Clayton Love RIP

From Bob Corritore

RIP Clayton Love November 15, 1927 - Feb. 28, 2010. Clayton Love will best be remembered as the vocalist and pianist in Ike Turner's Kings Of Rhythm. He passed away at a hospice in St Louis from complications of a stroke and heart problems, He was 82. He was born in Mattson, Mississippi in 1927. During 40s and 50s Love was a popular musician around the Vicksburg area, fronting and organzing sophisticated swing bands. This sound was reflected in his first recordings done for the Trumpet label in 1951. His association with Ike Turner soon followed and eventually led to his mid 1950's relocation to St. Louis, where he would front Ike's band, The Kings of Rhythm, and record such great songs as "Do You Mean It", "She Made My Blood Run Cold", and "The Big Question". Clayton Love would make St. Louis his lifelong home, and he was one of that town's proud blues statesmen until the day he died. His long career saw releases with Trumpet, Modern, Aladdin, Federal, Groove, Bobbin, Monad, Modern Blues, Ace, Charley, Collectibles, and Alligator. His great R&B vocals and spectacular recordings will live forever in blues history. To see a Clayton Love interview with with STL Blues click here.