PEARL CADILLAC
GARY CLARK JR.
SONGWRITER: GARY CLARK JR.
COUNTRY: U. S. A.
ALBUM: THIS LAND
LABEL: WARNER BROS
GENRE: BLUES ROCK
YEAR: 2019
Gary Lee
Clark Jr. (born February 15, 1984) is an American musician from Austin, Texas. He is
best known for his fusion of blues, rock and soul music with
elements of hip hop. In 2011
Clark signed with Warner Bros Records and released The Bright Lights EP. It was
followed by the albums Blak and Blu(2012)
and The Story of
Sonny Boy Slim (2015). Throughout his career Clark
has been a prolific live performer, which has been documented in two releases: Gary
Clark Jr. Live (2014) and Gary Clark Jr Live/North America (2017). He has
shared the stage with Eric Clapton,
Tom Petty and
the Heartbreakers, B.B. King and the Rolling Stones.
In 2014, Clark was awarded a Grammy for Best Traditional R&B performance for the song “Please Come
Home”. His latest album, This Land,
was released on February 22, 2019. In 2020, he won the Grammy Award for
"Best Rock Song" and "Best Rock Performance" for the song
“This Land” from his album of the same name.
This Land
is the third studio album by American blues rock musician
Gary Clark Jr., and was
released on February 22, 2019 by Warner Bros.
Records. It won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album in 2020, while the title track won BEST ROCK SONGS and Best Rock Performance.
On
January 10, 2019 Clark appeared on The Late Show
with Stephen Colbert for which he performed
"This Land" and "Feed the Babies". The latter he performed
along with Jon Batiste and Stay Human as a
"bonus track". On February 16, 2019 Clark performed "Pearl
Cadillac" and "This Land" on NBC's Saturday Night Live. On February 28, 2019, Clark performed “This
Land” on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. On July 7, 2019,
Clark opened for the Rolling Stones' concert at Gillette Stadium during their
2019 No Filter Tour. Clark
also provided guest vocals and guitar with the Stones during their performance
of "Ride 'Em on Down."
The album
was announced with a video for lead single "This Land", directed by Austin, Texas-based
filmmaker Savanah Leaf. The
song and video highlight racism in American society, with Leaf recreating
aspects of Clark's childhood as described by the musician to the director, and
Clark's response to the policies of President
Donald Trump since he was elected in 2016. The
track was inspired by "This Land Is
Your Land" by Woody Guthrie,
with Clark commenting in an interview with American
Songwriter: "It’s one of the first
songs we learn, and we sing it together ... It's like the Pledge of Allegiance
... And when you're kids, everybody's together. You don't see differences until you get older, and
older people influence you to think about other people a certain way. I
just want to get back to singing that song like we were kids again, you
know?" Writer Dan Solomon, in Texas Monthly,
described "This Land" as "perhaps the first truly great song of
Clark's career, a defiant, statement-piece anthem that fits alongside pieces
like Childish Gambino's "This is
America" and Beyoncé's "Formation" in
its vocal addressing of racism in America."
Clark
started the album's promotional tour in March 2019.
You say I owe you nothin'
If I could, I’d give you the world
You made somethin' from nothin
I thank God for such a beautiful
girl
He brought on this world, yeah
I remember
when I left home in that pearl Cadillac
I was searching for some kinda way
to pay you back
For your love, your love, your
love
Your love, your love, your love
Your love, your love, your love
Well, I won't let you down, I’ma
make you proud
You say money
ain't everything
You could've made it on your own
Now I understand your sacrifice
Late nights, fussing and fighting
at home
I'm sorry for the things I did wrong
I remember
when I left home in that pearl Cadillac
I was searching for some kinda way
to pay you back
For your love, your love, your
love
Your love, your love, your love
Your love, your love, your love
Well, I won't let you down, I'ma
make you proud
I don't wanna
let you down
Oh, I only wanna make you proud
You say I owe
you nothin'
Oh, if I could, I’d give you the
world
You made somethin’ from nothin
I thank God for such a beautiful
girl
He put on this world, yea.