Клэй Уокер: Путь кантри-музыканта

American country musician
the filmmaker of the same name

Ernest Clayton Walker Jr. (born August 19, 1969) is an American country music artist. He made his debut in 1993 with the single "What's It to You", which reached Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) chart, as did its follow up, 1994's "Live Until I Die". Both singles were included on his self titled debut album, released in 1993 via Giant Records. He stayed with the label until its 2001 closure, later recording for Warner Bros. Records, RCA Records Nashville, and Curb Records. Clay Walker has released a total of eleven studio albums, including a greatest hits package and an album of Christmas music. His first four studio albums all achieved platinum certification in the United States and his greatest hits collection and fifth studio album were each certified gold. He has charted more than thirty singles on Hot Country Songs, of which six have reached number one: "What's It to You", "Live Until I Die", "Dreaming with My Eyes Open", "If I Could Make a Living", "This Woman and This Man", and "Rumor Has It".

Ernest Clayton Walker Jr,. was born on August 19, 1969, in Beaumont, Texas, to Ernest and Danna Walker. The oldest of five children, Walker lived in Vidor with his mother and stepfather. His father, Clay Sr. gave him a guitar when he was nine years old. After graduating from Vidor High School in 1986, Walker began working at a Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company plant. At 19, he also began touring as a musician, playing various local clubs and eventually finding work as the house singer at a bar in Beaumont called the Neon Armadillo. An additional cut from the album, "White Palace," charted at number 67 on the country charts without being released as a single. It peaked at number 8 on Top Country Albums, number 2 on Top Heatseekers and number 52 on the Billboard 200. Larry Powell of Allmusic gave the album a four and a half star rating, saying that Walker had a "high energy" voice reminiscent of Conway Twitty. Walker also received two award nominations in 1994: Favorite Country New Artist from the American Music Awards and Top New Male Vocalist from the Academy of Country Music, as well as a nomination in 1995 at the TNN/Music City News Country Awards for Male Star of Tomorrow.

If I Could Make a Living was the title of Walker's second album, released in 1994.) and 1995's "This Woman and This Man". The latter song spent two weeks at No. 1, becoming his first multi week No. 1 hit. Walker also began touring in 1995 as a headlining act, in support of the album. Late in 1995, Walker released his third studio album, titled Hypnotize the Moon. Although none of its singles reached No. 1, Hypnotize the Moon produced two consecutive number 2 hits in "Who Needs You Baby" (which Walker co wrote) and the title track, followed by the number 5 "Only on Days That End in 'Y'" and the number 18 "Bury the Shovel". Alanna Nash of Entertainment Weekly thought that Walker did not show a distinct musical personality, but considered the song selection strong and gave it a B+. Richard McVey II of Country Standard Time considered it a "throwback" in sound to Walker's debut, while USA Today said that it lacked the "verve" of that album.

Having just completed the tracks for his fourth album in 1996, Walker was playing basketball with a friend, when he began to experience numbness, facial spasms, and double vision. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed that he had multiple sclerosis (MS). Walker subsequently began changing his diet and treating the disease with a daily injection of Copaxone, sending his MS into an arrested state. He then released his fourth album, 1997's Rumor Has It, which he co produced with Stroud. Thom Owens of Allmusic also thought that it was formulaic, but said that Walker was "able to make even mediocre material sound good", rating it three stars out of five.

In April 1998, Walker charted with a live rendition of Earl Thomas Conley's 1983 single "Holding Her and Loving You". This rendition spent nine weeks on the charts and peaked at number 68. Regarding its production and promotion, the label's senior director of marketing Connie Baer said that she wanted to raise Walker's profile as an artist, as both she and Johnson thought that he did not have the same level of recognition as other artists with similar album sales and chart success. After this song came the title track at number 11 country and number 65 pop. Erlewine gave the album three stars on Allmusic, where he wrote that it "never really distinguishes itself from its predecessors" but "has its moments." Brian Wahlert of Country Standard Time also thought that the album was inconsistent, saying that "She's Always Right", "The Chain of Love", and the Conley cover were its strongest tracks, but that the rest "treads no new ground." Deborah Evans Price of Billboard was more favorable, saying that it showed the energy of his live shows, and that he "cut loose" with soul singing on "This Time Love." These two tracks — a cover version of Elvis Presley's "Blue Christmas" and the original song "Cowboy Christmas" — both made appearances on the country chart, reaching number 51 and number 70, respectively. Country Standard Time critic Mike Clark considered it a transition to a more country pop oriented sound, describing the album as being "full of bad lyrics and overwrought production clichés." In 2002, Walker wrote and recorded a song for the National Football League's expansion team, the Houston Texans. Titled "Football Time in Houston," the song was used as the team's official fight song during its inaugural season. In an interview with CMT, he said that he donated the song to the city of Houston, and that he sings "The Star Spangled Banner" at the team's opening game every season. Warner Bros. released a Christmas music album entitled Christmas in September of the same year. It included a cover of José Feliciano's "Feliz Navidad", which Walker took to number 49 on the country chart in January 2003. This was the first single from his only RCA album, also titled A Few Questions, which he produced with Jimmy Ritchey. Its second single, "I Can't Sleep," Dan McIntosh gave a mostly negative review for Country Standard Time, where he wrote that "even his passionate singing cannot rise above this album's predictable lyrics and lame arrangements."

Walker was signed his third record deal in July 2005, this time with the Asylum Curb division of Curb Records. His first single for the label, "'Fore She Was Mama," reached a peak of number 21 in March 2007. It was the second single release from Fall, going to number 5 on the country charts and number 55 on the Hot 100. Walker and Fender recorded this duet in early 2006; Fender died of lung cancer in October of the same year. Engine 145 reviewer Brady Vercher rated it three stars out of five, praising Walker's vocal performance but saying that the song selection "seemed to be lacking in everything but fluff."

Walker's second album for Asylum Curb was first announced in June 2009. Its first single, "She Won't Be Lonely Long", was given an official release date of December 2009, although it had already entered the country charts in late November. In advance of his ninth album, Walker released an extended play titled She Won't Be Lonely Long. The album, also titled She Won't Be Lonely Long, was released on June 8, 2010. It includes a cover of Alabama's 1980 single "Feels So Right" with a backing vocal from Alabama's lead singer, Randy Owen. "She Won't Be Lonely Long" peaked at number 4 on the country chart in mid 2010. The album's second single, "Where Do I Go from You", was released to radio on August 2, 2010, with "Like We Never Said Goodbye" following in late 2011. The album's fourth single, "Jesse James" was released in 2012 under Curb's Sidewalk Records imprint. In 2014, Curb issued a compilation titled The Best of Clay Walker, which included singles from Fall and She Won't Be Lonely Long, along with re recordings of songs from when he was on Giant.

In November 2015, Walker released a new single entitled "Right Now". Despite a recording hiatus, Walker continued to perform infrequently between 2015 and 2017. Much of his length between releases was due to lingering effects of multiple sclerosis. On April 13, 2018, Walker released the second single titled "Working On Me" from his then still unconfirmed album. During a live blog on his social media sites on December 21, 2018, Walker announced that he would be releasing a song titled "She Gets What She Wants" at midnight on December 24. During the live blog Walker also stated that the album would be titled Long Live the Cowboy and it would be released in January 2019. Long Live the Cowboy was finally released independently in January 2019, and it includes the singles previously released.

In August 2020, Walker signed with Show Dog Nashville, and announced that his first single for the label, "Need a Bar Sometimes", would be released on August 14, 2020. In February 2021, "Need a Bar Sometimes" charted at number 59 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, becoming Walker's first chart entry in more than 8 years. Walker's eleventh studio album, Texas to Tennessee, was released by Show Dog Nashville in July 2021.

In 1994, Bob Cannon of Entertainment Weekly wrote that Walker's image of a "Resistol hat, sturdy cowpoke face, and very tight jeans" seemed to be from a "Country Music Handbook for Success," but also said that he "ignores the danger of being dismissed as just another hunk in a hat." They also called his music "relatively tame" but said that "his Texas bar room roots remain clearly visible in his voice and songs." Walker described his voice to CMT as "raspy [and] rugged." He cites George Jones (also a Beaumont native) as a primary influence, as well as James Taylor and Bob Seger; he has also said that, because he grew up in a largely African American neighborhood, his singing style was influenced by rhythm and blues music. In addition, he said that after his diagnosis, he realized that "you need to love your family" and said that, because he considered his songs positive in nature, he felt that he could connect to younger listeners. They had two daughters: MaClay DaLayne, born on January 14, 1996, and Skylor ClayAnne, born on May 14, 1999. The couple divorced in 2006. He married model Jessica Craig on September 28, 2007 and had five more children with her: a son named William Clayton, born August 5, 2008, and a daughter named Mary Elizabeth, born December 27, 2009. and two more sons Elijah Craig and Ezra Stephen, born November 4, 2017. On August 7, 2020, it was announced that Walker and his wife would be welcoming a fifth child together, a son named Christiaan Michael born January 2021. Walker has participated in several forms of charity to help raise awareness of multiple sclerosis following his diagnosis in 1996, including his own non profit charity, Band Against MS, which he founded in 2003. In 2008, he received a Humanitarian Award for his charitable efforts in relations to MS and participated in a charity golf tournament benefiting his organization.