Adam Harris Published

LISTEN: Looking Back to 2001 for our Song of the Week featuring Delbert McClinton

Delbert McClinton - 2001
Delbert McClinton performing on Mountain Stage in 2001
Brian Blauser
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This week our look back to 2001 continues with blues singer and songwriter Delbert McClinton performing his bluesy masterpiece “Livin’ It Down.”

McClinton, age 81, announced his retirement from the road last April, after 63 years in the music business. His website recently announced a new album would be due in the Spring of this year, tentatively titled Outdated Emotion. Recorded at Kevin McKendree’s award-winning Rock House Studio, the album features several of his own songs, as well as some of Delbert’s lifetime favorites.

For our Song of the Week we chose “Livin’ It Down,” which appears on McClinton’s 2001 release Nothing Personal.

Delbert McClinton -Livin' It Up on Mountain Stage, 2001

We will also hear some vintage performances from Blues Music Hall of Fame member Buddy Guy, late-great singer and songwriter Jimmy LaFave, who made nine appearances on Mountain Stage since 1995, plus blues pianist and singer Marcia Ball (with eight appearances herself), and a duo performance from Terri Hendrix featuring Texas legend Lloyd Maines. Find the playlist here, and join us on one of these NPR Music stations starting this Friday, January 28 for this classic archive edition of Mountain Stage.