A Conversation with Delbert McClinton (continued)

DM: So, in answer to the question you asked, getting the Grammy felt really good because I did it on my terms, I did it the way I wanted to do it, and I did it without a major label.

PM: Unbelievable.

DM: And that was the thing that made me feel--I don't know if "proud" is the word, but you know, "this is the way it's supposed to be."

PM: Yeah. It is amazing that without the big machine behind you, you got it all the way over the bar. That's incredible.

DM: And the other thing I was going to say is that there are so many artists, especially in the last ten years or so, that the only career they have is a radio career. You know what I'm saying? People hear their songs, and that's how they identify with them. And as soon as those people aren't heard on the radio anymore, their career is gone.

PM: So true.

DM: And fortunately for me, because I've been out there for 150 years beating my head against the wall and doing these dates and having a good time, I got a fan base out there that'd take a bullet for me.

PM: That's a fact.

DM: And that's a wonderful thing. I couldn't have planned it any better for the way it's working out right now. All of the things that happened over the years have kind of fallen into place and started making it look like it was a plan.

PM: [laughs]

DM: [laughs] You know what I'm saying?

PM: Ahh, it's great to look smart at the end of the road, right?

DM: It is.

PM: Over the years, it's just an amazing collaboration you've developed with our buddy, Gary Nicholson.

DM: Yeah. Well Gary used to be in my band back in the 70s. He came from Oak Cliff, in Dallas, which is where the Vaughan brothers came from. And I came from the west side of Fort Worth. And we had such a musical empathy--the same feeling about the same artists, same songs, same style. He quit working with me and moved to Nashville about fifteen years or so before I moved to Nashville. When I moved here, I re-established our relationship, and we started writing together, and found out, wow, this works. [laughs]

PM: Yeah. The tunes you write with Gary Nicholson are just over the top. I mean, so devilishly clever, so funny, so entertaining. They seem like the greatest songs of your career, if I'm not mistaken.

DM: Oh, I think so. I really do.

PM: And he's just such a smart, wonderful guy. It must be really great to have him not only as a co-writer but a co-producer.

DM: Well, with us co-producing these records, it works well in the same way. Gary knows what I can do vocally. And so he's got the techno knowledge in the studio. And for my part, I usually do most of the arranging. So together, between the two of us, we produce pretty good records.

PM: How do you guys mic your voice up?

DM: You know, I don't know even know what mic they use. I know what it looks like.

PM: I love it. I love a great singer who doesn't even know what mic he uses. You say, "I don't know. I sing the song, I'll tell you that." [laughs]

DM: [laughs] Well, you know, there's some of them that I'll say, "Hey, let's use another mic. I don't like the way this sounds."

PM: Right.

DM: But we pretty much got it ironed out. And I've heard him mention that it's an XOB 92,17 dash H, you know--

PM: [laughs]

DM: --with a dual manifold and a coal burner in the bottom or something.

PM: [laughs]

DM: They test all that. I get so bent out--that's one of the things in the studio, we'll be trying to do something, and Gary and the engineer will get to talking microphones. And after about twenty minutes I'll say, "Hey, are we going to do this, or you all gonna talk shit all day?"

PM: [laughs] "You going to roll some tape, or what?"

DM: Really. I mean, you know, they just get caught up in it. But all those guys do.

PM: Oh, yeah. They love it.

DM: All those guys, man. You let them get started and their eyes glaze over, and they start talking microphones.

PM: [laughs] Oh, that's the truth.  continue

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