By the late 1980s, Clarke's health had declined from a lifetime of hard drinking, resulting in a number of hospital stays. He died of liver failure at the age of 47 at his Treasure Island, Florida, condominium on December 19, 1993. Billy Moore, who had organized a New Year's Eve concert at a resort where Clarke and his band were scheduled to perform, stated that at the time of his death, Clarke had recently learned that he had become terminally ill due to his liver problems.