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Sanford Clark  

“THE FOOL “

(Naomi Ford)    Dot 15481

No. 7    September 22, 1956

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Who was this unmasked man?  And what happened to this potently potential icon; this seemingly equal to

Elvis?   Sanford Clark (b. 1935, Tulsa, Ok) certainly was a mystery man, then as now. Seldom was he seen

and almost never were his recordings given mass airings.  Most certainly he had a uncategorizeable style,

unique and engaging enough to rival that of the legends; of  BO DIDDLEY, “The Killer”, and “The King” (to

those in the darkness, that’s Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis).

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He was distinguishably distinctive, with the despondency of Johnny Cash in his blackest prime and was

encased in the sparse echoy accompaniment of the best Sun sounding rockabilly existent. Rock, pop,

country, and the black rhythm & blues markets all embraced and well charted “The Fool.”  His follow-ups

were of equal or better quality, but his days of marginal reknown were too few.

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Even to click–with chart action–but once, all the necessary elements had to be present. Lee Hazelwood, a

promising young deejay from Mannford, Oklahoma, had recently moved with Noami Ford, his songwriting

wife, to Phoenix and radio KTYL.   Hazelwood who had already tried marketing some rock’n’roll tracks

while stationed in Tucson, Arizona, soon became friends with the leader of the Arizona Hayriders, a

guitarist named Al Casey.   It was Casey who had first heard of this unusual voice, this Sanford Clark and

had introduced him to Hazelwood and that mournful song Naomi had written.

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The Hazelwoods, Casey, and Clark pooled their resourses and bought some time at Floyd Ramsey’s Audio

Recording studios in Phoenix (later known as the house that created all those twangy guitar hits for

Duane Eddy, a frequent accompanist, it should be noted, on Clark’s mid-to-late waxings). Present on the

big-moment session were drummer Connie Conway, bassist Jimmy Wilcox, and guitarists Al Casey and wife

Corky.  Using the eerie guitar lick, Al has admitted lifting in part from Howlin’ Wolf’s “Smokestack

Lightning.'”  MCI Records was formed by these interested parties to issue “The Fool.”   The response was

immediate and positive and soon Dot Records had acquired the rights to the record for its national

distribution.

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Despite quitting his job delievering Canada Dry soad, Clark apparently did ltttle to promote the nation-

shakin’ hit and therein his career.   Some touring with Gene Vincent, Jerry Lee Lewis and CARL PERKINS

followed.  “Carl was a nice guy…drunk all the time.   We all stayed drunk all the time,” explained Clark to

liner note writer Rick Kienzie.”

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Things looked bright as Sanford successfully passed a screen test for a Gordon MacRae flick with Universal

International.   “It was like those Presley movies,” Clark said.   “I had the wardrobe, the script, and

everything and then they decided they weren’t gonna do it.   They were gonna give me a $1,000 a week…”

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A Cheat” charted (*74, 1956) but nothing further would ever again gain a mainline rock, pop, country, or

R&B acceptance.   By 1960, Sanford had joined the U. S. Air Force.     On his return he reportedly became a

croupier, what Webster’s defines as “an employee of a gambling casino who collects and pays bets.”   All the

while Sanford persisted in his under-appreciated art.   Highly treasured disks were issued by Dot (“Nine

Pound Hammer”, “Modern Romance”…), Jamie (“Still as the Night”, “Pledge of Love”…), 3-Trey (“It Hurts

Me Too”), Project (“Tennessee Walk”), Warner Brothers (“She Taught Me” b/w “Just Bluesin'”…), Ramsey’s

Ramco (“It’s Nothin’ to Me”…), and Hazelwood’s LHI (“Love Me Till Then”…).   Only the latter label released

a full album, Return of the Fool.

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“I never made any money to speak of,” said Sanford.   “I did a lot of record hops and then when I got my

royalties, I owed all these damn airplane fares and the clothes I hadda buy and hotels…and what not”

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Asked if he knew then that he’d be considered one of rockabillies finest acts, Clark said, “Shit no.   We was

just havin’ a good time.   We partied all the time.   No thought to it, we just knew how to do it and had a

lotta fun doin’ it.”