Delbert McClinton – Shaky Ground

This song slips into a groove and stays there. Ever since I heard Giving It Up For Your Love I’ve liked Delbert McClinton.

He is from Lubbock, Texas…and he witnessed, and even influenced, some of the most pivotal moments in modern music history.  He was around at the birth of rock & roll, saw firsthand the raw beginnings of the British Invasion, and helped establish Austin as a music mecca in the 1970s, all before turning 40.

He became great on harmonica, and that proved McClinton’s ticket to success. He played the lead on Bruce Channel’s 1962 pop single “Hey! Baby. It went to number one. He then befriended a young John Lennon when the Beatles were opening for Channel and gave him some pointers on the instrument.

He led the house bands for bluesmen Jimmy Reed, Muddy Waters, and others in desegregated Texas clubs that served as a big influence in his career. He is respected by pretty much everyone in the music business.

In the seventies he started to play in Austin and helped establish Austin’s blues scene. This song was on his album The Jealous Kind released in 1980. It was written by Jeffrey Bowen, Alphonso Boyd, and Eddie Hazel for the Temptations in 1975.

From Wiki: McClinton has earned four Grammy Awards; 1992 Rock Performance by a Duo with Bonnie Raitt for “Good Man, Good Woman”; 2002 Contemporary Blues Album for Nothing Personal; 2006 Best Contemporary Blues Album for Cost of Living, and 2020 Best Traditional Blues Album for Tall, Dark, & Handsome. He has been nominated for eight Grammy Awards as of 2020.

Delbert McClinton: In the mid-1970s, Austin was happening. I was playing down there a lot, and we were tired of Nashville. We packed up and moved. Austin had this scene going that worked for us. People wanted to hear original music. Hippies and cowboys came out to hear the same bands. And everyone got along.

Shaky Ground

Lady Luck and four leaf clovers
Won’t ease this hurt I feel all over
My life was one special occasion
‘Til your leavin’ left me this situation

I’m standin’ on Shaky Ground
Ever since you put me down
I’m standin’ on Shaky Ground
Ever since you put me down

My car got repossessed this morning
Harder times I haven’t seen in years
Girl, you better throw me a life preserver
‘Cause I’m about to drown in my own tears

I’m standin’ on Shaky Ground
Ever since you put me down
I’m standin’ on Shaky Ground
Ever since you put me down

I’m standin’ on Shaky Ground
Ever since you put me down
I’m standin’ on Shaky Ground
Ever since you put me down

I’m standin’ on Shaky Ground
Ever since you put me down
I’m standin’ on Shaky Ground
Ever since you put me down

…

Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

35 thoughts on “Delbert McClinton – Shaky Ground”

    1. I’m sure you know Giving It Up For Your Love, Dave….that was a top ten hit in the early eighties.

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    1. I never heard the orginal version until the other night…the Temptations.
      Yea his luck went from bad to worse…the girl and then the car.

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    1. Man for me…he could have just done the harp part on Hey Baby! and I would have loved him but yea…he is great. I just saw him on an old SNL…Belushi got him on.

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      6. A song that has to be heard through headphones…but a powerpop band that had one giant hit and the singer went on to have a solo pop career…that I personally didn’t like.

        A non big hit song…but it’s epic. I basically wrote a love letter to the song….there you go…I didn’t give it away.

        How about yours?

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    1. LOL horns are good!
      The horns I like best…or style…I can name two songs…I have a funny feeling you will agree. Tenth Avenue Freeze Out and Domino…I love that style of horns.

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      1. Oh yeah!! I also love all the horn sections of Southside Johnny early stuff – most arranged by Little Steven. Its what drew me to SSJ and Steve’s early stuff

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