Attorney Spotlight: Clay M. Bishop. Clay County Attorney. “That guitar was my life-line.”

To say that Clay County Attorney, Clay Bishop Jr., has lived a full life, would be a gross understatement.  And throughout all the ups and downs, Clay claims one constant beacon of light has been his ability to play and sing the guitar.  Whether it was during the time spent attaining his master's after college, trudging through law school, losing loved ones, going through divorce, medical issues, or singing in church on Sunday, it has been his love of music that has been there without fail.  Clay recalls during a particular rough stint in law school, “On those days when nothing seems to be right, I could go home to my apartment, pat my little dog on the head, pull out that guitar, and soon enough I’d realize that everything was going to be just fine.”  Some 35 years later, I think it is safe to say, Clay’s life indeed, has turned out “just fine.”

Clay was born and raised in Manchester, Kentucky, the county seat of Clay County.  He enrolled at Eastern Kentucky University in 1975, majoring in political science and history, and ultimately picking up a master’s in history. Clay was working towards his master's, teaching history classes, and bartending at night to make ends meet.  It was during these busy times that Clay really started to play the guitar.  Clay would come home from a busy day, wound up from a night behind the bar, and play guitar until he was able to fall asleep. 

            Clay’s first passion was to be a history professor, but decided to attend law school at the request of his father.  In 1978, Clay enrolled into Chase College of Law where he graduated in 1981 after 2 and ½ years.  Clay’s Father, Judge Clay Bishop, Sr., Circuit Judge of Clay County, pleaded with Clay to return to Manchester, and upon graduation and passage of the bar, Clay returned to Manchester to hang his own shingle. 

            Clay’s father, Bishop Sr., was also raised in and around Manchester.  Born in 1912, Bishop, Sr., came of age during the Great Depression.  He was involved in the coal business, served both as Railroad Commissioner and Circuit Court Clerk, and later attended law school at the University of Kentucky.  Upon completion of law school, Bishop Sr. returned to Manchester, where he was elected as County Attorney. 
As a child, Clay can recall his father involved in a contentious re-election battle and vividly remembers finding a bag stuffed with five or six sticks of dynamite in the yard while outside playing.  “My father was not a drinker, and the bootleggers in town didn’t support him.”  A barn on Bishop Sr.’s family farm was also burned down during this time.  Bishop Sr., ended up losing his bid for re-election as County Attorney.  However, he would not be perturbed, and in 1968 Bishop Sr. ran for Circuit Judge and won in the face of death threats.  He would go on to serve as Circuit Judge for over 20 years, retiring August 3^rd, 1990 on his 79^th birthday.

Clay recalls that times were tough in his early days practicing in Manchester.  He claims that with his dad as Circuit Judge, few attorneys would agree to take cases against him in Clay County.  Eventually, Clay found steady work running titles for an oil and gas company in the region that allowed him to keep the lights on.  In 1985, Clay, following in his father’s footsteps, ran for County Attorney, and won, remaining in the position ever since. 

In 1986, Clay blew-out his back and was nearly immobile for several weeks.  “The doctor ordered me to start sleeping on the floor.”  And every night when he got home from work he would be in so much pain that all he could do was lay in the floor and listen to records.  “I was hurting bad…I couldn’t hardly do anything, so I’d have my wife put on a Hank Williams record, and she’d lay the guitar on my chest, and for three hours a night I’d lie there playing and singing Hank Williams’ songs.”  That is just one example of many that Clay claims he would have not been able to get through without his love of music.  “Hank Williams and the guitar were my only pain pills.”

Today, you can catch Clay and his newly formed band, A Light to the Lost, playing churches and gatherings around Eastern Kentucky.  They practice every Wednesday night in the back of Clay’s former private law office.  His paralegal plays the drums.