Shirley Clay

Shirley Clay (died February 7, 1951) was an American jazz trumpeter.

Clay gained his early start in St. Louis, Missouri while a teenager, about 1920. He toured with John Williams's Synco Jazzers early in the decade and then moved to Chicago, where he recorded with Louis Armstrong in 1927 and worked with Carroll Dickerson and Clifford King.

In the late 1920s and 1930s, he worked as a studio musician, playing with Earl Hines, Ma Rainey, Billie Holiday, and the Boswell Sisters. He played with Don Redman in the middle of the 1930s and spent time with Benny Goodman, Ben Pollack, and Claude Hopkins in the latter half of the decade. In the 1940s, he spent time with Hines again, Horace Henderson, Leon Abbey, Cootie Williams, and Cab Calloway. He also recorded with The Mills Brothers. From 1944 to 1951 he led his own band which included Edgar Battle among its sidemen; he also played as a sideman in his own right with Manzie Johnson and Harry Dial.

Birth and Death Data: Born 1902, Died February 7, 1951

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1927 - 1940

Roles Represented in DAHR: trumpet, cornet

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 1-25 of 37 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor BVE-40820 10-in. 11/7/1927 Jazzin' baby blues Jazz Wizards ; Richard M. Jones Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, trumpet  
Victor BVE-40821 10-in. 11/7/1927 African hunch Jazz Wizards ; Richard M. Jones Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, trumpet  
Victor BVE-40822 10-in. 11/7/1927 Boar hog blues Jazz Wizards ; Richard M. Jones Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, trumpet  
Victor BVE-40823 10-in. 11/7/1927 Who made you cry? (Sugar babe) Jazz Wizards ; Richard M. Jones Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo instrumentalist, trumpet  
Victor BVE-48883 10-in. 2/13/1929 Sweet Ella May Earl Hines Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo instrumentalist, trumpet  
Victor BVE-48884 10-in. 2/13/1929 Everybody loves my baby Earl Hines Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo instrumentalist, trumpet  
Victor BVE-48885 10-in. 2/14/1929 Good little, bad little you Earl Hines Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo instrumentalist, trumpet  
Victor BVE-48886 10-in. 2/14/1929 Have you ever felt that way? Earl Hines Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo instrumentalist, trumpet  
Victor BVE-48887 10-in. 2/15/1929 Beau-koo jack Earl Hines Orchestra Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, trumpet  
Victor BVE-48888 10-in. 2/15/1929 Sister Kate Earl Hines Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo instrumentalist, trumpet  
Victor BVE-50511 10-in. 2/22/1929 Chicago rhythm Earl Hines Orchestra Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, trumpet  
Victor BVE-57322 10-in. 10/25/1929 Grand piano blues Earl Hines Orchestra Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, trumpet  
Victor BVE-57323 10-in. 10/25/1929 Times ain't what they used to be Earl Hines Orchestra Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, trumpet  
Victor BVE-57324 10-in. 10/25/1929 Trying Earl Hines Orchestra Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, trumpet  
Victor BVE-57325 10-in. 10/25/1929 Blue nights Earl Hines Orchestra Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, trumpet  
Victor BS-035355 10-in. 3/27/1939 Lonesome walls Edward Mallory Orchestra ; Ethel Waters Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band instrumentalist, trumpet  
Victor BS-035356 10-in. 3/27/1939 If you ever change your mind Edward Mallory Orchestra ; Ethel Waters Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band instrumentalist, trumpet  
Victor BS-035357 10-in. 3/27/1939 What goes up must come down (And baby, you've been flyin' too high) Ethel Waters Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band instrumentalist, trumpet  
Victor BS-035358 10-in. 3/27/1939 Y' had it comin' to you Edward Mallory Orchestra ; Ethel Waters Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band instrumentalist, trumpet  
Victor BS-051521 10-in. 6/19/1940 Wait 'till it happens to you Earl Hines Orchestra ; Billy Eckstine Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo instrumentalist, trumpet  
Victor BS-051522 10-in. 6/19/1940 Call me happy Earl Hines Orchestra Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, trumpet  
Victor BS-051523 10-in. 6/19/1940 Ann Earl Hines Orchestra ; Billy Eckstine Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo instrumentalist, trumpet  
Victor BS-051524 10-in. 6/19/1940 Topsy-turvy Earl Hines Orchestra ; Walter Fuller Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo instrumentalist, trumpet  
Victor BS-051525 10-in. 6/19/1940 Blue because of you Earl Hines Orchestra ; Leroy Harris Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo instrumentalist, trumpet  
Victor BS-051526 10-in. 6/19/1940 You can depend on me Earl Hines Orchestra ; Walter Fuller Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo instrumentalist, trumpet  
(Results 1-25 of 37 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Clay, Shirley," accessed March 28, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/112669.

Clay, Shirley. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 28, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/112669.

"Clay, Shirley." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 28 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/112669

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