Sanford Clark, a renowned country-western singer, was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but his family relocated to Phoenix, Arizona, when he was just nine years old. Clark's early beginnings in the music scene date back to the early 1950s, when he started performing in the Phoenix area.
Prior to embarking on a full-time music career, Clark enlisted in the Air Force and formed a band that entertained troops in the South Pacific and Hawaii during his hitch. Upon his discharge, Clark returned to Phoenix, where he continued to hone his craft and pursue his passion for singing.
Clark's music career received a significant boost when he met singer/songwriter/producer Lee Hazlewood, who was then a disc jockey on a Phoenix radio station. Hazlewood wrote a song for Clark, titled "The Fool," which was recorded in 1956 and released on MCI Records. The song began to gain popularity, and when a Philadelphia DJ mentioned it to executives at Dot Records, they picked up the song for national distribution.
It didn't take long for "The Fool" to become a hit, reaching number 14 on the Country Singles chart, number 5 on the Black Singles chart, and number 7 on the Billboard Top 100 chart. Clark went on tour to further promote the song and opened for notable acts such as Ray Price and Roy Orbison.
Clark's follow-up record, "The Cheat," released in 1957, was also a hit, although to a lesser extent than "The Fool." However, Clark's relationship with Dot Records eventually came to an end due to a dispute with the label's owner. He then signed with Jamie Records in 1958 and recorded "Son of a Gun," which was also a hit and credited by The Rolling Stones' Keith Richards as the first song he ever performed with the band.
Although Clark eventually left the music business to pursue a career in construction, he did start his own record label, Desert Sun Records, and recorded some songs on it.
