He was a man who wrote dozens and dozens of country hits, made his own guitars, and ascended all-star status in Nashville’s country music industry. For years, he battled what has been referred to only as “illness,” and he succumbed to that illness today. He was 74.
Born 1941 in the small Texas town of Monahans, Clark joined the Peace Corps in 1963. In 1971 he relocated to Nashville, where his songs caught on early, and he released his debut album Old No. 1 in 1975. In this time, Clark met and divorced his first wife, Susan. He then went on to meet his second and final wife, Susanna, whom he married in 1972. Together, he and Susanna presided over what could be called a court of country songwriters, including Townes Van Zandt, Rodney Crowell, and Steve Earle. He and Susanna were together until 2012, when she passed, too, from a longtime illness: lung cancer.
Clark is survived by a son, Travis.
Read more about the nitty-gritty of Clark’s life at his Facebook page, where his team has put together a charmingly detailed record of his early life.