“Cowboy” Jack Henderson Clement
(April 5, 1931 – August 8, 2013)
I had only been doing The Producer’s Chair for about 9 months and I’d
never met Cowboy Jack before, but I knew that Cowboy was at Sun when
Rock-n-Roll was born … Think about that for a moment …
The day we did my pre-show interview, I pulled into the parking lot
behind Jack’s house and knocked on the kitchen door. Cowboy greeted me
in slippers and an old housecoat (that I later learned belonged to
Elvis), and with a warm smile, poured me a coffee and walked me into his
office. Wow … I could already tell that he was more than happy to share
his story with me and that I was overdressed. He graciously asked me
all about me before he let me begin my interview, but not before he
danced for me. The first words out of Jack’s mouth were; “Would you like
to hear what I’m working on?” and before I had a chance to answer, he
hit play and proceeded to dance around his office for an entire song,
ending with a pose. It was surreal and as I watched him, I think the
whole room went into slow motion. My immediate thought was; “this guy’s
not bad.” When the song was finished, I clapped and said “very nice
Jack” and he reached into the pocket of Elvis’s nightgown and handed me
his business card.
Arthur Murray Dance Studios
Jack H. Clement
198 South Main Street
Memphis, Tennessee
Phone 5-0528
Cowboy truly was an instructor with the Arthur Murray dance Studios and
he proceeded to tell me the story … and my interview began.
The night of the show, Cowboy showed up in Bermuda shorts, a Hawaiian
shirt, no socks and an old pair of loafers. In the middle of a Q&A
segment, Janice Malone from the Tennessee Tribune asked Jack what he
thought about the music industry today and Cowboy’s response got him a
standing ovation. At the end of the show, the writer’s night started and
no sooner did the first songwriter get into his song, when Jack grabbed
one of my assistants and started dancing. Her expression was priceless.
I guess it had been a long time since she danced with a man who knew
how to lead. How can you not love a guy like that? You can check out the
photos of the show at The Producer’s Chair website.
About 3 months ago, I went down to invite Jack to come back on the show.
This time his assistant answered the kitchen door and Cowboy was
sitting at the kitchen table wearing that housecoat and slippers and
eating a bowl of cereal. He kind of remembered me, but didn’t want to
let on and I immediately mentioned his last appearance on the show. With
a big smile he said; “Sure” … and he called for his assistant to check
his available dates. As she came out of her office, her look told me
that Cowboy wasn’t well enough to do the show and I caught it
immediately. So we went head and booked it for September. Jack smiled
that same warm smile and thanked me for thinking about him and I drove
back to my office knowing that would be the last time I got to be with
him.
This week, Cowboy Jack passed away at 82 years of age.
I can’t believe that I actually met Cowboy Jack Clement.
What a beautiful guy.
Thank you Lord
Thank you Nashville
James Rea
The Producer’s Chair