Clay Drayton (born August 4, 1947) – Love Is All You Need (1976)

The unsung Motown songwriter/producer wrote this upbeat funk anthem for Tata Vega.

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Clay Drayton is an unsung songwriter, arranger, musician and producer who wrote or co-wrote many songs for Motown artists in the 1970s. He is best known for arranging Diana Ross’ 1976 mega-hit “Love Hangover.”

Drayton worked for both Motown and 20th Century Fox Records during the seventies. Some of the artists he wrote songs for included David Ruffin, the Jackson 5, Tata Vega, High Inergy, G. C. Cameron, Al Wilson, Alton McClain & Destiny, Billy Davis Jr., and the Supremes.

In 1974, Drayton and songwriter Tamy Lester Smith co-wrote one of the best tracks on David Ruffin’s stellar fourth solo LP, Me 'n Rock 'n Roll Are Here to Stay. “No Matter Where” was an upbeat soul/funk jam, arranged by Paul Riser and produced by Norman Whitfield.

See our post from January on Ruffin for more background on Me 'n Rock 'n Roll Are Here to Stay.

Drayton arranged the disco classic “Love Hangover” for Diana Ross, produced by Hal Davis and co-written by songwriters Marilyn McLeod and Pamela Sawyer. It was recorded in 1975 and released in its magnificent full-length version on her self-titled Diana Ross LP in February, 1976. The single version came out the following month on March 16, 1976, and started climbing the charts. It soon hit #1 R&B and reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on May 29, 1976. The massive success of “Love Hangover” gave Ross’ career a second wind in the disco era, and she memorably performed it live when she hosted The Midnight Special weekly late night TV show on November 26, 1976.

Also that year, for the great singer Tata Vega’s 1976 debut solo LP Full Speed Ahead, Drayton wrote the upbeat funk jam “Love Is All You Need.” The album was produced by Vega’s manager Winston Monseque.

#soul #funk #disco #Motown #ClayDrayton