Clayton-Thomas began his music career in the early 1960s, working the clubs on Toronto's Yonge Street, where he discovered his love of singing and playing the blues. Before moving to New York City in 1967, Clayton-Thomas fronted a couple of local bands, first The Shays and then The Bossmen, one of the earliest rock bands with significant jazz influences. But the real success came only a few difficult years later when he joined Blood, Sweat & Tears.
In 1964 Clayton-Thomas and The Shays recorded a rendition of John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom". This led to a New York engagement for the Shays on NBC-TV's Hullabaloo at the invitation of its host, Paul Anka. Abandoning the bars on the strip, Clayton-Thomas began performing in Yorkville Village's coffeehouses. He immersed himself in the local jazz & blues scene dominated by the likes of John Lee Hooker, Joe Williams, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, Lenny Breau, Oscar Peterson, and Moe Koffman. Clayton-Thomas made his mark more forcibly with his next band, The Bossmen, one of the first rock bands anywhere to include jazz musicians. In 1966 he wrote and performed the R&B-driven anti-war song "Brainwashed", which became a major Canadian hit, peaking at No. 11 on the national RPM chart.
Clayton-Thomas's first album with the band, Blood, Sweat & Tears (which was released in December 1968) – despite its eponymous title, it was actually the band's second album – sold ten million copies worldwide. The record topped the Billboard album chart for seven weeks and charted for 109 weeks. It won five Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year and Best Performance by a Male Vocalist. It featured three hit singles, "You've Made Me So Very Happy", "Spinning Wheel", and "And When I Die" (on the Hot 100, each peaked at No. 2 and lasted 13 weeks) as well as a memorable rendition of Billie Holiday's "God Bless The Child".[1]
With Clayton-Thomas fronting the band, BS&T continued with a string of hit albums, including Blood, Sweat & Tears 3 which featured Carole King's "Hi-De-Ho" and Clayton-Thomas's "Lucretia MacEvil", and Blood, Sweat & Tears 4, which yielded another Clayton-Thomas-penned hit single, "Go Down Gamblin'" and "Lisa Listen to Me".
In 1972 Thomas released his first Columbia solo album after BS&T, simply titled "David Clayton Thomas". In 1973 the second solo album Tequila Sunrise was issued by Columbia. In 1974 he issued the Harmony Junction album on RCA. In 1975 Thomas returned to front Blood Sweat & Tears again on the Columbia albums New City and, in 1976, More Than Ever. In 1977 they released Brand New Day on the ABC label. In 1978 Thomas issued another solo album on ABC, titled simply Clayton. In 1980 BS&T issued the MCA album Nuclear Blues, which also included Thomas. Later in the decade Columbia issued the double live BS&T album Live And Improvised again with Thomas. In 2004, Clayton-Thomas left New York for Toronto and launched an All-Star 10-piece band. Since then, he has toured and recorded almost a dozen albums under his own name.
Hey Hey Hey
David Clayton-Thomas & The Shays Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm gonna miss you so much if you go.
And, Hey, Girl! I tell you no lie,
Something deep inside of me's going to die,
if you say so long, if this is goodbye. Oh!
Hey, Girl! This can't be true,
How am I supposed to exist without you?
What's gonna happen to me when you're gone.
How will I live. How can I go on.
How can I go on? Hey, Girl!
Hey, Girl! Now sit yourself down,
I'm not ashamed to get down on the ground,
Don't go away. Hey, Girl!
Don't go away. Hey, Girl!
The song "Hey Hey Hey" by David Clayton-Thomas & The Shays is a ballad of a man pleading with his lover not to leave him. The lyrics contain an emotional plea, as the singer expresses that he will miss his lover deeply if she decides to leave him. Throughout the song, he admits to his vulnerability and the extent of his love for her. The lines "Something deep inside of me's going to die, if you say so long, if this is goodbye" indicates that he cannot imagine life without her and that he will lose a part of himself if she leaves. He also goes on to question how he will exist without her and how he will be able to go on with his life.
The song's overall tone and lyrics suggest that the singer is in a vulnerable position emotionally, and that he cannot imagine his life without his lover. The use of repetition on the words "Hey, Girl" throughout the song emphasizes his need for her and his fear of losing her. The final lines, "Don't go away. Hey, Girl! Don't go away" are a final pleading for her to stay with him. The song captures the often-overwhelming feeling of heartbreak and loss, and the fear that comes with the possibility of losing someone we love deeply.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey, Girl! I want you to know, I'm gonna miss you so much if you go.
The singer addresses their love interest and expresses their fear of losing them, emphasizing how much their absence will be missed.
And, Hey, Girl! I tell you no lie, Something deep inside of me's going to die, if you say so long, if this is goodbye. Oh!
The singer is earnestly telling their love interest that they will be deeply affected as if something inside of them will die if their love interest leaves them.
Hey, Girl! This can't be true, How am I supposed to exist without you? And, Hey, Girl! Now don't put me on, What's gonna happen to me when you're gone. How will I live. How can I go on. How can I go on? Hey, Girl!
The singer is unable to contemplate life without their love interest, questioning how they will be able to go on if they leave.
Hey, Girl! Now sit yourself down, I'm not ashamed to get down on the ground, Don't go away. Hey, Girl! Don't go away. Hey, Girl!
The artist is pleading for their love interest not to leave, willing to stoop down and get on the ground, begging them not to go.
Lyrics © Ultra Tunes, Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: CHRISTOPHER ANDREW CARRABBA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Tonya Johnson
I love David Clayton Thomas! One of the greatest singers ever!
Vee Bee
DCT had the greatest and unique singing voice. Loved him in BS&Ts.
🙏🏾
Frank Andrews
This is from NBC's the "Hullaballoo" show, New York City, April 1965. DCT's vocals are live, though the music track is from the studio record. Watched this video back in the mid-80s on a CBC documentary titled "Heart of Gold". Rare footage then that could only be acquired through private collecting sources, but thankfully now widely accessible through this medium. Duff Roman, the band's manager and producer, was a friend of Norm Perry, a local promoter in Ottawa, himself a family friend of Paul Anka (also from Ottawa). It was through this connection that DCT and the Shays were booked on "Hullaballoo" as Anka was a regular host of the program. Scott Richards on bass; Scott worked for RCA and MCA Records Canada prior to launching his own "Freedom Records" label in the 80's.
Diane Martin
Do you know the other band member names in this video? I knew Scott well, he was my Manager for many years, may he R.I.P., and I knew Rick Cates, one of DCT’s guitar players when RG was in his teens.
Frank Andrews
@Diane Martin Hello Diane. Fred Keelor on guitar, Gord Fleming on organ (I believe Richie replaced him), John Wetherell on drums.
Diane Martin
@Frank Andrews yes, he did, and then went on to play rhythm guitar. He passed away 25 years ago... Heart attack. We'd been together 14 years.
Frank Andrews
@Diane Martin I am sad to hear of that Diane. If I recall, I never actually spoke with Scott, though I still have a short note he included with an assortment of ephemera he was kind to share with a young kid then working one of his first radio jobs in Regina. My GM there was an acquaintance of Scott from his days @CHUM years before. After seeing this video for the first time I became interested in learning something about the band; the next thing I knew my GM told me he knew the bass player. I made a cold call to his house one day and spoke at length with his wife, who responded with something like "...Scott will be thrilled to know somebody called about the Shays - nobody's asked about the group in 20 years" lol. Next thing I knew there was an envelope on my desk @CJME. I believe his son Eric was an actor in a CTV family show. I have recently learned there might be a formal reissue of the Shays/Roman Records catalog sometime this year. This would be a delightful surprise given there remains such a stark poverty of information and preservation of so many Canadian groups of this vintage. There are a number of abbreviated stories and bios but those personal recollections and stories are still missing from its members. Canada has so many incredible milestones to celebrate. I think only now are we finally "getting it". This has been a real pleasure Diane. Thank you for reaching out.
Diane Martin
@Frank Andrews yes, Eric was in The Campbell's, and played one of the sons, I believe John? Unfortunately, Eric passed in 2005.... Kidney disease.... He was just 33. Thanks for replying, brought back some memories 😊
Muffs 55mercury
I'm not from Canada and never heard this until 2004 but from then on I was hooked on it. Fantastic tune!!!!!!
Randall Kennedy
Check "Brainwashed"You will dig it.