Jay Clark and the Elephant In the Room

CLUBLAND PARADISE: CAROUSEL LOUNGE 1963-

For decades the only public schools for the blind in Texas- one for whites and one for blacks- were in the state capital, and since playing music is one of the vocations where sight is not required, musical training was a focus. Some notable blind musicians have passed through Austin, including gospel pioneer Arizona Dranes, country music great Leon Payne, “King of the Whistlers” Fred Lowery, and Pat McGarrett’s daughter Elizabeth, who wrote the state song of New Mexico.

Some stayed here and made a huge impact. Singer-pianist Bobby Doyle was signed to Columbia and eventually overshadowed, but never forgotten, by his high-harmonizing bass player Kenny Rogers. Blind George McLain stomped out country piano blues in the ‘70s like he was part Ray Charles and part George Jones. Sid Fisher, whose Hammond organ virtuosity earned him a daily 11 am slot on KVET in the ‘40s, played all over town, from swanky lounges to the Tally-Ho Waffle Shop on 19th St. and San Antonio.

Then there was Jay Clark, the blind one-man swing band who’d been flying people to the moon at the Carousel Lounge for almost 30 years before being discovered by whimsical hipsters and mad trippers in the ‘90s. Wonder if Chrysta Bell (ex-8 1/2 Souvenirs) took her friend and collaborator David Lynch to the club. How could she not?

Jay Clark the original Swingster

Remember the first time you walked into the Carousel- it doesn’t matter the year- and wondered why the first time took so long? The CL was cool without having to let everyone know about it. But eventually everyone did.

Even more than the club's pink elephants and circus décor, Clark's effervescent arrangements of timeless classics defined the Carousel's surreal personality. The eccentric living jukebox retired in 1998 after a stroke limited his ability. He passed away in 2006 at age 86.

His was a full life. "I've never known a finer man than Jay Clark," said Stella Boes, the dancing bartender at the Carousel for most of Clark’s run, who passed away the year after he did, at age 80. "There was never a 'why me?' or an ounce of self-pity. He was just so happy to be playing music."

Clark was born with sight, but he lost both his eyes in separate mishaps, the first at age 3 and the other at 11. A native of McKinney, John W. "Jay" Clark moved to Austin in 1931 to attend the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. It was there that his passion for music was born.

Clark played saxophone, clarinet and keyboards in area big bands in the '40s and early '50s, especially Cecil Hogan and the Swingsters (and other names), which featured local WWII hero Hogan on guitar, backed by blind musicians Clark, Sid Fisher and clarinetist Hub Sutter. Jay had three kids to support so he ran concession stands at Camp Mabry and in the basement of the Austin American-Statesman for several years before pursuing music full time.

The Soulphonics are one of the newer bands that call the Caro home.

The Carousel opened on East 52nd Street in 1963, the year another Carousel Club, in Dallas, had become notorious for its owner Jack Ruby. Clark’s band the Velvetones were competitors at the Playboy Lounge on E. 53 1/3 St., and after that club burned down in ‘67, the Velvetones were hired by the Carousel to play seven nights a week. It was hard keeping the trio fully engaged on that grind- members were always dropping out- so Clark bought a four track recorder and dubbed in the sax and clarinet parts, then played along on his organ with programmed beats. Jay was a one-man swing band for older couples who wanted to dance to the music of Frank Sinatra and Benny Goodman in a simple setting. It didn’t hurt that a senior citizen apartment complex was two blocks away. Owned by Cecil Meier, the Carousel hit a rough patch in the late '70s and early '80s, when the original clientele dwindled and was not replaced.

After Meier passed away, daughter Nicki Mebane took over and hired a couple of UT co-eds as bartenders. They told their friends about this crazy circus bar (there used to be an elephant on the roof) and the kids discovered the “secret” hot spot. The Butthole Surfers/ Ministry crowd was next, mesmerized by Clark’s quirky sound.

"I loved that guy," said King Coffey of the Surfers. "He could play anything: rock, country, soul, blues, show tunes; his knowledge was deep. To this day, whenever I hear 'From a Jack to a King' or 'Kansas City,' I think of Jay Clark, not Ned Miller or Fats Domino."

The Carousel is still rocking, but with newer bands, mainly of the garage variety. But it doesn’t really matter who’s playing.