An American musician, best known as the drummer for the Byrds from 1964 to 1968.

Clarke was born Michael James Dick in Spokane, Washington. His father was an artist and his mother was a musician. Clarke ran away from home when he was 17 years old and hitchiked to California to become a musician.

Clarke was not an accomplished musician prior to joining the Byrds and was reportedly hired more for his resemblance to Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones than his percussion skills.

During The Notorious Byrd Brothers recording sessions (1967-1968), he was fired and replaced by session drummer Jim Gordon. However, after a short stint in Hawaii as a painter, he followed Chris Hillman to the Flying Burrito Brothers, later working with Firefall.

Clarke lost a certain amount of goodwill among longtime Byrds fans when he joined Gene Clark for a series of shows billed A 20th Anniversary Celebration of the Byrds. Many clubs simply shortened the billing to the Byrds and the pair soon found themselves involved in acrimonious court battles with Roger McGuinn, David Crosby and Chris Hillman over use of the group name.

The Byrds set aside their differences long enough to appear together at their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in January 1991, where the original lineup played a few songs together.

Clarke continued to tour with a group called Byrds Celebration, but his health declined as his drinking accelerated. After a number of hospital stays, he died of liver failure in 1993 at the age of 47, a direct result of more than three decades of heavy alcohol consumption.