In the mid-1980s, Clayton and his family relocated to Denver, where his mother was living at the time. “To see this man take the best of what he had and give it to his children - I just have not seen many examples of that.” “(He was) always loving and hugging them, never cursing around them - the discipline he put himself under … it was just profound,” said Ayo Clayton. Clayton-Cole, his youngest, said he single-handedly raised her and her brother, Thomas, starting when she was only three months old.Īyo Clayton remembers his uncle as being fiercely devoted to his children, and later, his grandchildren. (Rhainy Clayton-Cole / Courtesy photo)īut Clayton also faced challenges as a single father raising four children. Claude Clayton, far right, who performed on the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder as Mau Mau, posed for a family photo in 2018 with Thomas Clayton, from left Tiye Clayton Belinda Clayton, holding Cashus Katrina Morrison, holding Isaac Clayton Yusef Morrison Laila Morrison Naima Clayton and Raani Clayton. “Music was a driving force in his life, and no matter the activity happening around him, music was on and usually the topic of conversation as well,” said Shane Faddis, a longtime friend of Clayton’s.
And in his barber shop, Clayton frequently played jazz records from artists who were relatively unknown at the time (although some later became famous). Later, in the 1980s, he joined a senior drum and bugle corps called the New York Skylines, where he learned to play the horn.
“He was always genuinely interested in how you were doing, genuine talks with you and provoking conversation with his talks.”įamily members and friends also said Claude Clayton had always been musically inclined - first, he played the bugle in the Riversiders Drum and Bugle Corps, a competitive all-Black marching band, alongside his brothers Calvin, Donald and Ernest. “He always had that spark and smile,” said Ayo Clayton.
Clayton’s nephew, Ayo Clayton, said his uncle kept that “barber shop energy” with him for the rest of his life.
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