McClinton, Delbert - Live From Austin, TX

Delbert McClinton has performed on Austin City Limits 7 times. This 1982 performance is considered one of his more legendary performances.

You can call Delbert's music "Texas roadhouse blues" if you want to, but you might as well give up trying to pin a label on this guy. He was born in Lubbock, but you'd never know it from the sound of that growling, gravelly, funky voice. Maybe growing up in Fort Worth explains the difference, since he developed his R&B chops early-on playing in the house band at Jack's Place, a notorious, rough-and-rowdy late-night joint. That's where they shared the stage with the likes of legends Bobby Blue Bland and the infamous Jimmy Reed, Delbert's main man. He wandered out to L.A. for awhile and helped propel Emmylou Harris's career with his song, "Two More Bottles of Wine," then released two classic pre -"progressive country" albums with partner Glen Clark. -Terry Lickona (Producer Austin City Limits®)