- Gary Clark Jr. is an R&B star who has played alongside some of the music industry’s biggest names
- He has three children with his wife of seven years
- Gary Clark Jr. has performed on ‘SNL’ and is included in a Super Bowl 2023 commercial
It’s the ultimate honor: a spot in a Super Bowl commercial! Blues musician Gary Clark Jr. appears in Workday’s first-ever Super Bowl commercial alongside Joan Jett, Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Idol, and others as they attempt to teach people the best way to use the phrase, “You’re a rockstar!” Texan-born Gary, 38, burst his way onto the jazz scene with his 2011 debut EP, Bright Lights, which became the first EP to ever score a leading review in Rolling Stone, per his website.
Since then, Gary has been modernizing the R&B genre with his musical prowess. In 2012, his 2012 Blak and Blu album earned him a Grammy Award in the Best Traditional R&B Performance category for the track “Please Come Home.” Gary even branched out with his politically charged 2019 album, This Land. Read on to learn more about the impressive musician.
1. Gary Clark Jr. Performed On ‘Saturday Night Live
Gary made his Saturday Night Live debut as a musical guest on Feb. 16, 2019 and performed his single “This Land” ahead of the release of the This Land album. Gary opened up about how the 2016 presidential election influenced his album in a Feb. 2019 interview with Billboard. “At the time when I was writing this album, it was right around the election, so late 2016. It makes sense for me to pay attention to what kind of world is going on around me so I can tell my [two young] children what’s happening in it so we can figure out how to maneuver through this thing and make it the best that we can,” he noted.
Plus, he said a racist Texan neighbor “right in the middle of Trump country” also inspired his project in an interview with NPR. Giving the outlet more insight, he claimed his neighbor refused to believe he owned his house and repeatedly demanded to speak to the owner of the home. “There’s no way you can live here,” the neighbor allegedly told him.
2. Gary Has Performed Alongside Some Of The Biggest Stars
Gary has shared the stage with Eric Clapton, B. B. King, the Rolling Stones, and more. Gary recalled looking up to Eric Clapton, 77, B.B. King, and more in a 2017 interview with UPROXX. “22 years ago, I was sitting watching TV. It was Austin City Limits with Eric Clapton and Jimmie Vaughan, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Bonnie Raitt, Robert Cray, doing a tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan. I was sitting there with my guitar and I was like ‘I want to do that one day,’” he remembered. “To be here right where I’m at, playing these shows with [Eric] and Jimmie, I feel like this sense of accomplishment, but I also feel like I’m just getting started. For them to be so cool and welcome me in is like, I feel like the new kid so I’m trying to be cool and not say anything stupid.”
In terms of what it’s like playing with Eric, an English rock and blues artist, Gary said he follows his lead. “Honestly, I just kind of, I just fall back and I let him take control. He’s the captain, you know what I mean?” he asked.
Gary also performs the guitar solo on Childish Gambino’s 2016 song “The Night Me and Your Mama Met” from his album Awaken. Gary praised Gambino as praises Gambino as “the most forward-thinking artist of our time” in a 2017 interview with Roling Stone.
3. Gary Looks Up To Contemporary Artists
As mentioned earlier, Gary has dipped his toes into various genres of music, which allows him to be influenced by a range of musicians. “I like what what Big K.R.I.T. does. J. Cole. I like rapper producers. I like guys who can put the whole thing together and have a full-on vision and present that,” he told UPROXX. He also said he’s a fan of Kanye West, 45. “I like how he’s another one who pushes the boundaries, you know what I mean? ‘What’s that guy doing?’ The next thing you know people are like… it worked!”
He added, “Jay-Z is just swag, you know what I mean? Just attitude. Flavor. Nas. Let’s see, Run the Jewels, of course. Kendrick [Lamar], I think whatever is going on with him, we’ve just reached the surface of what he’s going to do, not even just as a musician but as a dude.”
4. Gary’s Work Has Been Featured In Film And TV
and his band played in an episode of Friday Night Lights in 2010. His songs were also featured in movies like Trouble with the Curve and Deepwater Horizon. Gary has dabbled in acting, too, as he starred in the 2007 film, Honeydripper. He also appeared in 2022’s Elvis as Arthur ‘Big Boy’ Crudup.
5. Gary Clark Is Married With Children
Gary Clark Jr. and his Australian-born supermodel wife Nicole Trunfio walked down the aisle in 2016 at the Colony Palms Hotel in Palm Springs, Calif. after dating for four years. At the time, they shared a 15-month-old son named Zion. Since then, they have welcomed two more kids: daughter Gia “Gigi” Leblane Clark, 5, and daughter Ella Wolf Clark, 2.
As seen above, Nicole announced the arrival of their third baby together on Instagram with a sweet black and white photo of her hand holding onto her newborn’s. “So in love with you … 02.21.2020 … 8.1lbs of yummy … welcome to this world my baby girl … your mummy and daddy and brother and sister love you so so so so much already. You are MAGIC … Thank you @garyclarkjr for this gift …. #luckynumber3,” she wrote in the caption.
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