by Bambi Evans
posted May 30, 2006
It’s rare that Chattanoogans get to see a real music legend in an intimate setting, but we’ll have that chance this Thursday night, June 1st, at the Hunter Museum when Cowboy Jack Clement will be in town to play after the showing of the film “Shakespeare Was a Big George Jones Fan: Cowboy Jack Clement’s Home Movies.”
This is one of the events in the debut year of the Back Row Film Series, brought to you by the Arts and Education Council, the Hunter Museum, UTC, and a group of individuals dedicated to bringing interesting films that don’t get shown at area theaters, to the area, while sharing a supporting platform with local up and coming filmmakers. Each event also features a winning film from a regional short film competition.
“Shakespeare” was directed and produced by Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville in 2005 and has won awards at film festivals throughout the country while achieving international acclaim in countries as far away as Australia, Poland and Argentina. For good reason, because not only does it chronicle the life and friendships of an inspired troubadour, who to this day continues to influence young artists, but it’s a slice of musical Americana in all its richness and diversity. And Neville and Gordon were just the team to create a documentary that mixes modern day interviews with decades of Cowboy Jack’s home movies, since they both, individually and together, have resumes (as writers, directors and producers) flush with stories of American culture and music.
Cowboy Jack Clement began writing songs when he was in the Marines stationed in Washington, D.C. in the early 1950s, but his career really took off when he became Sam Phillips right hand man at Sun Records in Memphis, the birthplace of rock and roll. Phillips discovered Elvis. But before Elvis’ rise to super stardom, Cowboy Jack had the unusual distinction of being one of the few people that had Elvis as an opening act. Clement says that Phillips never tried to compete with the Nashville country sound because “he was always looking for country music that was a little rawer.” Jack’s time with Sam Phillips lasted only three years -- Phillips fired him. And even though theirs was a love/hate relationship, Clement says that it was “the most profound experience of my life.” In the film, you will see Clement speak of Phillips with respect and appreciation and you can see Jack tearing up at a Sam Phillips Memorial Concert in 2003.
Most of the film is set at Cowboy’s Nashville home, the “Cowboy Arms Hotel and Recording Spa,” the place where musicians and friends are so welcome that throughout the film, you will hear jokes about the number of people that have keys to the place. Part home, part recording studio, part musical instrument factory and video facility, the Cowboy Arms has more than three decades of music making, friendship building and laughter between its walls, an adult clubhouse of sorts. Clement plays the role of producer, musician and ringmaster. Jack says that he “decided long ago that a recording studio is the worst place in the world to make a record and so he went about creating the opposite of the sterile studio environment. Because of his years as an Arthur Murray dance instructor, you’ll notice that he has a pretty unorthodox way of producing an album, usually rewarding the talent on hand with a bit of silly dancing. For that reason, Kris Kristofferson says that Cowboy Jack has a bit of Shakespeare’s Falstaff character in him. But I think Kristofferson was referring only to the good parts of Sir John Falstaff: the jovial nature and the zest for life, since Clement’s accomplishments and talents have few parallels in the music industry.
Cowboy Jack turned Jerry Lee Lewis from an unknown country singer to a rock and roll legend. He discovered Charley Pride, breaking the color barrier in country music. Jack figured if Elvis could have success sounding like a black artist, then he could turn Pride into a chart-topping country star. You know the signature
Latin horns on Johnny Cash’s “Ring Of Fire?” That’s Jack. And the sweet dobro on the song “We’ll Meet Again” on Cash’s 2002 Rick Rubin produced AMERICAN IV: THE MAN COMES AROUND -- that’s Jack too. Clement and his protégé, David “Ferg” Ferguson, produced three songs on U2’s 1988 album RATTLE AND HUM: “Angel of Harlem” (about Billie Holiday); “Love Rescue Me;” and “When Love Comes to Town” featuring B.B. King. Waylon Jennings, John Prine, Louis Armstrong, George Jones, Dolly Parton -- those are only a few of the big names Jack has worked with, many of them recording songs that Jack wrote.
Last year he produced Eddy Arnold’s AFTER ALL THESE YEARS. And recently, he has been instrumental in developing the careers of Townes Van Zandt (as his first producer), Shawn Camp and Billy Burnette. Clement, Camp and Burnette played together at last year’s Riverbend Festival. Not too shabby for a man in his 70’s.
Watch for these nuggets in “Shakespeare:” Bono doing his impression of Brando as the Godfather in Jack’s office in 1989; Jack and Johnny Cash driving down a Tennessee road with Johnny identifying familiar sites in “nature”; a shirtless Jack and actor Dennis Quaid (during the filming of “Great Balls of Fire”) comparing their very different abdomens in front of a mirror and assigning a dollar value to them; Jack’s list of valuable tips for songwriters; the explanation given by Jack’s longtime amigo, Walter Forbes (an area musician who might be playing with Jack on Thursday) for the song Jack wrote titled “Some Cowboys Hate Horses;” and Jack’s laid-back response to the technical problems that occur when Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner are reunited to sing a beautiful song that Jack wrote called “Just a Girl I Used to Know.” And you musn’t overlook Eugene, who Jack calls “the world’s smartest cat.” As Jack is speaking into the camera, Eugene looks like he is understanding every word Jack says. Jack says that Eugene would shake hands (paws) and has charmed some great musicians. Eugene even made it into the credits of a Cash album. Sadly, Eugene recently passed away.
As to the film’s title and the connection to Shakespeare, Clement has long enjoyed a fascination with the Bard. Reflecting on the many mysteries surrounding Shakespeare, Jack says he identifies with him because they are both “sort of like a music hustler, you know, he casts it and gets his friends to show up, then sells tickets.” Jack even has dreams and inspired philosophical conversations with Shakespeare. These are depicted in animated sequences (by animation artist Tom Foster) throughout the film. While reminiscing with George Jones, Jack tells him that he had a dream one night and that Shakespeare told him that he “was a big fan” of Jones. They laugh and talk about the need for “high class dreams, Shakespearean dreams.” Jones also remembers that Clement brought him the song “She Thinks I Still Care” and it turned out to be one of many signature songs for Jones. Jack even quotes the Bard at the film’s end.
It’s impossible to list all the musicians Cowboy Jack Clement has worked with, the songs he has written, the genres of music he has experimented with, or the number of people he has influenced, musically and otherwise. But you can get a better look at this incredible man on his web site www.cowboyjackclement.com. I think Jack’s friend Walter sums it up best: “It takes world class heartache to write a world class heartache song, and I think that Cowboy’s tried to live every damn song he’s ever written.” Yet as prolific as he is, he has only released a few albums of his own, the most recent being 2004’s GUESS THINGS HAPPEN THAT WAY (www.dualtone.com). He’s currently working on another album, redoing standards and making them more danceable. He told me he is recreating Cash’s “I Walk the Line” making it into a samba song! How predictable that Clement would do something so utterly unpredictable, and at age 75, turn the music world upside down, again.
After the film showing, Cowboy Jack Clement will answer your questions, honor a few requests and generally amuse us. Ask him about Bono’s parting gesture upon leaving the Cowboy Arms Hotel. And get a glimpse of Jack’s vintage Gibson J-200 Flattop Guitar.
You may also be interested in Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville’s other projects. They teamed up on 2003’s “Muddy Waters: Can’t Be Satisfied” a film (and a book) that still airs on PBS stations across the country. Neville recently completed “Honky Tonk Angels: The Women of Country Music,” which had its first airing on the A & E Channel in April. Gordon’s latest book is “Lost Delta Found: Rediscovering the Fisk University-Library of Congress Coahoma County Folklore Study,” published by Vanderbilt University Press. And for the best overview of American roots music, check out “It Came From Memphis,” Gordon’s book and 2 cd compilation.
Tickets for the show are $12, but only $5 for AEC and Hunter members, and UTC students and staff. Reservations are recommended. Visit www.artsedcouncil.org (or call 423.267.1218). The show starts promptly at 5:30 p.m. in the Hunter Museum’s new theatre and there is a cash bar.
For info on the remaining events in July, August and September, visit www.backrowfilms.com.
(Bambi Evans is a freelance writer in Chattanooga. She covers the book, film, music and art world, in addition to her editorial column, Engines On Run-Up. Her e-mail address is stonyirons@aol.com)
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