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Clay Walker
Live, Laugh, Love

From the moment you hear the opening notes of Clay Walker's Live, Laugh, Love you can hear that something is different. There is an edge, a sparkle. Most of all, Walker's voice is the star of the show: up front, powerful and real.

"With this album I thought, 'I'm not going to do what everybody thinks I ought to do, I'm just going to sing," he says. "I wanted it to sound like you were in the room with me and my acoustic guitar, with the other instruments complementing that."

Walker has attained that intimate, live sound with the help of producer Doug Johnson. Live, Laugh, Love marks the first time the two have collaborated. "I had heard a few records that Doug had done, and I think he gets the best vocal sound. And to me, that is the most important thing in a record. I like to feel what the person is singing, because I think what really delivers to people is the emotion.

"This is my fifth studio album, and I have had to go full circle, back around to what we had accomplished on the first album," he continues. "I really wanted to make an album that was a complete compilation, not just moving in one single direction." That focus is evident in everything from the arrangements to the song selection. Clay took special care in finding compelling songs for his latest CD, which range from the slow groove of "She's Always Right" and the joyous fun of "Live, Laugh, Love" to his powerful "Once In A Lifetime Love." Other impressive songs include his cover of "Holding Her and Loving You," the heart-tugging tale "Chain of Love" and the 'cowboy rock and roll' of "Cold Hearted."

"If you go into a bar in Texas, you'll see people dancing to George Strait, but you'll see the same cowboys dancing to 'Old Time Rock and Roll,"' he says. When I was playing those bars, I lived from paycheck to paycheck, and I knew that if those people weren't dancing, I wasn't going to get paid. My roots are about as deep as you can go m country, but at the same time I like to let my hair down a little bit and do something like 'Cold-Hearted."'

Though it hasn't been consistently captured on record before, Walker has always displayed that devil-may-care attitude on stage, which is one of the reasons his shows have been so popular. In the six years he's been on the scene, Walker has become a mainstay of the format, ranked as one of the country's top-ten touring acts. Still, he's at a loss to explain the frenzy that sometimes accompanies his performances--especiaIly from members of the female sex. "I'm a romantic, so I like love songs. I guess there are a lot of people out there that are in love or want to be in love," he says with a sheepish grin. "I think, in the end, people react to the one thing that you don't have to sell: Fun."

Clay's been entertaining for as long as he can remember. He grew up in Beaumont, Texas in a musical family, and began playing guitar at age 9. By the time he was a teen, he was already playing honky tonks. At age 16, he got his first taste of radio airplay when he took a tape of a song he had written by the local radio station, KAYD. "I had just gotten my driver's license, and I drove to the station at 2 a.m. and handed the D.J. my tape. Unfortunately, it wasn't formatted to fit their equipment. I was heart broken, but what I didn't realize is that they were just trying to blow me off!" he laughs. But Walker didn't give up, coming back a week later with the tape properly formatted. "They took it, but they told me they might never play it, and I was crushed. But as I was driving away, they played it. I couldn't believe it! I had to pull my truck over. I have to say, at that point, there was no doubt what I was going to do With my life."

Walker kept at it, building a following in bars in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and New Mexico. He signed to Giant in 1993, and released his debut album that year. Since then he's sold over six million albums and scored numerous hits including nine #1 singles. Still, he says he's most proud of his accomplishments closer to home-his wife Lori and their two daughters, MaClay and Skylor.

"To me, kids are the most important thing in our lives. It's not the money or material things you leave your kids-what's most important is what we leave in their hearts." Walker puts his efforts where his heart is, quietly donating time and money to children's causes like the Make A Wish Foundation. His work with this and other organizations has become even more poignant since he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1996.

Though the initial diagnosis shook him up, three years later he says he looks on it as more of a blessing. "It was scary at first, because it was the first time in my life I felt out of control," he says. "But at this point, the MS doesn't dictate my life. It sounds strange, but I think it has actually enhanced my life. It has put a new meaning on the word "living" for me. Because before I was just existing. This has made me live. I'm happy everyday I wake up, and I'm thankful that I have legs, arms and a voice and that I can use them. Every time I sign autographs, I'm thankful that I have the use of my hands.

"People always ask me about having MS and I'm almost embarrassed to answer the questions because I feel healthy. I don't feel like I deserve any attention for it because there are so many people who have so many worse things wrong with them--cancer, blood diseases and brain tumors--my little thing is like a scratch on the arm."

Through it all, clay kept returning to the one place he felt completely at home: the stage. "Performing is so much in my blood, and I probably couldn't breathe without it," he says honestly. "When I'm up there, it's total therapy. When I get on stage, it really releases a lot of emotions. I love singing, because I'm actually living the songs while I'm singing them.

"One of the things that I'm appreciative of is having the gift of music, and being able to perform in front of a lot of people. The last thing I want to do is depress somebody," he laughs. "If it will bring a smile, then I want to be there. I want to bring happiness to people's lives when I come to their towns." Live, Laugh, Love is sure to bring smiles to the faces of longtime fans and new converts alike.

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