Jack Clement

Jack Henderson Clement (April 5, 1931 – August 8, 2013) was an American singer-songwriter and record and film producer. He was producer and engineer for Sam Phillips at Sun Records in its early days, and worked with Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash.

Early life
Clement was born on April 5, 1931, in Memphis, Tennessee. He grew up and went to school in Memphis, learned guitar and was performing at an early age, playing guitar and dobro. He ran away from home at 15 years old. In 1948, prior to pursuing a career in music, he commenced his service in the United States Marine Corps. While serving in Washington, D.C., Clement, fiddler Scotty Stoneman and mandolinist Buzz Busby formed the Tennessee Troupers, a bluegrass band. In 1953 he made his first record for Sheraton Records in Boston. From 1953 to 1955 he studied at Memphis State University, where he gained the nickname "Cowboy". During his student days he played steel guitar with a local band.

In 1956, Clement was hired as a producer and engineer for Sun Records by Sam Philips, and worked with stars such as Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash. He discovered and recorded Jerry Lee Lewis while Phillips was on a trip to Florida. One of those recordings, "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On", was selected in 2005 for permanent preservation in the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress. Clement was also the recording engineer present for the famous December 4, 1956 "Million Dollar Quartet" session involving Cash, Lewis, Perkins and Elvis Presley. He made the decision to record the impromptu session.

Career
In 1957, Clement wrote the song "Ballad of a Teenage Queen", which became a crossover hit for Johnny Cash. Other Cash hits written by Clement included "Guess Things Happen That Way", which was No. 1 on the country chart and No. 11 on the pop chart in 1958, and the comedic "The One on the Right Is on the Left", which was a No. 2 country and No. 46 pop hit in 1966. He produced, and composed the horn intro for, Cash's No. 1 hit, "Ring of Fire" in 1963. Clement performed "Guess Things Happen That Way" on the Johnny Cash Memorial Tribute on CMT (Country Music Television) in November 2003.

In 1958, Clement released the single "Ten Years", which was covered by Johnny Western (1959), Rex Allen (1962), and Roger Mews. In 1959, he accepted an offer to work as a producer at RCA Victor in Nashville, then the most important label in the record industry. In 1961, he moved to Beaumont, Texas, and with producer and publisher Bill Hall started the Gulf Coast Recording Studio and the Hall-Clement publishing company.

Clement returned to Nashville in 1965 and became a significant figure in the country music business. He established a publishing business and founded the Jack Clement Recording Studios, where he produced projects for artists including Charley Pride and Ray Stevens. In 1971 he co-founded JMI Records, which launched the career of Don Williams. Bill Hall took control of Hall-Clement in 1973 and sold it to the Welk Music Group in 1975.

Songs written by Clement were recorded by singing stars such as Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Ray Charles, Carl Perkins, Bobby Bare, Elvis Presley, Jim Reeves, Jerry Lee Lewis, Cliff Richard ("It'll Be Me"), Charley Pride, Tom Jones, Dickey Lee, Moon Mullican and Hank Snow. Clement also produced albums by Townes Van Zandt and Waylon Jennings. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1973.

Clement was involved in a few film projects as a singer or songwriter of soundtracks. He produced and part-financed the 1975 horror film, Dear Dead Delilah, which was a financial disaster and the last film performance by the actress Agnes Moorehead.

In 1987, Clement was approached by Irish rock band U2 to record at Sun Studio in Memphis. He was not familiar with the band's music but agreed to arrange the session. The resulting work appeared on U2's next album, Rattle and Hum, ("When Love Comes to Town", with B.B. King; "Angel of Harlem", a tribute to Billie Holiday; and "Love Rescue Me", with backing vocals by Bob Dylan), as well as the Woody Guthrie song "Jesus Christ", which was included on the 1988 album Folkways: A Vision Shared — A Tribute to Woody Guthrie & Leadbelly. Extracts from the sessions appeared in the 1988 film Rattle and Hum.

Later life and death
In 2005, a documentary about Clement, Shakespeare Was a Big George Jones Fan, was created by Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville. It was pieced together from Clement's home videos and interviews with peers, including Jerry Lee Lewis and Bono.

Clement hosted a weekly program on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. He was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, the Memphis Music Hall of Fame and the Music City Walk of Fame. On June 25, 2011, a fire destroyed his home and studio on Belmont Boulevard in Nashville. Clement was unhurt, but many priceless recordings and memorabilia were lost. On April 10, 2013, it was announced he would be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Clement died at his home in Nashville on August 8, 2013. He had suffered from liver cancer. He had a daughter, Alison, also a singer and writer; and a son, Niles, an engineer and photographer.