Chris Clark

Birthday: 1 February 1946, Santa Cruz County, California, USA

Birth Name: Christine Elizabeth Clark

Height: 183 cm

Christine Elizabeth Clark was born in Santa Cruz County, California and early in life wished to become a blues singer. In 1963 she went to work for Motown Records in Detroit for 2 years before making ...Show More

Christine Elizabeth Clark was born in Santa Cruz County, California and early in life wished to become a blues singer. In 1963 she went to work for Motown Records in Detroit for 2 years before making a demo. Though her talent was undeniable, Chris was a blue-eyed blonde and it is said Motown "didn't know what to do with her", since the label was founded on the strength of black artists like Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, Brenda Holloway, Mary Wells, Stevie Wonder, The Supremes and Martha Reeves and the Vandellas.In 1965, she recorded "Do Right Baby, Do Right" and when the song was released, made history being one of the first white artists to have single record released by Motown Records under their V.I.P. label. An article was written for Ebony Magazine in 1966 about "The Motown Sound" and a photo of Chris appeared in the magazine... a real surprise to many who simply assumed Chris was a black singer. Now compared to Dusty Springfield, her next single was "Loves Gone Bad", written by the legendary team of Holland, Dozier, Holland. The song, powerful and almost raw in its delivery by Motown standards, hit the rhythm and blues charts and became her only large scale hit, reaching #41 on the R & B charts in the U.S. Her album "Soul Sounds" was released in 1967 on the Motown label itself and today is viewed as a rare collectible. She enjoyed 2 more single recordings from that album: "From Head to Toe" and "I Want to Go Back There Again". A new lushly orchestrated ballad "If You Should Walk Away" was recorded, destined to become her next hit single, but was never released as a single. A pop album called "C.C. Rides Again" released on a newly created "rock" Motown label called "Weed", was never promoted and failed to garner much air play. It remains the only album released on that label.Chris Clark's recordings of the 1960s went on to become bigger hits in Europe over the next decade in underground disco clubs. The "Northern Soul" movement, particularly in England and the Netherlands in the pre=disco 1970s, came to appreciate the lesser known, more "gritty" Motown recordings as opposed to the larger production styled tunes made for "top 40" music radio stations. Chris Clark traveled to Europe to perform in nightclubs, especially in England, and re-established her recordings as a staple in the Northern Soul catalog.Already familiar with song and story writing, Chris was asked by Motown founder, Berry Gordy, to help develop a screenplay for a Motown feature film called "Lady Sings the Blues" (1972) starring Diana Ross. Co-written with Terence McCloy and Suzanne De Passe, she received an Oscar nomination for the intensely dramatic script.In 1982 she married Ernest Tidyman, the man who created the character "Shaft" in his novel and screenplay. He also won the Oscar for his screenplay for "The French Connection" (1971). Sadly, after only 2 years of marriage, Tidyman died of a perforated ulcer.She was hired as Motown's video editor and later served as Vice President of Creative Development for Motown Films in Los Angeles. Over the years Chris made several attempts to produce major projects in Los Angeles before finally moving to Arizona where her hobby of photography developed into a profession. In 1990, she spent 6 weeks in Africa photographing and taking in the people and culture of the continent.Today, she creates photo montage artwork from the classic Motown acts she took years before, as well as her African-themed works and has them reproduced on canvas. She has had numerous commissions of her works and has enjoyed several one-man shows in recent years and continues with her writing. In 2010, Daeida Magazine did a cover story on Chris. She has since returned to singing and performing and in 2015, she recorded the original song "The Ghosts of San Francisco" for the motion picture "When the World Came to San Francisco," of which the music video was chosen as an "official selection" for the 2016 New York Jazz Film Festival. Hide