Tommy McClennan (January 4, 1905 – May 9, 1961) was an American Delta blues singer and guitarist.
Life and career
McClennan was born in Durant, Mississippi, and grew up in the town. through 1942. He regularly played with his friend Robert Petway. His voice is heard in the background on Petway's recording of "Boogie Woogie Woman" (1942).
Several of his songs have been covered by other musicians, including "Cross Cut Saw Blues" (covered by Albert King) and "My Baby's Gone" (Moon Mullican). Bob Dylan covered Tommy McClennan's track, "Highway 51" (which was written by Curtis Jones), on his self-titled debut album in 1962. McClennan's "I'm a Guitar King" was included in the 1959 collection The Country Blues, issued by Folkways Records.
McClennan died of bronchopneumonia in Chicago, Illinois, on May 9, 1961. In 2015 the Killer Blues Headstone Project placed a headstone for Tommy McClennan at Mt. Glenwood cemetery in Thornton, Illinois.
Citation
"He had a different style of playing a guitar", Big Bill Broonzy said. "You just make the chords and change when you feel like changing"