Chris Clark (singer)

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The 45 single label for Chris Clark's "Do Right Baby Do Right".

This article is about the soul singer. For other uses, see Chris Clark (disambiguation)

Chris Clark (born February 1, 1946) in Santa Cruz, California, is an American Motown soul singer. Clark became famous in England as the "white Negress" (a nickname meant as a compliment), since the platinum blonde, blue-eyed soul songstress toured with fellow Motown artists.

Recording on the V.I.P label for Motown, Chris Clark is still acknowledged by the "Northern Soul" community for songs such as 1965's "Do Right Baby Do Right" (Berry Gordy, Jr) and 1966's "Love's Gone Bad"(Holland-Dozier-Holland). Another notable song of Clark's was her 1967 single "I Want To Go Back There Again" (Berry Gordy, Jr).

The United States' answer to Dusty Springfield, Clark, who also dated Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr, managed to have only one hit; ironically, it was on the R&B singles chart. "Love's Gone Bad" made #105 pop, and #41 R&B in 1966.

In 1967, Motown Records released a full album for Chris called "Soul Sounds" on the Motown label. The cover art features the singer against a black background and wearing a black dress in striking contrast to her fair skin, blue eyes and platinum blonde hair. The album featured 12 songs including a rare Motown ballad called "If You Should Walk Away" which was intended to be released as her next single, but that was not to be. Clark made one more album for Motown on a newly created "rock" label "Weed" called "C.C. Rides Again" (1969), but the album failed and is considered a rare collectable today.

A CD made in Belgium entited "Soul Sounds" made from the original master tapes was produced in recent years, but the disc actually contains the songs from both her albums with Motown and an unreleased single.

In 1972, Chris Clark went on to co-write the screen play for the motion picture "Lady Sings the Blues" starring Diana Ross and was later a Vice-President for Motown Records in Los Angeles.

In 1982 she married academy-award-winning screenwriter and novelist Ernest Tidyman. Sadly, after only 2 years of marriage he died of a perforated ulcer in 1984.

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