The Detroit News
Sunday, Nov 02, 1986
Interview with the Great Dr. Mattie Moss Clark
Mattie Moss Clark finds her favorite spot on the couch in her northwest Detroit home and relaxes while her daughters buzz around the house preparing for a rehearsal.
She lives here with her oldest daughter, Twinkie, the leader of the Clark Sisters. The phone rings.
“Answer the phone, somebody,” Mrs. Clark hollers.
“I'm busy now.” No response.
“Did you hear me? Answer that phone.
The ringing stops. At 52, Mrs. Clark still rules her household, her children, and as director of the Music Department of the Church of God in Christ.
She dominates, She controls, ... And, she mothers.
“You cut yourself shaving,” she says to me. “You
should put some vinegar on that. It'll dry it right up.”
It’s this blend of control and concern that perched her squarely on the throne of Detroit Gospel music. She's the only gospel artist in Detroit to have earned three gold records. She's determined to maintain that hold through her Mattie Moss Clark Conservatory of Music on West Seven Mile in Detroit, founded three years ago.
Her daughters, the Clark sisters, train hopefuls for careers in gospel. Several Detroit gospel artists have already emerged from Mrs. Clark's stable:
Douglas Miller, Donald Vails, Esther Smith, Vanessa Bell-Armstrong and Rance Allen.
Mrs. Clark also helped her five daughters - Twinkie, Jacky, Dorinda, Karen, and Denise- to become one of the top gospel groups in the Country. They'll remain that way, she says, "as long as they do what I tell them to do. I tell them, "God has given you his anointing. Don't abuse it."
It's this I-don't-take-no-stuff attitude that's helped Mrs. Clark become successful, as her friends will attest:
"She was one of the first ones to come with the hard-breaking knock-them-dead gospel," said Donald Vails, who moved from Atlanta to Detroit in 1965 to join her Southwest Michigan Community Choir." "People came to Detroit just to sing with Mattie Moss. She gave a lot of folks a chance in their gospel career."
"Mattie has produced a lot of good singers," says Derrick Brinkley." People who could not sing at all come out vocalizing."
"She's done good work," Andrae Crouch says. "She's a disciplinary person as far as choirs are concerned. In her choirs and her rehearsals and things, she's tough."
Mrs. Clark is also tough on her daughters. She believes they should not wear makeup or pants and that they should remain virgins until they're married. And why not? She says, "I grew up that way."
The third oldest among six brothers and a sister, Mrs. Clark was born in Selma, Alabama., where her parents pastored the Church of Prayer Holiness.
"My mother was strict on me." she says, "We couldn't go to the movies or iron or sew on Sunday. No, the only thing we could do was go to church."
Mrs. Clark began playing piano at age 6. She attended Selma University for 2 1/2 years, where she majored in music. She dropped out later and came to Detroit with her sister at age 19. She played piano for small churches around the city. She met her husband, Elbert Clark, and had five daughters and a son, Leo.
Mrs. Clark played at several Church of God in Christ locations before being appointed as state director of the music department for the church group in 1957 and International director 10 years later.
She made her first recording, God, Do Something for Me, in 1957. Afterward, she and James Cleveland signed an 11-year contract with Savoy Records, where she earned three gold records with her She's Michigan State Choir. She left Savoy in 1975. "The Lord spoke to me and told me I would never get anywhere because by being on the same label, they were only interested in pushing James Cleveland," she says.
An anonymous record producer said it was more like Savoy couldn't take her anymore. "She was so demanding, he explains.
Her domineering personality and boastfulness often draw criticism. When her name is mentioned, some gospel artists just shake their heads and say, "She's something else" or, "You know how Mattie is."
Mrs. Clark claims she gave most Detroit gospel groups their start. "She had nothing to do with us responds Carvin Winans of the Winans. "What she talking about now?" asks Fred Hammond, leader of Commissioned.
Mrs. Clark defends against the barbs. "I'm being fought on the stage because I stand for the Bible."
Jonathan DesVerney Gospel Channel
The Detroit News
Sunday, Nov 02, 1986
Interview with the Great Dr. Mattie Moss Clark
Mattie Moss Clark finds her favorite spot on the couch in her northwest Detroit home and relaxes while her daughters buzz around the house preparing for a rehearsal. She lives here with her oldest daughter, Twinkie, the leader of the Clark Sisters. The phone rings.
“Answer the phone, somebody,” Mrs. Clark hollers.
“I'm busy now.” No response.
“Did you hear me? Answer that phone.
The ringing stops. At 52, Mrs. Clark still rules her household, her children, and as director of the Music Department of the Church of God in Christ.
She dominates, She controls, ... And, she mothers.
“You cut yourself shaving,” she says to me. “You
should put some vinegar on that. It'll dry it right up.”
It’s this blend of control and concern that perched her squarely on the throne of Detroit Gospel music. She's the only gospel artist in Detroit to have earned three gold records. She's determined to maintain that hold through her Mattie Moss Clark Conservatory of Music on West Seven Mile in Detroit, founded three years ago.
Her daughters, the Clark sisters, train hopefuls for careers in gospel. Several Detroit gospel artists have already emerged from Mrs. Clark's stable:
Douglas Miller, Donald Vails, Esther Smith, Vanessa Bell-Armstrong and Rance Allen.
Mrs. Clark also helped her five daughters - Twinkie, Jacky, Dorinda, Karen, and Denise- to become one of the top gospel groups in the Country. They'll remain that way, she says, "as long as they do what I tell them to do. I tell them, "God has given you his anointing. Don't abuse it."
It's this I-don't-take-no-stuff attitude that's helped Mrs. Clark become successful, as her friends will attest:
"She was one of the first ones to come with the hard-breaking knock-them-dead gospel," said Donald Vails, who moved from Atlanta to Detroit in 1965 to join her Southwest Michigan Community Choir." "People came to Detroit just to sing with Mattie Moss. She gave a lot of folks a chance in their gospel career."
"Mattie has produced a lot of good singers," says Derrick Brinkley." People who could not sing at all come out vocalizing."
"She's done good work," Andrae Crouch says. "She's a disciplinary person as far as choirs are concerned. In her choirs and her rehearsals and things, she's tough."
Mrs. Clark is also tough on her daughters. She believes they should not wear makeup or pants and that they should remain virgins until they're married. And why not? She says, "I grew up that way."
The third oldest among six brothers and a sister, Mrs. Clark was born in Selma, Alabama., where her parents pastored the Church of Prayer Holiness.
"My mother was strict on me." she says, "We couldn't go to the movies or iron or sew on Sunday. No, the only thing we could do was go to church."
Mrs. Clark began playing piano at age 6. She attended Selma University for 2 1/2 years, where she majored in music. She dropped out later and came to Detroit with her sister at age 19. She played piano for small churches around the city. She met her husband, Elbert Clark, and had five daughters and a son, Leo.
Mrs. Clark played at several Church of God in Christ locations before being appointed as state director of the music department for the church group in 1957 and International director 10 years later.
She made her first recording, God, Do Something for Me, in 1957. Afterward, she and James Cleveland signed an 11-year contract with Savoy Records, where she earned three gold records with her She's Michigan State Choir. She left Savoy in 1975. "The Lord spoke to me and told me I would never get anywhere because by being on the same label, they were only interested in pushing James Cleveland," she says.
An anonymous record producer said it was more like Savoy couldn't take her anymore. "She was so demanding, he explains.
Her domineering personality and boastfulness often draw criticism. When her name is mentioned, some gospel artists just shake their heads and say, "She's something else" or, "You know how Mattie is."
Mrs. Clark claims she gave most Detroit gospel groups their start. "She had nothing to do with us responds Carvin Winans of the Winans. "What she talking about now?" asks Fred Hammond, leader of Commissioned.
Mrs. Clark defends against the barbs. "I'm being fought on the stage because I stand for the Bible."
9 months ago | [YT] | 341