To consider the blues work of Tommy McClennan one must know what they’re up against; powerful vocals, what seems like constantly shifting chord structures, and generally unrestricted constructs.  But, a dedicated ingress into the work of this hard-hitting Mississippi bluesman yields many valuable rewards.    

The ferocity of his vocals, and McClennan’s rough-and-ready, confidently-strummed guitar style, must have really opened some eyes in the jukes, and on the street corners, of the Southern U.S.  Although often crudely structured, his compositions regularly harbored tremendous fury and emotional passion.  And similarly, while often improvised, there can be no denying his lacerating chordal musings.

There is no other way to put it but to say that McClennan’s approach was raucous and unrestrained, both on the guitar, and via his gravely vocals.  McClennan’s legacy is that his recording and performing character was one of ferocious intensity.  His unfurling of curt, uninhibited blues vocals while recording frequently had the added effect of stimulating him to proffer his recordings further with spirited commentary that seemed to propel him even further forward.    

Simply, like so many blues artists, McClennan’s approach was unique. 

Born in the Delta region of the U.S. in 1905, specifically in Durant, Misssissippi (some accounts indicate Yazoo City), much about McClennan’s early years remains somewhat shrouded in a lack of details.  However, beginning in 1939 when he was 34 years of age, up through 1942, McClennan recorded 20 singles for Bluebird Records, through the energies of producer Lester Melrose.  Certain of his songs have helped define the legacy of the blues, including “Cross Cut Saw” (covered by Albert King and becoming something of his signature piece), and “My Baby’s Gone” (covered by Moon Mullican to great success), and “I’m A Guitar King”, a blues that has seen numerous iterations, and was included on the 1959 Folkways Records compilation entitled The Country Blues.

Other noteworthy releases from this fertile period included “Bottle It Up And Go” (his version of the 1932 Memphis Jug Band standard), “New Highway No. 51”, “Shake ‘Em On Down” (originally recorded by Bukka White in 1937), “Travelin’ Highway Man”, “Deep Sea Blues”, and “Whiskey Head Woman”.             

As indicated above, McClennan’s blues had a rather distinctive flair, in that he used chords at will in his blues structure, not adhering to normal chord progressions.  As was his whim, he would change chordal patterns, it seemed, when he pondered it appropriate to do so, casting aside normal chord progressions. 

McClennan was known to often play with bluesman Robert Petway, an artist whose influence on Jimi Hendrix, Muddy Waters, and John Lee Hooker is known.  Another blues running mate of McClennan’s was said to have been Willie Brown, the bluesman who is considered by some to be one of the pioneers of Delta blues, a slide guitarist who recorded and performed with such esteemed bluesmen including Charlie Patton, Son House, Muddy Waters, and the legendary Robert Johnson.  Too, David “Honeyboy” Edwards was a known associate of McClennan’s.

No less than an artist the stature of Bob Dylan was influenced by Tommy McClennan, taking inspiration from McClennan’s recording of “New Highway No. 51” and including his version on his 1962 self-titled debut album. 

After McClennan’s Bluebird recording period ended in 1942, both Bluebird and the RCA Victor label continued to release his singles for a brief number of years.  After his recording career ended, McClennan was known to play at parties and joints on Chicago’s south side for a short-term period.  The last known remembrance of McClennan came from David “Honeyboy” Edwards who indicated he saw him living in a hobo encampment in Chicago, and also stated that he was drinking heavily.  It is known that McClennan passed away in Chicago in 1961. 

A good place to start in assessing the work of Tommy McClennan is by way of Document Records’ Tommy McClennan – Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order – 1939-1940 collection (DOCD-5669).  Wolf Records also offers a fine Tommy McClennan overview via their I’m A Guitar King compilation (WBCD-001). 

Not for the faint of heart, but Tommy McClennan’s blues is unvarnished and remains historically important after 80 years.  Explore his work soon!