Soul vocalist Bobby McClure may not be a household name, but his musical legacy in the 1960’s helped launch the careers of Little Milton and Fontella Bass.
Bobby McClure (4/21/42-11/13/92) was born in Chicago, and although his family would move to St. Louis when he was just a child, his career kicked off when he signed with Chess Records back in Chicago.
Like so many soul vocalists, as a youth he sang in church and in gospel groups. Once such group was the Soul Stirrers, then led by Sam Cooke, in the 1950’s.
He would move on into secular music in groups including Bobby and the Vocals, Big Daddy Jenkins and Oliver Sain.
Sain, a well-known St. Louis-based producer/bandleader who was also managing vocalist Fontella Bass, provided the connection for McClure with Chess, first teaming McClure with Bass on “Don’t Mess Up a Good Thing” and then his first solo outing with “I’m Not Ashamed” in 1965 both records written and produced by Sain.
“Don’t Mess Up a Good Thing” would launch the career of Fontella Bass as it would reach #5 on the Billboard R&B chart, and cross over to the Hot 100 chart at #33. Their next duet “You’ll Miss Me” charted at #28 on the R&B chart and #91 in the Hot 100 in 1965. McClure would score on his own in 1966 with “Peak of Love” that would hit #16 on the R&B chart and scratched into the Hot 100 at #97.
During the ’60s, McClure had relocated back to Chicago, where he worked with both Otis Clay and Little Milton. In Chicago, McClure would produce a couple more singles in the early ‘70s including for James Vanleer’s Cedric label before heading back to St. Louis where he would once again team with Oliver Sain. He also duetted with Shirley Brown recording a few singles for the Memphis-based Hi label.
McClure moved on from music in the ‘70s, working as an Illinois penitentiary as a corrections officer, but he could never stay away from music long.
He would continue recording some singles in the ‘80s in St. Louis, again teaming with Sain and including two on his own B-Mac label. McClure would move to Los Angeles where he continued to play with others and record. But McClure’s career was cut short on November 13, 1992, when he died at the age of 50 from a stroke following a brain aneurysm.
Discography
1965 Don’t Mess Up a Good Thing b/w Baby, What You Want Me to Do (Checker 1097)
1965 Don’t Jump b/w You’ll Miss Me (When I’m Gone) (Checker 1111)
1965 I’m Not Ashamed b/w I’ll Be True to You (Checker 1130)
1966 Peak of Love b/w You Got Me Baby (Checker 1152)
1967 Baby, You Don’t Love Me b/w Don’t Get Your Signals Crossed (Checker 1169)
1970 Love’s Coming Down on Me b/w Never Let You Get Away (Cedric 3004)
1971 Never Let You Get Away b/w Have a Little Mercy (Cedric/Sedgwick 3002)
1975 I Got a Good Women b/w Begging You Baby (Vanessa 5123)
1975 Sitting in the Park b/w Sitting with Sain (February 11 280)
1976 Doing It Rite on Time b/w She’s Miss Wonderful (Hi 2321)
1976 Was It Something I Said b/w Love Trap (Hi 2307)
1978 To Get What You Got b/w High Heel Shoes (Hi 78512)
1981 You’ve Got the Makings (Part 1) b/w You’ve Got the Makings (Part 2) (B-Mac 001)
1982 Peak of Love (Pt. 1) b/w Peak of Love (Pt. 2) (B-Mac 002)
1987 It Feels So Good b/w You Never Miss Your Water (Edge 005)
1989 I Need a Job b/w Today You Started Leaving Him (And Loving Me) (S.E.D.G. 506)