Gary Clark Jr. facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gary Clark Jr.
Clark performing at the North Coast Music Festival 2013
Background information
Birth name	Gary Lee Clark Jr.
Born	(1984-02-15) February 15, 1984 (age 41) Austin, Texas, U.S.
Genres	Blues rock soul R&B
Occupation(s)	Musician singer songwriter
Instruments	Vocals guitar
Years active	1996–present
Labels	Hotwire Unlimited Warner

Gary Clark Jr. (born February 15, 1984) is an American musician. He is known for his amazing guitar playing and singing. Gary mixes different styles of music like blues, rock, and soul music. He also adds parts of hip hop into his sound.

In 2011, Gary Clark Jr. signed with Warner Bros Records. He released an EP called The Bright Lights. An EP is a shorter music album. After that, he released full albums like Blak and Blu in 2012 and The Story of Sonny Boy Slim in 2015. Gary is also famous for his live shows. He released live albums like Gary Clark Jr. Live (2014) and Gary Clark Jr Live/North America (2017).

Gary has won several important awards. In 2014, he won a Grammy Award for his song "Please Come Home." In 2020, he won two more Grammys for his song "This Land." These awards were for "Best Rock Song" and "Best Rock Performance." His newest album, JPEG Raw, came out in 2024.

Gary Clark Jr.'s Musical Journey

Starting Out

Gary Clark Jr. started playing guitar when he was just 12 years old. He grew up in Austin, Texas, a city famous for its music. As a teenager, he played many small shows. He then met Clifford Antone, who owned a famous music club called Antone's. This club helped many blues musicians become well-known.

Soon after, Gary started playing with famous musicians like Jimmie Vaughan. Jimmie and other musicians in Austin helped Gary on his musical path. In 2010, Gary sang on a cover of the Jackson 5 song "I Want You Back" for Sheryl Crow's album. In 2011, Rolling Stone magazine called him the "Best Young Gun." This meant he was a very promising new artist.

Albums and Collaborations

In 2012, Gary Clark Jr. worked with singer Alicia Keys. They wrote a song together called "Fire We Make." Later that year, Alicia Keys announced that Gary's first big album, Blak and Blu, would be released. This album was a big success. It reached number six on the Billboard 200 album chart and number one on the Blues Albums chart.

In 2014, Gary released his first live album, Gary Clark Jr. Live. This album was recorded during his tours between 2013 and 2014. It received many good reviews from music critics. Gary also worked with the Foo Fighters on a song for their 2014 album Sonic Highways.

In 2015, Gary released another album called The Story of Sonny Boy Slim. He continued to work with other artists. In 2016, he appeared on Tech N9ne's album The Storm. He also played guitar on a song for Childish Gambino's album "Awaken, My Love!". In 2017, he released his second live album, Live North America 2016.

Gary's cover of the Beatles' song "Come Together" became very popular in 2017. It was featured in the superhero movie Justice League. He also worked with ZZ Ward on a song for the movie Cars 3. In 2018, Gary worked with Bun B and Tom Morello on their albums.

This Land Album

On January 10, 2019, Gary Clark Jr. announced his new album, This Land. It was released on March 1, 2019. He also released the title song and a music video for it on the same day. The song "This Land" was inspired by a difficult experience Gary had with a neighbor after buying a ranch. The album was chosen as a "Favorite Blues Album" by AllMusic.

Live Performances

Gary Clark Jr. is known for his powerful live shows. He has performed at many big music festivals. These include the Monterey Jazz Festival and the Crossroads Guitar Festival. In June 2011 and 2012, he played at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Tennessee.

In February 2012, Gary performed at the White House for a special blues event. He played alongside famous musicians like B.B. King, Mick Jagger, and Buddy Guy. He played his own songs and joined in on classic blues tunes.

Gary has also performed with the legendary band the Rolling Stones. He joined them on stage in Brooklyn in December 2012. He played the song "Going Down" with them. He also performed with them in Boston in 2013. In June 2013, he played at the Glastonbury Festival in England. His performance was called "the most electric performance of the festival."

In 2014, Gary performed a Beatles song, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," with Dave Grohl and Joe Walsh. This was for a Grammy tribute to The Beatles. He also played at the NBA All-Star Game Halftime Show. In 2015, he opened for the Rolling Stones again in San Diego. He also joined the Foo Fighters for their 20th Anniversary show in Washington, D.C.

Gary continues to perform on television shows. In 2019, he performed "This Land" on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Saturday Night Live. He also played with the Rolling Stones again during their 2019 tour. In 2022, he led the band for Jon Stewart's Mark Twain Prize ceremony.

Film and TV Appearances

Gary Clark Jr. has also appeared in movies and TV shows:

• He starred in the 2007 film Honeydripper.
• In 2010, he and his band appeared in an episode of the TV series Friday Night Lights.
• He performed songs in the 2014 film Chef.
• He was in the 2015 film Miles Ahead as part of Miles Davis' band.
• He appeared as a street performer in an episode of NCIS: New Orleans in 2016.
• He performed songs in an episode of the Netflix series Luke Cage.
• Gary played blues musician Arthur Crudup in the 2022 film Elvis.
• He played the character T-Bone in the 2023 film Sweetwater.

Awards and Recognitions

Gary Clark Jr. has received many awards and honors throughout his career.

• The Mayor of Austin, Kirk Watson, declared May 3, 2001, as Gary Clark Jr. Day. Gary was only 17 years old then!
• He has won the Austin Music Award for Best Blues and Electric Guitarist three times.
• Spin magazine named him their breakout artist in November 2011.
• Rolling Stone magazine listed his Bright Lights EP as one of the top 50 albums of 2011.
• In 2012, he won the "Golden Corndog" award from Spin Magazine. This was for performing at more major music festivals in North America than any other musician that year.
• At the 31st annual Austin Music Awards in 2012–2013, Gary won eight awards! These included Band of the Year, Musician of the Year, and Album of the Year for Blak and Blu.
• In 2014 and 2015, he won a Blues Music Award for 'Contemporary Blues Male Artist of the Year'.
• As of 2020, Gary has been nominated for six Grammy Awards and has won four of them.

Grammy Awards

Gary Clark Jr.'s Instruments

Gary Clark Jr. uses several types of electric guitars. His favorites include the Epiphone Casino, Gibson SG, Fender Stratocaster, and Fender Telecaster. He also plays acoustic guitars like the Epiphone Masterbilt and Gibson Hummingbird. He even has his own special Epiphone Casino guitar called the "Blak & Blu."

For his guitar sound, Gary uses D'Addario Strings. He also uses a Fender Vibro-King amplifier with a Fender Princeton amp. He is known for using fuzz pedals, especially the Fulltone Octafuzz. He also often uses a wah pedal to create unique sounds.

Personal Life

Gary Clark Jr. married Australian model Nicole Trunfio in 2016. They have three children together. In 2016, Gary and Nicole bought a large horse ranch in Kyle, Texas. A difficult experience with a neighbor about owning the ranch inspired his song "This Land."

Helping Others

Gary Clark Jr. has also used his music to help others. He performed at Alicia Keys' Keep a Child Alive "Black Ball" event. This event raises money for children with AIDS in Africa. At the event, Gary and Alicia performed The Beatles' song "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" as a tribute to George Harrison.

Music Albums

Studio Albums

Live Albums

EPs (Extended Plays)

Other Releases

• 2012 – Gary Clark Jr. Presents Hotwire Unlimited Raw Cuts Vol. 1 – Hotwire Unlimited/Warner Bros. – released April 30, 2012 [U.K. vinyl 45rpm]

• 2013 – Gary Clark Jr. Presents Hotwire Unlimited Raw Cuts Vol. 2 – Warner Bros. – released April 21, 2013 [U.K. vinyl Side A – 33 rpm, Side B – 45rpm]

Singles

Guest Appearances

• Booker T. Jones – "Austin City Blues" on Sound the Alarm (Booker T. Jones album) (2013)
• The-Dream – "Too Early" on IV Play (2013)
• Talib Kweli – "Demonology" (featuring Big K.R.I.T.) on Gravitas (2013)
• Foo Fighters – "What Did I Do? / God As My Witness" on Sonic Highways (2014)
• Tech N9ne – "No Gun Control" (featuring Krizz Kaliko) on The Storm (2016)
• Childish Gambino – "The Night Me And Your Mama Met" on "Awaken, My Love!" (2016)
• ZZ Ward – "Ride" on Cars 3 soundtrack (2017)
• Trae Tha Truth – "I'm on 3.0" (featuring T.I., Dave East, Tee Grizzley, Royce Da 5'9, Curren$y, DRAM, Snoop Dogg, Fabolous, Rick Ross, Chamillionaire, G-Eazy, Styles P, E-40 & Mark Morrison) on The Truth, Pt. 3 (2017)
• Tom Morello – "What It's At Ain't What It Is" (featuring Nico Stadi) on The Atlas Underground (2018)
• Sir Sly – "Citizen" (2020)

Mixtapes

• 2014 – Blak and Blu The Mixtape – presented by D-Nice – released April 30, 2014

See also

In Spanish: Gary Clark Jr. para niños