Singer Otis Clay dies at 73

Chicago soul, blues and gospel singer Otis Clay, whose career spanned decades and a range of musical influences, died last Friday after suffering a heart attack, according to an online statement posted by his management company, Heart & Soul. He was 73.

No other details about his death were available.

Clay was born in Waxhaw, Mississippi, where he began singing gospel music, and arrived on the Chicago music scene in the mid-1950s, according to a biography and interview with him on his website.

His first national rhythm and blues hit, That's How It is (When You're In Love), came in 1967. The following year saw another of his single, She's About A Mover, hit the charts.

In the mid-1970s, Clay launched his own Echo Records.

His album Walk A Mile In My Shoes earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Traditional R&B Performance in 2008. In 2013, he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in Memphis.

REUTERS

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on January 11, 2016, with the headline Singer Otis Clay dies at 73. Subscribe