Jerry Clower
Encyclopedia
Howard Gerald "Jerry" Clower (September 28, 1926, Liberty, Mississippi
– August 24, 1998) was a popular country
comedian best known for his stories of the rural South
. He was often nicknamed "The Mouth of the South
", although this title has also been used for other individuals.
Clower began a 2-year stint in the Navy immediately after graduating high school in 1944. Upon his discharge, in 1946, he was a Radioman Third Class (RMN3) and had earned the American Campaign Medal
, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
(with two bronze service stars), and the World War II Victory Medal
. He then studied agriculture at Mississippi State University
, where he played college football
and was a member of Phi Kappa Tau
Fraternity. After finishing school, in 1951, Clower worked as a county agent and later as a seed salesman. He became a fertilizer
salesman for Mississippi Chemical in 1954. By this time, he had developed a reputation for telling funny stories to boost his sales.
Eventually, tapes of Clower's speaking engagements wound up in the hands of Edwin "Big Ed" Wilkes
and Bud Andrews
in Lubbock, Texas
, who had him make a better quality recording which they promoted. MCA Records later awarded "The Coon Hunt" a platinum album for sales in excess of $1 million at the retail
level.
At first, Clower took orders at his speaking engagements, selling 8000 copies on the Lemon record label. In time, Wilkes sent a copy to Grant Turner
at WSM
radio in Nashville
, and when Turner played it on the air, Clower said "that thing busted loose". MCA
was soon knocking on Clower's door offering him a contract. Once MCA began distribution in 1971, Jerry Clower from Yazoo City, Mississippi
Talkin’ retailed more than a million dollars over ten months and stayed in the Top 20 on the country charts for 30 weeks.
Clower made 27 full-length recordings in his 27-year career as a professional entertainer (not counting "best of" compilations). With one exception, all the recordings were released by MCA. The exception was Ain't God Good which Clower recorded with MCA's blessing at a worship service. Word Records
promoted and distributed this title in 1977. Always a staunch Christian, this recording gave Clower an opportunity to present his personal testimony in a comfortable church setting.
Clower's stories often feature the Ledbetters, the quintessential Southern, agrarian clan which includes from story to story various combinations of Uncle Versie, Aunt Pet, Ardel, Burnel, Raynel, W.L., Lanel, Odell, Eudel, Marcel, Claude, Newgene, and Clovis.
In 1973, Clower became a member of the Grand Ole Opry
, and remained with that organization until his death. He also co-hosted a radio show called Country Crossroads with Bill Mack and Leroy Van Dyke
which has aired in syndication for 40 years and a television version of the program was produced as well starting in 1993. Clower's involvement began in 1973 and lasted well over 20 years. This show was produced and distributed by the Southern Baptist Convention
. Clower was also very visible as a commercial spokesman. While it was mostly confined to local commercials and those airing in the southern states, Clower could be seen selling anything from Dodge cars and trucks to transmission repairs and oil service to barbecue and fishing and hunting equipment. In fact, his salesmanship was so strong that he was named Pitchman of the Year for his commercials for flying fishing lures in 1995. An illustration of this type of propeller bait appears on his album released that year.
Clower also taped segments of Nashville On the Road which included comedic performances and interviews with other country artists featured on the show. Jim Ed Brown
hosted the series with Clower during the program's first season, 1975–1976, and they were joined by Helen Cornelius
in 1976. Their involvement in the series lasted until 1981. The show continued to air with new host, Jim Stafford
, through 1983.
Clower's last album was Peaches and Possums, released posthumously in October 1998.
He was the author of four books. The book Ain't God Good became the basis for an inspirational documentary film
of the same title that won an award from the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival. His other three books include 1978's Let the Hammer Down; 1987's Life Everlaughter, and 1993's Stories From Home.
Clower died following heart bypass
surgery, aged 71. He had been married to Homerline Wells Clower since August 1947. He is also survived by a son, Ray, three daughters, Amy, Sue, and Katy, and seven grandchildren.
Liberty, Mississippi
Liberty is a town in Amite County, Mississippi, United States. It is part of the McComb, Mississippi Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 633 at the 2000 census...
– August 24, 1998) was a popular country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
comedian best known for his stories of the rural South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
. He was often nicknamed "The Mouth of the South
Mouth of the South
Mouth of the South is a nickname referring to several people.* Martha Beall Mitchell, exposer of the Watergate scandal* Jerry Clower, comedian in the country music industry* Jimmy Hart, professional wrestling manager.* Ted Turner, media mogul....
", although this title has also been used for other individuals.
Clower began a 2-year stint in the Navy immediately after graduating high school in 1944. Upon his discharge, in 1946, he was a Radioman Third Class (RMN3) and had earned the American Campaign Medal
American Campaign Medal
The American Campaign Medal was a military decoration of the United States armed forces which was first created on November 6, 1942 by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt...
, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
The Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal is a service decoration of the Second World War which was awarded to any member of the United States military who served in the Pacific Theater from 1941 to 1945 and was created on November 6, 1942 by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was...
(with two bronze service stars), and the World War II Victory Medal
World War II Victory Medal
The World War II Victory Medal is a decoration of the United States military which was created by an act of Congress in July 1945. The decoration commemorates military service during World War II and is awarded to any member of the United States military, including members of the armed forces of...
. He then studied agriculture at Mississippi State University
Mississippi State University
The Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science commonly known as Mississippi State University is a land-grant university located in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States, partially in the town of Starkville and partially in an unincorporated area...
, where he played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
and was a member of Phi Kappa Tau
Phi Kappa Tau
Phi Kappa Tau is a U.S. national collegiate fraternity.-History:Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity was founded in the Union Literary Society Hall of Miami University's Old Main Building in Oxford, Ohio on March 17, 1906...
Fraternity. After finishing school, in 1951, Clower worked as a county agent and later as a seed salesman. He became a fertilizer
Fertilizer
Fertilizer is any organic or inorganic material of natural or synthetic origin that is added to a soil to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. A recent assessment found that about 40 to 60% of crop yields are attributable to commercial fertilizer use...
salesman for Mississippi Chemical in 1954. By this time, he had developed a reputation for telling funny stories to boost his sales.
Eventually, tapes of Clower's speaking engagements wound up in the hands of Edwin "Big Ed" Wilkes
"Big Ed" Wilkes
Edwin "Ed" Wilkes , known professionally as Big Ed Wilkes, was a popular radio personality in Lubbock, Texas, who combined humor with hard news reporting on his own morning talk show on station KRFE ....
and Bud Andrews
Bud Andrews
Curcy Hendricks Andrews, Jr., known as Bud Andrews , is a retired deejay at Radio KDAV in Lubbock, Texas, who in 1970 is said to have "discovered" the Mississippi-based humorist Jerry Clower.-Early career:...
in Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County, Texas, United States. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, and the home of Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University...
, who had him make a better quality recording which they promoted. MCA Records later awarded "The Coon Hunt" a platinum album for sales in excess of $1 million at the retail
Retail
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
level.
At first, Clower took orders at his speaking engagements, selling 8000 copies on the Lemon record label. In time, Wilkes sent a copy to Grant Turner
Grant Turner
Grant Lawton Turner was an association football player who represented New Zealand 42 times in A-internationals from 1980 to 1988,...
at WSM
WSM (AM)
WSM is the callsign of a 50,000 watt AM radio station located in Nashville, Tennessee. Operating at 650 kHz, its clear channel signal can reach much of North America and various countries, especially late at night...
radio in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, and when Turner played it on the air, Clower said "that thing busted loose". MCA
Music Corporation of America
MCA, Inc. was an American talent agency. Initially starting in the music business, they would next become a dominant force in the film business, and later expanded into the television business...
was soon knocking on Clower's door offering him a contract. Once MCA began distribution in 1971, Jerry Clower from Yazoo City, Mississippi
Yazoo City, Mississippi
Yazoo City is a city in Yazoo County, Mississippi, United States. It was named after the Yazoo River, which, in turn was named by the French explorer Robert La Salle. It is the county seat of Yazoo County and the principal city of the Yazoo City Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of the...
Talkin’ retailed more than a million dollars over ten months and stayed in the Top 20 on the country charts for 30 weeks.
Clower made 27 full-length recordings in his 27-year career as a professional entertainer (not counting "best of" compilations). With one exception, all the recordings were released by MCA. The exception was Ain't God Good which Clower recorded with MCA's blessing at a worship service. Word Records
Word Records
Word Records is a Christian record label based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a division of Word Entertainment , which, itself is co-owned by Warner Music Group and Curb Records...
promoted and distributed this title in 1977. Always a staunch Christian, this recording gave Clower an opportunity to present his personal testimony in a comfortable church setting.
Clower's stories often feature the Ledbetters, the quintessential Southern, agrarian clan which includes from story to story various combinations of Uncle Versie, Aunt Pet, Ardel, Burnel, Raynel, W.L., Lanel, Odell, Eudel, Marcel, Claude, Newgene, and Clovis.
In 1973, Clower became a member of the Grand Ole Opry
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
, and remained with that organization until his death. He also co-hosted a radio show called Country Crossroads with Bill Mack and Leroy Van Dyke
Leroy Van Dyke
Leroy Frank Van Dyke is an American country music singer best known for his hits, "The Auctioneer" and "Walk On By" .-Biography:...
which has aired in syndication for 40 years and a television version of the program was produced as well starting in 1993. Clower's involvement began in 1973 and lasted well over 20 years. This show was produced and distributed by the Southern Baptist Convention
Southern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention is a United States-based Christian denomination. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination and the largest Protestant body in the United States, with over 16 million members...
. Clower was also very visible as a commercial spokesman. While it was mostly confined to local commercials and those airing in the southern states, Clower could be seen selling anything from Dodge cars and trucks to transmission repairs and oil service to barbecue and fishing and hunting equipment. In fact, his salesmanship was so strong that he was named Pitchman of the Year for his commercials for flying fishing lures in 1995. An illustration of this type of propeller bait appears on his album released that year.
Clower also taped segments of Nashville On the Road which included comedic performances and interviews with other country artists featured on the show. Jim Ed Brown
Jim Ed Brown
Jim Ed Brown is an American country music singer who achieved fame in the 1950s with his two sisters as a member of The Browns. He later had a successful solo career from 1965 to 1974, followed by a string of major duet hits with Helen Cornelius through 1981...
hosted the series with Clower during the program's first season, 1975–1976, and they were joined by Helen Cornelius
Helen Cornelius
Helen Cornelius is an American country singer-songwriter and actress, best remembered for a series of hit duets with Jim Ed Brown, many of which reached the U.S...
in 1976. Their involvement in the series lasted until 1981. The show continued to air with new host, Jim Stafford
Jim Stafford
James Wayne "Jim" Stafford is an American comedian, musician, and singer-songwriter, prominent in the 1970s. Stafford is self-taught on guitar, fiddle, piano, banjo, organ and harmonica....
, through 1983.
Clower's last album was Peaches and Possums, released posthumously in October 1998.
He was the author of four books. The book Ain't God Good became the basis for an inspirational documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
of the same title that won an award from the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival. His other three books include 1978's Let the Hammer Down; 1987's Life Everlaughter, and 1993's Stories From Home.
Clower died following heart bypass
Coronary artery bypass surgery
Coronary artery bypass surgery, also coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and colloquially heart bypass or bypass surgery is a surgical procedure performed to relieve angina and reduce the risk of death from coronary artery disease...
surgery, aged 71. He had been married to Homerline Wells Clower since August 1947. He is also survived by a son, Ray, three daughters, Amy, Sue, and Katy, and seven grandchildren.
Discography
| Year | Album | Chart Positions | RIAA | Label | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US Comedy | US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
||||
| 1971 | From Yazoo City - Mississippi Talkin | 19 | Gold | Decca | ||
| 1972 | The Mouth of Mississippi | MCA | ||||
| 1973 | Clower Power | 7 | ||||
| 1974 | Country Ham | 12 | ||||
| 1975 | Live in Picayune | 8 | ||||
| 1976 | The Ambassador of Goodwill | 40 | ||||
| 1977 | On the Road | |||||
| 1977 | Ain't God Good!! | Word Records | ||||
| 1978 | Live from the Stage of the Grand Ole Opry! | 50 | MCA | |||
| 1979 | Greatest Hits | 189 | ||||
| 1980 | Ledbetter Olympics | |||||
| 1981 | More Good 'Uns | 43 | ||||
| 1982 | Dogs I Have Known | |||||
| 1983 | Live at Cleburne, Texas | |||||
| 1984 | Starke Raving! | |||||
| 1985 | An Officer and a Ledbetter | |||||
| 1985 | The Best of Jerry Clower | |||||
| 1986 | Runaway Truck | |||||
| 1987 | Top Gum | |||||
| 1988 | Classic Clower | |||||
| 1989 | Let There Be Light | |||||
| 1990 | The Mouth of the Mighty Mississip | |||||
| 1991 | Racoonteur | |||||
| 1992 | Sidewinder | |||||
| 1993 | Stories Told Funny | |||||
| 1994 | Jerry Joins the Navy | |||||
| 1995 | Fishin', Frogs, Hawgs, and Dawgs | |||||
| 1997 | Live at Dollywood | |||||
| 1998 | Peaches and Possums {final album} | |||||
| 1999 | Great Moments with Jerry Clower | |||||
| 1999 | Legendary Clower | |||||
| 1999 | More Clower Power | |||||
| 2005 | The Jerry Clower Collection | Madacy Records | ||||
| 2006 | Classic Clower Power | 52 | 3 | MCA Nashville | ||
| 2008 | Collectors Edition Box Set | Madacy Special Markets |
External links
- Jerry Clower article at CMT.comCMT- Medicine :* California mastitis test* Certified Massage Therapist* Cervical motion tenderness, a sign of pelvic inflammatory disease* Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease* Chemically modified tetracyclines* Circus Movement Tachycardia...
- Jerry Clower Discography
- Liberty Mississippi
- Jerry Clower "Burning Building" routine at You Tube
- Jerry Clower (1926 - 1998) at Find A GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...
- Jerry Clower at The Mississippi Writers Page