Clay Hart(1936-2022)
- Soundtrack
What exactly is a city boy doing singing country music and, in the
meantime, so darn good at it? Just ask Rhode Island native Clay Hart,
whose singing and songwriting won him legions of fans on the
long-running
The Lawrence Welk Show (1955)
and later in Nashville and on the stage. After graduating from Amherst
College in Massachusetts, Clay moved to New York City, first working in
a record shop and on Wall Street to pay the bills, while in his spare
time, sang in nightclubs and bars hoping to catch his big break. It
came in 1968. It was while performing in a Charleston, West Virginia
club that he was discovered by
Lawrence Welk, who was in town on behalf
of the charity "Cancer Crusade". He joined the Welk show in 1969 and
stayed until 1975 as the program's country singer and, during this
time, he performed on stage with the Musical Family, recorded numerous
albums, won a Grammy nomination for "Spring", and met
Sally Flynn, the love of his life. Today,
they have been married going on thirty years and have honed their
talents as a husband and wife singing duo (like Guy & Ralna!)
performing at country fairs and various concerts and have been opening
acts for entertainers such as Red Skelton,
The Statler Brothers and
Juliet Prowse.