Blues Harmonica Player Dies At Age 45

William Clarke, a factory worker turned blues harmonica player who combined hot Chicago licks with West Coast swing, has died at age 45.

Clarke died in a Fresno, Calif., hospital Saturday after surgery for a bleeding ulcer. He had collapsed the day before in his hotel room shower.

Clarke released five self-produced albums between 1978 and 1988 and also was a sideman on nearly a dozen albums.