Rick Clark grew up immersed in music in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, a place where rock, R&B, and blues were everywhere. His first records were Sun Records 45s by Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Charlie Rich, as well as New Orleans Dixieland jazz by Sweet Emma and Her Preservation Hall Jazz Band and raw British Invasion albums by the Yardbirds and the Kinks. Clark regards his first concert, James Brown and the Famous Flames in 1966, as a life-changing event that inspired him to pursue a life in music. By high school, Clark was working in Memphis’s main record shop, Poplar Tunes—a place where local artists such as Isaac Hayes and Al Green would sometimes hang, as well as every self-respecting band from England who made a pilgrimage there.
During the ’70s and onward, Clark played live and in sessions, including projects with members of Big Star, Memphis Horns, and the seminal Memphis Power Pop scene.
Early on, Clark DJed his own radio show at WLYX-FM Memphis, and his enthusiasm for creating great road music mix cassettes earned him a reputation as a go-to guy for new and great sounds. He eventually started a successful business programming music for every genre in venues throughout the South and other parts of the country. Eventually, he wrote for numerous national publications, including Billboard, Mix, Rolling Stone, Guitar Player, the All Music Guide, Goldmine, and others. Over time, Clark began producing and compiling numerous major- and indie-label album releases, as well as writing liner notes for artists ranging from Ricky Nelson, Dave Edmunds, and Lynyrd Skynyrd to Leo Kottke, Jean-Luc Ponty, and Big Star. Clark also began working as a curator, music consultant, and independent A&R rep with clients ranging from museums, to magazines, to films and major label projects.
Clark’s production work includes working with Death Cab for Cutie (music for the Band tribute album Lost Highway and the hit TV show Weeds), the Killjoys, Osaka Pearl, and Los Super Seven—an amalgam that included Calexico, Lyle Lovett, Delbert McClinton, John Hiatt, Raul Malo, Freddy Fender, Rodney Crowell, and others. Clark also produced 26 shows of Marty Stuart’s American Odyssey for XM radio, directed two videos on Emmylou Harris for Warner DVD-Audio, composed and produced music for IBM’s International Global Net, and had his photography featured in gallery shows, on record albums, and in ad campaigns.
Beginning in 1997, through a recommendation by the legendary producer Jim Dickinson, Clark began work producing, co-compiling, and doing all the legal clearance work for what would be the first seven volumes of the award-winning Oxford American magazine music CDs, featuring music ranging from legendary artists such as Bob Dylan, Randy Newman, and B.B. King to obscure blues, jazz, and Cajun music recordings.
As a film music supervisor, Clark’s credits include work on Jason Reitman’s Up in the Air.
Jim Dickinson
November 21, 1941-August 15, 2009
Jim Dickinson was a great producer and musician, a selfless mentor, and a devoted family man to his wife, Mary Lindsay, and his boys, Luther and Cody. I watched him grow his own family band with his gifted sons, who went on to become the North Mississippi Allstars. Jim and I grew up in Memphis and, though a number of years apart, we went to the same public school and had some of the same teachers. That said, one of my finest teachers was Dickinson himself. He was a fiercely passionate communicator and one of the greatest and funniest storytellers I’ve known. When there was something troubling you deep down, Dickinson was the cosmic “sin eater” who helped you get clarity. He loved Memphis and the Mississippi Delta and deeply knew how the culture and its tumultuous highs and lows were the lifeblood of the greatest music and art. The day he passed away was one of the hardest I can remember. I miss our long talks, his laughter, his thoughtfulness, and his generosity of spirit. He was one of the most important people who taught me to value where I came from and the importance of being true to your inner voice. As a result, I can attribute some of the best things that have happened to me in the last 20 years to Dickinson’s support. This book is rooted in the spirit of mentoring, and Dickinson was one of the best. It’s my hope that this collection offers you some of the enduring blessings Dickinson provided me. Thanks, Jim!
Left column top to bottom: Jim Dickinson (photo by Tom Lonardo) / Jim Dickinson, Studio B, Ardent, early 1970s (photo courtesy of Ardent Recording and John Fry), Jim Dickinson (photo courtesy of Steve Roberts) / Luther Dickinson, Cody Dickinson, Jim Dickinson (photo courtesy of Steve Roberts). Right column top to bottom: Ardent founder, John Fry, and Jim Dickinson at the studio’s first commercial location on National Avenue in Memphis (photo courtesy of Ardent Recording and John Fry) / Jim Dickinson, John Eddy, John Hampton (photo courtesy of Ardent Recording and John Fry) / Jim Dickinson (photo courtesy of Mary Lindsay Dickinson).