Biography

After a 30 plus year career,Little Fish Records has compiled the Best of Cletus Black. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, the veteran singer-songwriter emerged in the late 1970s and released three original rock albums before calling it quits in 1984. The release in 1996 of Shades of Black, a retrospective of these albums, marked his return. The positive response to Shades of Black combined with a resurgence to his passion to create music caused Cletus to begin writing again. The result of this effort can be heard on his 1998 release Back It Up. This was followed by the 1999 self-titled Cletus Black, and newly released Black Ice.
"Cletus' songs cover a wide range of musical styles. He dodges pigeon holes with his mix of blues, rock and shades of country. Cletus delivers his stories in a vocal style that is all his own backed by some of Cleveland's finest musicians."(Cleveland Free Times 12-29-99)
He has assembled a talented live band, The Cletus Black Revue, consisting of veteran drummer Rod Reisman, bassist Pat Walsh, Kevin McCarthy (guitar, vocals), Dave Morrison (harmonica, vocals), and former McKendree Spring member Michael "Doc" Dreyfuss on electric viola.