1993–94: Clay Walker Walker released his
self-titled debut album in 1993 under Stroud's production. Its first
single was "
What's It to You"; written by
Robert Ellis Orrall and
Curtis Wright, this song reached No. 1 on the
Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now
Hot Country Songs) charts and number 73 on the
Billboard Hot 100. An additional cut from the album, "White Palace," charted at number 67 on the country charts without being released as a single. It peaked at number 8 on
Top Country Albums, number 2 on
Top Heatseekers and number 52 on the
Billboard 200. Larry Powell of
Allmusic gave the album a four-and-a-half star rating, saying that Walker had a "high-energy" voice reminiscent of
Conway Twitty. Walker also received two award nominations in 1994: Favorite Country New Artist from the
American Music Awards and Top New Male Vocalist from the
Academy of Country Music, as well as a nomination in 1995 at the TNN/Music City News Country Awards for Male Star of Tomorrow.
1994–96: If I Could Make a Living and Hypnotize the Moon If I Could Make a Living was the title of Walker's second album, released in 1994.) and 1995's "
This Woman and This Man". The latter song spent two weeks at No. 1, becoming his first multi-week No. 1 hit. Walker also began touring in 1995 as a headlining act, in support of the album. Late in 1995, Walker released his third studio album, titled
Hypnotize the Moon. Although none of its singles reached No. 1,
Hypnotize the Moon produced two consecutive number 2 hits in "
Who Needs You Baby" (which Walker co-wrote) and the
title track, followed by the number 5 "
Only on Days That End in 'Y'" and the number 18 "
Bury the Shovel".
Alanna Nash of
Entertainment Weekly thought that Walker did not show a distinct musical personality, but considered the song selection strong and gave it a B+. Richard McVey II of
Country Standard Time considered it a "throwback" in sound to Walker's debut, while
USA Today said that it lacked the "verve" of that album.
1996–97: Rumor Has It Having just completed the tracks for his fourth album in 1996, Walker was playing
basketball with a friend, when he began to experience numbness, facial spasms, and double vision.
Magnetic resonance imaging revealed that he had
multiple sclerosis (MS). Walker subsequently began changing his diet and treating the disease with a daily injection of
Copaxone, sending his MS into an arrested state. He then released his fourth album, 1997's
Rumor Has It, which he co-produced with Stroud. Thom Owens of Allmusic also thought that it was formulaic, but said that Walker was "able to make even mediocre material sound good", rating it three stars out of five.
1998–2000: Greatest Hits and Live, Laugh, Love In April 1998, Walker charted with a live rendition of
Earl Thomas Conley's 1983 single "
Holding Her and Loving You". This rendition spent nine weeks on the charts and peaked at number 68. Regarding its production and promotion, the label's senior director of marketing Connie Baer said that she wanted to raise Walker's profile as an artist, as both she and Johnson thought that he did not have the same level of recognition as other artists with similar album sales and chart success. After this song came the
title track at number 11 country and number 65 pop. Erlewine gave the album three stars on Allmusic, where he wrote that it "never really distinguishes itself from its predecessors" but "has its moments." Brian Wahlert of
Country Standard Time also thought that the album was inconsistent, saying that "She's Always Right", "The Chain of Love", and the Conley cover were its strongest tracks, but that the rest "treads no new ground." Deborah Evans Price of
Billboard was more favorable, saying that it showed the energy of his live shows, and that he "cut loose" with
soul singing on "This Time Love." These two tracks — a cover version of
Elvis Presley's "
Blue Christmas" and the original song "Cowboy Christmas" — both made appearances on the country chart, reaching number 51 and number 70, respectively.
Country Standard Time critic Mike Clark considered it a transition to a more
country pop-oriented sound, describing the album as being "full of bad lyrics and overwrought production clichés." In 2002, Walker wrote and recorded a song for the
National Football League's expansion team, the
Houston Texans. Titled "Football Time in Houston," the song was used as the team's official
fight song during its inaugural season. In an interview with CMT, he said that he donated the song to the city of Houston, and that he sings "
The Star-Spangled Banner" at the team's opening game every season. Warner Bros. released a Christmas music album entitled
Christmas in September of the same year. It included a cover of
José Feliciano's "
Feliz Navidad", which Walker took to number 49 on the country chart in January 2003. This was the first single from his only RCA album, also titled
A Few Questions, which he produced with Jimmy Ritchey. Its second single, "
I Can't Sleep," Dan McIntosh gave a mostly-negative review for
Country Standard Time, where he wrote that "even his passionate singing cannot rise above this album's predictable lyrics and lame arrangements."
2005–08: Fall Walker was signed his third record deal in July 2005, this time with the
Asylum-Curb division of
Curb Records. His first single for the label, "
'Fore She Was Mama," reached a peak of number 21 in March 2007. It was the second single release from
Fall, going to number 5 on the country charts and number 55 on the Hot 100. Walker and Fender recorded this duet in early 2006; Fender died of
lung cancer in October of the same year. Engine 145 reviewer Brady Vercher rated it three stars out of five, praising Walker's vocal performance but saying that the song selection "seemed to be lacking in everything but fluff."
2009–2014: ''She Won't Be Lonely Long and Best Of Clay Walker'' Walker's second album for Asylum-Curb was first announced in June 2009. Its first single, "
She Won't Be Lonely Long", was given an official release date of December 2009, although it had already entered the country charts in late November. In advance of his ninth album, Walker released an
extended play titled ''She Won't Be Lonely Long
. The album, also titled She Won't Be Lonely Long'', was released on June 8, 2010. It includes a cover of
Alabama's 1980 single "
Feels So Right" with a backing vocal from Alabama's lead singer,
Randy Owen. "She Won't Be Lonely Long" peaked at number 4 on the country chart in mid-2010. The album's second single, "
Where Do I Go from You", was released to radio on August 2, 2010, with "
Like We Never Said Goodbye" following in late 2011. The album's fourth single, "
Jesse James" was released in 2012 under Curb's
Sidewalk Records imprint. In 2014, Curb issued a compilation titled
The Best of Clay Walker, which included singles from
Fall and ''She Won't Be Lonely Long'', along with re-recordings of songs from when he was on Giant.
2015–2019: Long Live the Cowboy In November 2015, Walker released a new single entitled "Right Now". Despite a recording hiatus, Walker continued to perform infrequently between 2015 and 2017. Much of his length between releases was due to lingering effects of multiple sclerosis. On April 13, 2018, Walker released the second single titled "Working On Me" from his then still unconfirmed album. During a live blog on his social media sites on December 21, 2018, Walker announced that he would be releasing a song titled "She Gets What She Wants" at midnight on December 24. During the live blog Walker also stated that the album would be titled
Long Live the Cowboy and it would be released in January 2019.
Long Live the Cowboy was finally released independently in January 2019, and it includes the singles previously released.
2020–2021: Texas to Tennessee In August 2020, Walker signed with
Show Dog Nashville, and announced that his first single for the label, "Need a Bar Sometimes", would be released on August 14, 2020. In February 2021, "Need a Bar Sometimes" charted at number 59 on the
Billboard Country Airplay chart, becoming Walker's first chart entry in more than 8 years. Walker's eleventh studio album,
Texas to Tennessee, was released by Show Dog Nashville in July 2021. ==Musical image and influences==