Long before Gary Clark Jr. jammed with Eric Clapton, the Rolling Stones, and Foo Fighters, and headlined festivals all across the globe, he was an unknown, unsigned blues guitarist in his hometown of Austin, Texas, desperate to make a name for himself. On Sept. 24, 2004, when he was just 20, Clark found himself onstage at Antone’s Nightclub playing the blues standard “Catfish Blues” on a bill that also included Double Trouble, James Cotton, and Jimmie Vaughan.
A tape of his blazing performance from that night has been tucked away for the past 21 years, never heard by the public. But, today, you can listen to an exclusive preview of the song prior to its official release on the 4-LP, 41-track box set Antone’s: 50 Years of the Blues (out Aug. 22). The collection celebrates the 50-year history of Antone’s, and honors club founder Clifford Antone, who died in 2006. “Long before people started to latch onto the blues, Clifford Antone supported them and promoted them,” B.B. King once said. “We who play the blues owe him a lot.”
The box set starts with the double LP The Real Last Texas Blues Album, which features 18 new recordings by artists who played a role in the Antone’s saga, including Kam Franklin, Bobby Rush, Jimmie Vaughan, Doyle Bramhall II, Ruthie Foster, and Jivin’ Gene feat. Charlie Sexton. It’s continues with Tell Me One More Time, a sampling of tunes from the club’s in-house label, Antone’s Records. Artists on this disc include Doug Sahm, Kim Wilson, Pinetop Perkins, and Snooky Pryor.
It wraps up with We Went Live in ’75, which spotlight live recordings from Antone’s long history. Highlights include “Cold Cold Feelings” by Albert Collins, “Look On Yonder’s Wall” by Buddy Guy, “Walking By Myself” by Jimmie Rodgers, and “Double Trouble” by Otis Rush.
As a bonus, Antone’s: 50 Years of the Blues includes a 45 of Los Lobos‘s take on the Howlin’ Wolf standard “Three Hundred Pounds of Joy,” which you can also hear today.
“Clifford rescued us in 1983 when we found ourselves kicked off a tour and stranded in McAllen, Texas, with no money to get home to L.A.,” Los Lobos keyboardist Steve Berlin says in a statement. “He said get to Austin somehow, and he’d pay us $100 a man per night to open for a week of shows at Antone’s. That was just enough to make it home, so it is in some very small measure our way of saying ‘thanks for saving our asses’ to do this song for him and his great club. God Bless Clifford and the entire Antone’s family.”
Antone’s continues to operate in downtown Austin. On June 29, a special show commemorating the history of the club will take place at New York’s Lincoln Center. The bill includes Jimmie Vaughan, Sue Foley, C.J. Chenier, Benny Turner, Big Bill Morganfield, Kam Franklin, John Primer, Lil’ Ed Williams, the Texas Horns, and Joe Sublett.
