies and the Academy of Country Music nominated him as best New Male Vocalist.
Walker had made an auspicious debut and the momentum continued that year with the September release of "If I Could Make A Living," the title track from his sophomore collection, which went No. 1. The album, release in late September, entered the charts in the Top 10, providing clear evidence that the young star's success was no fluke. By, St. Patrick's Day 1995, "This Woman And This Man" was another chart topper. In early may, the Top 5 If I Could Make A Living became Walker's second platinum album.
In 1995, much earlier than most new artists, Walker broke through as a concert headliner, and once again underscored his intimate and powerful connection with the romantic hearts of country music fans. With a seven-piece band and a repertoire of solid hits, he was top billing at more than 120 venues ranging from 2,500-seat clubs and theaters to 15,000-seat arenas.
Armed with new confidence, Walker and Stroud returned to the studio in February 1995. Almost a year in the making, Hypnotize The Moon evolved as a collection of eleven songs with one focus: love. Walker had attracted Music City's best tunesmiths for his third album and he sang every note with conviction. The lead single, "Who Needs You Baby," hit the top of the charts in November 1995, accompanied by a video that was also No. 1. A month later, "Hypnotize The Moon" became Walker's seventh No. 1 song. The album also included the hit "Bury The Shovel," a stylistic departure that is both a crowd-pleaser and a critics' favorite. Buoyed by the success of these hits and the summertime Top 5 "Only On Days That End in 'Y'," Hypnotize The Moon became platinum album number three in September 1996.
For his fourth album, Walker returned to the more rural sound of his debut disc and assumed the role of co-producer. This time, Stroud and he took more than a year in the studio, and the result was Walker's fourth platinum album Rumor Has It, which debuted in the Top 5 in April 1997. The title song was No. 1 by mid-April. His next No. 1 song, however, would be his second and most brilliant stylistic departure. The breezy Caribbean rhythms of "Then What," resonant of Walker-fave Jimmy Buffett, again put his concerts where "The What" is heralded by a volley of beach balls from center stage and undulant audiences convert every venue into a sand and salt water soiree.
Now, with nine No. 1 songs and more than six million albums sold, Walker presents his Greatest Hits. Two new songs, the first single release "Ordinary People" and "You're Beginning To Get To Me," showcase an increased depth and strength in Walker's voice.
As Walker's concert tour continues, he's already reviewing songs for a new studio album. Although he expects to headline more than 100 concerts this year, Walker's motto is "moderation in all things." Later this year he will begin work on a new home for his wife and young daughter on their Texas ranch, where he loves to spend time and really feel like he's getting away from it all. On the road, he and his band play golf. "That's usually one of the first things we do when we hit town for a show," he says. "Even if you're a sorry player, it's good to get out, have some fun, and regain your land legs after a long bus ride."
For five consecutive years, Billboard has included a Walker song on its year-end Top-10 list, a track record unmatched in the same time period by any other artist. Ranked as one of the Top 10 biggest touring acts of 1997 by Amusement Business, Walker is one of country music's most consistently successful contemporary stars. After his 1998 SRO appearance before 55,000 fans at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, one of the largest and most coveted gigs in country music, Houston Chronicle critic Rick Mitchell called him a "a bonafide superstar."
Although Walker is modest about enthusiastic concert receptions, he says he sees himself in the face of each and every fan. "When we make records," he says, "it's final. The records will always be the same, but it's the fans who
give life to the music, which is why I love being on stage. Making records is hard and there is no immediate payoff. On stage, you know immediately if you are really reaching people.
"Fans give it to you straight," he says.
"You can't hire them to tell you what you want to hear."
Clay Walker has come a long way since he started out peddling amateur tapes at the back of radio stations and covering a hit parade of classic country songs in his live shows. At every turn, he's faced the music and endeavored to have it serve ordinary people. In the process, he and his fans created an intimate, unpretentious and mature relationship that makes them all feel extraordinary. The fact is, they are!
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