The McCrarys
Encyclopedia
The McCrarys was an American
family Gospel
and R&B
group best known for the songs "You" (featuring Stevie Wonder
on harmonica), "Lost in Loving You," "Love on a Summer Night" and "Any Ol' Sunday
(later covered by Chaka Khan
).
, the family recording act consisted of siblings Linda, Alfred, Charity, Sam and Howard McCrary
. In 1972, the quintet released a gospel
album, Sunshine Day on Light Records
. When the group moved from gospel to secular music in the mid-1970s, Howard left the group to continue in gospel.
The group relocated to Los Angeles
and recorded a series of R&B
albums in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Their biggest hit was "You" (written by Alfred, Linda and Sam McCrary), which featured harmonica by Stevie Wonder
. A huge R&B single, the song also achieved significant airplay on Pop
radio stations, peaking just below the Top 40. It was featured on their debut Portrait
album, Loving is Living. On the album's cover notes, Stevie Wonder said about the group:
Their follow-up album on Portrait was the 1979 release, On the Other Side. It featured the Top 40 R&B single, "Lost in Loving You." The song was written by Alfred McCrary, Linda McCrary and Sundray Tucker
.
Howard rejoined the group for their first Capitol
release, Just for You
. While the 1980 album was not as successful as their previous releases, the song "Any Ol' Sunday
" (written by Linda and Alfred McCrary) became a hit single for Chaka Khan
on her 1981 What Cha' Gonna Do for Me album.
Howard McCrary did not appear on All Night Music, their next Capitol release. This album featured the single, "Love on a Summer Night."
. "They were doing in the early '70s what only became popular decades later."
The group continues to be revered among fans of the Northern Soul
movement and is featured on the popular British website, Soulwalking.
, the 1978 album by Cat Stevens
. The members have also appeared individually for an array of artists. For example:
Linda McCrary has worked on sessions with Michael Jackson
, Stevie Wonder
, Andrae Crouch
, Phil Driscoll
, Candi Staton
, Philip Bailey
, Emerson, Lake & Palmer
, Juice Newton
and Angela Bofill
.
Alfred McCrary has also worked with Andrae Crouch
. He's also performed with Michael McDonald
, Yolanda Adams
, Gloria Loring
, Michael Card
and Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons. Including his work with Sundray Tucker
, he's also the most prolific songwriter of the family.
Charity McCrary has collaborated with Stevie Wonder
, Gavin Christopher
, Sara Hickman
, Lee Garrett, BeBe
& CeCe Winans
and Melissa Manchester
.
Howard McCrary
has worked on projects with Quincy Jones
, Andrae Crouch
, Maria Muldaur
, Helen Baylor
, Jennifer Love Hewitt
, Chaka Khan
, Hanne Boel, the California Raisins
, and Changing Faces. He's also recorded the 1985 gospel album So Good for the A&M
-distributed Good News label.
Sam McCrary has also recorded with Michael Jackson
and Candi Staton
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
family Gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
and R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
group best known for the songs "You" (featuring Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
on harmonica), "Lost in Loving You," "Love on a Summer Night" and "Any Ol' Sunday
Any Ol' Sunday
"Any Ol' Sunday" is a song written by Alfred McCrary and Linda McCrary of the family group, The McCrarys and released on their 1980 Capitol Records album, Just for You. A cover version by Chaka Khan was released as a single the following year as "Any Old Sunday" on the Warner Brothers album, What...
(later covered by Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career...
).
History
Originally from Youngstown, OhioYoungstown, Ohio
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
, the family recording act consisted of siblings Linda, Alfred, Charity, Sam and Howard McCrary
Howard McCrary
Howard McCrary is an African-American musician, entertainer, and actor. He was nominated for Grammy award in 1986 for a gospel record.Credited for vocal performances and arrangements on the music albums of Chaka Khan, Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson, Earth, Wind & Fire and many others...
. In 1972, the quintet released a gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
album, Sunshine Day on Light Records
Light Records
Light Records was a gospel record label founded in 1966 by Ralph Carmichael as a joint venture with the Waco, Texas-based Word Records.-History:...
. When the group moved from gospel to secular music in the mid-1970s, Howard left the group to continue in gospel.
The group relocated to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and recorded a series of R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
albums in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Their biggest hit was "You" (written by Alfred, Linda and Sam McCrary), which featured harmonica by Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
. A huge R&B single, the song also achieved significant airplay on Pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
radio stations, peaking just below the Top 40. It was featured on their debut Portrait
Portrait Records
Portrait Records was a sister label of Epic Records and later of Columbia Records. Cyndi Lauper and Sade signed with Portrait, but their contracts were absorbed by Epic after that incarnation of the label was shuttered....
album, Loving is Living. On the album's cover notes, Stevie Wonder said about the group:
| "If it is your desire to experience: Lyrics of sincerity, song and harmony, family in unity, your heart being warmed by universal and intimate loves, then share with me the fulfilment of that desire by experiencing the McCrary family." |
Their follow-up album on Portrait was the 1979 release, On the Other Side. It featured the Top 40 R&B single, "Lost in Loving You." The song was written by Alfred McCrary, Linda McCrary and Sundray Tucker
Sundray Tucker
Sundray Tucker is an American singer. She is the eldest daughter of the late Ira Tucker and Louise Tucker...
.
Howard rejoined the group for their first Capitol
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
release, Just for You
Just for You (The McCrarys album)
Just for You is an R&B studio album by the Gospel group The McCrarys, which was released in 1980. The track "Any Ol' Sunday" was covered by Chaka Khan the following year under the title, "Any Old Sunday"...
. While the 1980 album was not as successful as their previous releases, the song "Any Ol' Sunday
Any Ol' Sunday
"Any Ol' Sunday" is a song written by Alfred McCrary and Linda McCrary of the family group, The McCrarys and released on their 1980 Capitol Records album, Just for You. A cover version by Chaka Khan was released as a single the following year as "Any Old Sunday" on the Warner Brothers album, What...
" (written by Linda and Alfred McCrary) became a hit single for Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career...
on her 1981 What Cha' Gonna Do for Me album.
Howard McCrary did not appear on All Night Music, their next Capitol release. This album featured the single, "Love on a Summer Night."
Influence
"They sang a fresh, hip, urban style of gospel that was years before its time," said Andrew Hamilton in his biography of the group in the All Music GuideAll Music Guide
Allmusic is a service of music guide, owned by All Media Guide. Allmusic was founded in 1991 by popular-culture archivist Michael Erlewine as a guide for consumers. Its first reference book was published the following year...
. "They were doing in the early '70s what only became popular decades later."
The group continues to be revered among fans of the Northern Soul
Northern soul
Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged from the British mod scene, initially in northern England in the late 1960s. Northern soul mainly consists of a particular style of black American soul music based on the heavy beat and fast tempo of the mid-1960s Tamla Motown sound...
movement and is featured on the popular British website, Soulwalking.
Collaborative Efforts
The McCrarys appeared as a group on Back to EarthBack to Earth (Cat Stevens album)
Back to Earth is a 1978 album released by the British singer/songwriter Cat Stevens. It was the only album he recorded using the name Cat Stevens after his conversion to Islam in December 1977...
, the 1978 album by Cat Stevens
Cat Stevens
Yusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
. The members have also appeared individually for an array of artists. For example:
Linda McCrary has worked on sessions with Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
, Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
, Andrae Crouch
Andrae Crouch
Andraé Crouch is a seven-time Grammy Award-winning American gospel singer, songwriter, arranger, recording artist, record producer, and pastor.-Early years:Born Andraé Edward Crouch in San Francisco, California....
, Phil Driscoll
Phil Driscoll
Phil Driscoll is a contemporary Christian singer, composer, and perhaps best known for his trumpet playing. He has a music and speaking ministry. Driscoll won a Best Gospel Performance Grammy Award in 1984 for a duet with Debby Boone on "Keep the Fire Burning", and has been nominated for two...
, Candi Staton
Candi Staton
Candi Staton is an American soul and gospel singer, best known for her 1970 remake of Tammy Wynette's "Stand By Your Man" and her 1976 disco hit "Young Hearts Run Free". In 2007, Staton was inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame.-Early years:...
, Philip Bailey
Philip Bailey
Philip Irvin Bailey is an American R&B, soul, gospel and funk singer, songwriter, percussionist and actor, best known as one of the longtime members of Earth, Wind & Fire. Together with Verdine White, B. David Whitworth, and Ralph Johnson he forms the heart of the current EWF line-up on...
, Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer, also known as ELP, are an English progressive rock supergroup. They found success in the 1970s and sold over forty million albums and headlined large stadium concerts. The band consists of Keith Emerson , Greg Lake and Carl Palmer...
, Juice Newton
Juice Newton
Judith Kay "Juice" Newton is an American Pop music and Country singer, songwriter and guitarist...
and Angela Bofill
Angela Bofill
Angela Bofill is an American R&B vocalist and songwriter.Bofill was born to a Cuban father and a Puerto Rican mother; one of the first Latina singers to find success in the R&B market.She performed with Ricardo Marrero & the Group and Dance Theater of Harlem chorus prior to her 1978 debut album,...
.
Alfred McCrary has also worked with Andrae Crouch
Andrae Crouch
Andraé Crouch is a seven-time Grammy Award-winning American gospel singer, songwriter, arranger, recording artist, record producer, and pastor.-Early years:Born Andraé Edward Crouch in San Francisco, California....
. He's also performed with Michael McDonald
Michael McDonald (singer)
Michael McDonald is a five-time Grammy Award winning American singer and songwriter. McDonald is known for a soulful baritone singing style and a multi-octave range. He began his career singing back-up vocals with Steely Dan...
, Yolanda Adams
Yolanda Adams
Yolanda Adams is an American Grammy- and Dove-award-winning Yolanda Adams is an American [[Grammy Awards|Grammy]]- and [[Dove Awards|Dove]]-award-winning...
, Gloria Loring
Gloria Loring
Gloria Loring is an American singer and actress.- Career :Loring began her music career at age 14, singing with a folk group known as "Those Four". Gloria Loring released her first album in 1968. It was titled "Gloria Loring, Today" on MGM Records...
, Michael Card
Michael Card
Michael Card is an American Christian singer-songwriter, musician, author, and radio host from Franklin, Tennessee. He is best known for his contributions in Contemporary Christian Music, which couple folk-style melodies and instrumentation with lyrics that stem from intensive study of the Bible...
and Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons. Including his work with Sundray Tucker
Sundray Tucker
Sundray Tucker is an American singer. She is the eldest daughter of the late Ira Tucker and Louise Tucker...
, he's also the most prolific songwriter of the family.
Charity McCrary has collaborated with Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
, Gavin Christopher
Gavin Christopher
Gavin Christopher is a R&B singer and musician, born on March 5, 1956 in Chicago, Illinois where he started out playing music at a very early age. Having been schooled by the likes of Oscar Brown Jr., Donny Hathaway and later on Curtis Mayfield, he honed his writing and singing skills and began his...
, Sara Hickman
Sara Hickman
Sara Hickman is a rock/folk/pop/children's music singer, songwriter, and artist.-Biography:Hickman was born in Jacksonville, North Carolina. She grew up in Houston, Texas, where she attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts as a vocal major. In 1986, she graduated from the...
, Lee Garrett, BeBe
BeBe Winans
Benjamin "BeBe" Winans is a gospel and R&B singer. He is a member of the noted Winans family, most members of which are also gospel artists.-The PTL Club:...
& CeCe Winans
CeCe Winans
Priscilla "CeCe" Marie Winans Love is an American Gospel singer, who has won numerous Grammy and Stellar Awards.-Early life:CeCe Winans was born in Detroit, Michigan, to David and Delores Winans, on October 8, 1964...
and Melissa Manchester
Melissa Manchester
Melissa Manchester is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Beginning in the 1970s, she has recorded generally in the adult contemporary genre. She has also appeared as an actress on television, in films, and on stage....
.
Howard McCrary
Howard McCrary
Howard McCrary is an African-American musician, entertainer, and actor. He was nominated for Grammy award in 1986 for a gospel record.Credited for vocal performances and arrangements on the music albums of Chaka Khan, Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson, Earth, Wind & Fire and many others...
has worked on projects with Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
, Andrae Crouch
Andrae Crouch
Andraé Crouch is a seven-time Grammy Award-winning American gospel singer, songwriter, arranger, recording artist, record producer, and pastor.-Early years:Born Andraé Edward Crouch in San Francisco, California....
, Maria Muldaur
Maria Muldaur
Maria Muldaur is a folk-blues singer who was part of the American folk music revival in the early 1960s...
, Helen Baylor
Helen Baylor
Helen Baylor is an American gospel singer.Baylor was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma and raised in Los Angeles, where she first performed as a secular nightclub act. She opened for Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, and B.B. King while still in her teens, and performed in the musical Hair...
, Jennifer Love Hewitt
Jennifer Love Hewitt
Jennifer Love Hewitt is an American actress, producer, television director and former singer-songwriter. Hewitt began her acting career as a child by appearing in television commercials and the Disney Channel series Kids Incorporated...
, Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career...
, Hanne Boel, the California Raisins
The California Raisins
The California Raisins were a fictional rhythm and blues musical group as well as advertising and merchandising characters composed of anthropomorphized raisins based on black caricatures. Lead vocals were sung by musician Buddy Miles...
, and Changing Faces. He's also recorded the 1985 gospel album So Good for the A&M
A&M Records
A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
-distributed Good News label.
Sam McCrary has also recorded with Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
and Candi Staton
Candi Staton
Candi Staton is an American soul and gospel singer, best known for her 1970 remake of Tammy Wynette's "Stand By Your Man" and her 1976 disco hit "Young Hearts Run Free". In 2007, Staton was inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame.-Early years:...
.
Albums
| Year | Album | Label | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
R&B Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999... |
|||
| 1972 | Sunshine Day | Light Light Records Light Records was a gospel record label founded in 1966 by Ralph Carmichael as a joint venture with the Waco, Texas-based Word Records.-History:... |
- | - |
| 1978 | Loving is Living | Portrait Portrait Records Portrait Records was a sister label of Epic Records and later of Columbia Records. Cyndi Lauper and Sade signed with Portrait, but their contracts were absorbed by Epic after that incarnation of the label was shuttered.... |
138 | 32 |
| 1979 | On the Other Side | Portrait Portrait Records Portrait Records was a sister label of Epic Records and later of Columbia Records. Cyndi Lauper and Sade signed with Portrait, but their contracts were absorbed by Epic after that incarnation of the label was shuttered.... |
- | - |
| 1980 | Just for You Just for You (The McCrarys album) Just for You is an R&B studio album by the Gospel group The McCrarys, which was released in 1980. The track "Any Ol' Sunday" was covered by Chaka Khan the following year under the title, "Any Old Sunday"... |
Capitol Capitol Records Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine... |
- | - |
| 1982 | All Night Music | Capitol Capitol Records Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine... |
- | - |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or chart position is not available | ||||