Roy Clark (April 15, 1933 – November 15, 2018)

Charles Aznavour wrote "Yesterday when I was young," my favorite recording of Roy Clark, who died this week at 85. Clark was a popular Country Western star, yet this song was a "cross over" and one of his most popular recordings.  We used to watch Clark and Buck Owens on "Hee Haw" and occasionally using Roku find a channel replaying the early years of that popular show.

"I ran so fast that time and youth at last ran out,
I never stopped to think what life was all about
and every conversation I can now recall
concerned itself with me and nothing else at all."

Aznavour died just about six weeks ago at 94.  His last live concert was September 19, 2018.

Clark singing it when he was young. . . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEY4LxORCeo

And when he was old. . . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfnUIC2-1q8

Aznavour singing it. . . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEjoVg07rIE

Mike Huckabee wrote in his newsletter today: 

"Those who worked with Roy Clark remembered him fondly as a kind, generous, friendly and humble man, always smiling and appreciative of others’ talents.  That decency shone through to TV audiences, as well. Clark once said, "A TV camera goes right through your soul. If you're a bad person, people pick that up. I'm a firm believer in smiles. I used to believe that everything had to be a belly laugh. But I've come to realize that a real sincere smile is mighty powerful."

He may be best remembered as the longtime host of the cornpone comedy series, “Hee-Haw,” but fellow musicians were in awe of his talent on multiple instruments, particularly banjo and guitar.  He could play just about anything, as he proved on stages from Branson, Missouri, to the Grand Old Opry, to the Boston Pops, Carnegie Hall and the Rossiya Theatre in Moscow, where he was one of the first American entertainers to perform in the Soviet Union."