Clay Hammond

Hammond is a highly respected soul singer most famous for writing and recording the blues standard "Part Time Love". Hammond recorded for various labels in the 1960s. His most well-known efforts from that time are the four singles he did for Kent between 1966-69. These mixed Southern soul, gospel, and blues. He cut a fabulous modern soul blues disc on Ichiban in 1988; followed by another for White Enterprises before a comeback of sorts on Evejim in 2003

Album Discography

"Come Into These Arms Of Love" (P-Vine 1981)

1. Come Into These Arms Of Love 2. Tuning Up 3. Part Time Love 4. Rap On Wood 5. Women Are Human 6. Disco Baby 7. Love Won't Let Me Stay Away From You 8. Love Made The Whole World Multiply 9. Don't Stop Your Love

"Streets Will Love You" (Evejim 1988)

**** 1/2 Fabulous modern soul LP released on Leon Haywood's Evejim label features the great "The Streets Will Love You To Death", the best Memphis soul song Willie Mitchell never wrote; plus Hammond's own "License To Steal" and his masterpiece "Part Time Love". "I Know What Love Is" was another great single lifted from the album that deserved to be a hit.

"Hard To Explain" (White Ent. 1993)

*** Hard-to-find CD is a delight for urban soul and soul blues lovers. An infectious mix of uptempo soul ("Stop Cheating On You", "A Woman's Glory", "Kicking My Love") and soulful crooning ("Hard To Explain", "You're Full Of Magic", "License To Steal") by an underrated great. Geraldine White wrote 5 of the 8 tracks.

"Southern Soul Brothers" (Kent 2000)

**** Generous compilation shared between Clay Hammond and Z.Z. Hill. Hammond has 16 of the 26 tracks on this disc that includes both sides of all four of his 1966-69 Kent singles, as well as four from the same period that did not surface until a 1988 LP, and four more from the same time that were previously unissued until this CD.

"I Kissed Her Gone" (Evejim 2003)

** 1/2 A full ten years since his last album and we see Hammond's feathery, aching voice has aged well as evidenced on this contemporary soul disc. The opener, "I Kissed Her Gone", is a lovely, melancholy slowie. From there Hammond croons through a mix of original ballads and up-tempo tunes like the slinky, bluesy feel on "Wife Woman And Hoochie" and the stripped down, old school feel on "I Don't Believe", a wonderful ballad. "Wife, Woman & Hoochie" has a clever twist. Just when you are rolling your eyes thinking Clay needs three women to keep him satisfied he tells you all three are one woman. Songs about fidelity are an all too rare and pleasant find in the genre.