Country music vocalist, guitarist. Originally from near Charlotte, North Carolina, he went to Nashville where he played clubs and did studio work as a bass guitarist. He toured with artists such as Little Jimmy Dickens, Leon Ashley, Lefty Frizzell, and others. He came to D.C. in the mid-‘60s and performed regularly in the Georgetown area. In 1967 he stumbled across a bar in Glen Burnie that needed live music and formed a group. This group later moved on to the Freeman’s in Curtis Bay. A trio featuring Price (vocals and bass guitar), Jim Podgurski (guitar), and Ray Reed (drums) played double bills on weekends with Dave Nicely and his band. When Nicely’s group was traveling, Clay’s trio would fill in at Stabiles in Highlandtown. When Nicely went to Nashville, Price and members of the Stabiles band morphed into 301 Country.
Price led 301 Country from 1968 through 1978 when he returned to his hometown. The OCMB (Organized Country Musicians of Baltimore) voted Clay as Best Vocalist in 1974, and 301 Country as Best Country Band. They were house band at Club Stabile’s (Tuesday thru Sunday’s and on weekends shared the stage with national acts the likes of Ernest Tubb, Mel Street, Moe Bandy, and many others. A 1975 lineup featured Price (vocals, guitar, harmonica), with Bobby Godsey (lead guitar), Roy Dixon (bass, vocals -toured with Conway Twitty…), Dave Taylor (piano), Eddie Durvin (drums), John Hull (fiddle -a perennial winner of National Fiddler’s Championship in Warrenton, Virginia), and Ann Marie (lead female vocalist). Other members of his band included Hoy Breedlove (guitar), Jim Buckley (bass), Bill Strader (drums)…
Clay’s band also appeared at Club Stabiles under the moniker Funky Country throughout the 1970s.
During these years 301 Country shared the stage with many of the top country stars. Clay also played bass guitar and sang with country legends Leon Ashley, Loretta Lynn, and Little Jimmy Dickens among others. Even after moving back to Carolina in the late ‘70s, Clay made many return trips to perform at Stabiles, and Stables in Westminster.
Clay made several recordings. Around 1968 he set out to record an album. A former manager lost the master tapes. In 1973 his recordings of “Statue of a Fool” and his own composition “Pin Ball Machine” were salvaged and released on Earl Dixon’s Hillbilly Heaven label out of Northern Virginia. Four additional sides were recorded in Baltimore and ultimately received airplay mostly in the southwestern states.
Podgurski went on to play in Chrome…
1973 Hillbilly Heaven Statue of a Fool / Pin Ball Machine
1975 Rock Candy 570 Kit La Bon Ton Roule (Let The Good Times Roll) / When A Heartache Begins
