Clarence Paul

Clarence Otto Pauling (March 19, 1928 – May 6, 1995),^[1] better known as Clarence Paul, was a songwriter and record producer for Detroit's Motown Records.

He was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States,^[1] and was the brother of the "5" Royales guitarist/songwriter, Lowman Pauling Jr. Their father was a coal miner in Bluefield, West Virginia, where the brothers listened to country music on the town's only radio station. In Winston-Salem, the brothers formed the gospel group, the Royal Sons Quintet, later to become the "5" Royales. Paul dropped the "ing" from his last name after moving to Detroit, Michigan, in the 1950s, so he would not to be confused with his older brother.

In 1958, he had one of his first major songwriting credits. He co-wrote and recorded "I Need Your Lovin'" for the Hanover label. It was covered less than a year later, in 1959, and became a #14 R&B hit for Roy Hamilton.

At Motown, he gained fame as Stevie Wonder's mentor and main producer, during Wonder's teenage years. He also sang backup vocals on Wonder's top-ten version of Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind". Paul also produced early Temptations records and wrote/co-wrote such hits as "Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)" originally for Wonder, and later given to Aretha Franklin who made it a #1 hit, and "Hitch Hike" for Marvin Gaye. Paul relocated from Detroit to Los Angeles in the early 1970s.

Paul retired to Las Vegas, Nevada. He died of complications of heart disease and diabetes, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California on May 6, 1995, at age 67.^[1]

References

External links

• The Clarence Paul Page