Clay, Francis

Clay, Francis 15 November 1923; Rock Island, IL Francis Clay was an accomplished jazz drummer before joining Muddy Waters’s band and becoming a popular blues drummer. He had played in church and at circuses, behind vaudeville and with country and western groups, and could do bird and animal imitations, but he couldn’t immediately grasp the straight blues beat. At his first gig with Waters, Muddy took the sticks and demonstrated. It was the only lesson Clay needed. He stayed with Muddy well into…