UK Edition
Clarence Reid, aka 'Blowfly', dies aged 76
Clarence Reid, a talented R&B musician and songwriter better known for his other stage persona as 'Blowfly, a rap singer of X-rated material, died on January 17 aged 76.
'Blowfly' wore a sequined superhero outfit and parodied pop songs using sexually explicit lyrics that earned him recognition as one of the earliest rappers.
His manager and drummer Tom Bowker posted on Facebook that "the genius known both by his given name and as Blowfly, the Master of Class, passed peacefully."
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Reid, who was born on February 14, 1939, in Cochran, Georgia, had success in the Sixties as a songwriter and singer. He sang with the group the Del Mires, who had Paul Kelly in their line-up for a time. He composed songs for Miami label TK Records and co-wrote hits for Betty Wright (Girls Can't Do What the Guys Do; the million-selling Clean Up Woman, Baby Sitter and Let Me Be Your Lovemaker. He also wrote the hit song Rockin' Chair for Gwen McCrae.
His other hits were Nobody but You Babe (1969), Good Old Days (1972), and Funky Party (1974). He also wrote songs for K.C. and the Sunshine Band.
But it was his stage shows as 'Blowfly' that earned him a cult following. The New York Times said of his act: "As Blowfly, Mr. Reid primarily parodied (if that’s the word) well-known pop singles by rewriting their lyrics along hypersexual and scatological lines. His discography is an unbroken sequence of adolescent crudities almost entirely unredeemed by cleverness or wit."
In 1971, Blowfly released his first album The Weird Wild World of Blowfly. Subsequent albums included Blowfly's Party in 1980, Fahrenheit 69 and Blowfly's Punk Rock Party in 2006.
Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea posted: "I had the great privilege of playing with BLOWFLY. So much joy. R.I.P. Clarence Reid."
Blowfly has reportedly prepared a final album called 77 Rusty Trombones, to be released posthumously.