Clydie Mae King (August 21, 1943 – January 7, 2019) was an American singer, best known for her session work as a backing vocalist. King also recorded solo under her name. In the 1970s, she recorded as Brown Sugar, and her single "Loneliness (Will Bring Us Together Again)" reached No. 44 on the Billboard R&B charts in 1973.

Early life and career

King was named Clydie Mae Crittendon when she was born to Curtis Crittendon and Lula Mae King in Texas on August 21, 1943, though at King's death the media related that Lula was Clydie's sister and raised her after their mother's 1945 death. After starting to sing in the local church, King moved with her family to Los Angeles when she was young, where she attended Fremont High School in 1961. Discovered by songwriter Richard Berry, King began her recording career in 1956 with Little Clydie and the Teens. She contributed to early 1960s recordings by producer Phil Spector, such as "River Deep – Mountain High, and was a member of Ray Charles' Raelettes from 1965 to 1968. She recorded solo singles for Specialty Records, Kent Records and others. Her 1971 solo single "'Bout Love" reached No. 45 on the R&B chart. Reviewing her 1972 debut album Direct Me, Robert Christgau wrote in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981): "Clydie has a voice that's more sly Diana than robust Martha and addresses the title plea to Gabriel Mekler, who (this time, anyway) proves neither as sly nor as robust as Berry Gordy." King provided backing vocals for Humble Pie, which had great success in the United States, and she went on to become an in-demand session singer, worked with Venetta Fields and Sherlie Matthews and recorded with B.B. King, The Rolling Stones, Steely Dan, Barbra Streisand, Bob Dylan, Linda Ronstadt, Joe Cocker, Dickey Betts, Joe Walsh, and many others. She was a member of The Blackberries with Fields and Matthews and sang on Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour, which became a feature film. In 1971, she was featured on the Beaver and Krause album Gandarva. She sang the lead vocal on the gospel-inflected "Walkin' By the River," on which Ray Brown played bass. Along with Merry Clayton, she sang the background vocals on Lynyrd Skynyrd's seminal hit "Sweet Home Alabama".

Personal life

Upon King's death the media relayed that Enober Green and Willie King were her siblings. But, as children of Tom and Genevieve King, they were her mother's siblings – her aunt and uncle. King was married multiple times. She married Robin Hale on November 10, 1960 and with him had three sons: Christopher, Randy, and Magge Hale. King and Hale divorced in August of 1969. A subsequent husband was Tony Collins, with whom she had a daughter, Delores Collins. In 1998, newspapers reported that Bob Dylan's girlfriend at the time, Susan Ross, had stated that Dylan had been secretly married to Clydie King and had two children by her. Ross also stated that he had had long-term relationships with other backing vocalists including Helena Springs, Carol Woods and Carol Dennis.

Death

King died on January 7, 2019, in a Monrovia, California hospital at the age of 75 from complications of a blood infection.

Discography

Singles

Albums

As backing vocalist (selected)