Discography
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The McCrarys | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | The McCrary |
| Origin | Youngstown, Ohio, United States |
| Genres | Gospel, R&B, soul, disco |
| Years active | 1970s–2000's |
| Labels | Light Portrait Capitol |
| Past members | Linda McCrary Alfred McCrary Sam McCrary Charity McCrary Howard McCrary (1972-1974, 1979-1980) |
The McCrarys are 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). [1] In 2014, they founded The McCrary Foundation, a nonprofit to help those in need through the healing powers of music. [2]
Originally from Youngstown, Ohio, 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 released their first album "Emerge" on Cat's Eye records in 1973, featuring the title song along with Kung Fu, Be A Father To Your Son, 6 other McCrary tunes and You've Got A Friend.
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:
| "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 fulfillment 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. [1] [5]
Howard rejoined the group for their first Capitol release, Just for You . [6] 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."
In 2014, The McCrary's founded The McCrary Foundation Choir. Their first single "Let There Be Peace" was released on October 11, 2016.
"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 Guide. "They were doing in the early '70s what only became popular decades later." [1]
The group continues to be revered among fans of the Northern Soul movement and is featured on the popular British website, Soulwalking. [4]
The McCrarys appeared as a group on Back to Earth , 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, Sandra Crouch, Phil Driscoll, Keith Green, Candi Staton, Larnelle Harris, Kristle Murden, Philip Bailey, Danniebelle Hall, Becky Fender, Tommy Coomes, Bob Bailey (singer), Ron Kenoly, Scott V. Smith, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Juice Newton and Angela Bofill. [7]
Alfred McCrary has also worked with Andrae Crouch and on sessions with Larnelle Harris. 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. [8]
Charity McCrary has collaborated with Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Andrae Crouch, Sandra Crouch, Larnelle Harris, Gavin Christopher, Chaka Khan, Cat Stevens, Ozzy Osbourne, Michael McDonald, Patrick Henderson, Marlo Henderson, Wayne Henderson, Trevor Lawrence, Philip Bailey, Keith Green, Danniebelle Hall, Kristle Murden, Bob Bailey (singer), Sara Hickman, Lee Garrett, BeBe & CeCe Winans and Melissa Manchester. [9]
Howard McCrary has worked on projects with Quincy Jones, Andrae Crouch, Maria Muldaur, Helen Baylor, Edwin Hawkins, Keith Green, Kristle Murden, Larnelle Harris, Danniebelle Hall, Scott V. Smith, Becky Fender, Bob Bailey (singer), Jennifer Love Hewitt, Chaka Khan, Hanne Boel, the California Raisins, and Changing Faces. He also released the 1985 gospel album, So Good, for the A&M-distributed Good News label. [4] [10]
Sam McCrary has also recorded with Andrae Crouch, Michael Jackson, Larnelle Harris, and Candi Staton. [11]
| | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (March 2013) |
| Year | Label | Album | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | R&B | |||
| 1972 | Light | Sunshine Day | - | - |
| 1973 | Cats Eye | Emerge | - | - |
| 1978 | Portrait | Loving is Living [1] | 138 | 32 |
| 1979 | Portrait | On the Other Side | - | - |
| 1980 | Capitol | Just for You | - | - |
| 1982 | Capitol | All Night Music | - | - |
| 2016 | IMG | A Very McCrary Christmas | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or chart position is not available | ||||
The 28th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 25, 1986, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year, 1985. The night's big winner was USA For Africa's "We Are The World", which won four awards, including Song of the Year which went to Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie. It marked the first time in their respective careers that they received the Song of the Year Award. For Richie, it was his sixth attempt in eight years. The other three awards for the latter single were given to the song's producer, Quincy Jones.
The 27th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 26, 1985, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, and were broadcast live in the United States by CBS. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1984.
The 26th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 28, 1984, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, and were broadcast live on American television. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1983. Michael Jackson, who had been recovering from scalp burns sustained due to an accident that occurred during the filming of a Pepsi commercial, won a record eight awards during the show. It is notable for garnering the largest Grammy Award television audience ever with 51.67 million viewers.
Andraé Edward Crouch was an American gospel singer, songwriter, arranger, record producer and pastor. Referred to as "the father of modern gospel music" by contemporary Christian and gospel music professionals, Crouch was known for his compositions "The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power", "My Tribute " and "Soon and Very Soon". He collaborated on some of his recordings with famous and popular artists such as Stevie Wonder, El DeBarge, Philip Bailey, Chaka Khan, and Sheila E., as well as the vocal group Take 6, and many popular artists covered his material, including Bob Dylan, Barbara Mandrell, Paul Simon, Elvis Presley and Little Richard. In the 1980s and 1990s, he was known as the "go-to" producer for superstars who sought a gospel choir sound in their recordings; he appeared on a number of recordings, including Michael Jackson's "Man In the Mirror", Madonna's "Like a Prayer", and "The Power", a duet between Elton John and Little Richard. Crouch was noted for his talent of incorporating contemporary secular music styles into the gospel music he grew up with. His efforts in this area helped pave the way for early American contemporary Christian music during the 1960s and 1970s.
Genius & Friends is a 2005 studio album by rhythm and blues singer Ray Charles, consisting of previously unreleased duets between Ray and artists recorded between 1997 and 2005. The contributing artists were personally chosen by Ray Charles.
Howard McCrary is an American musician, entertainer, and actor. He was nominated for Grammy Award in 1986 for a gospel record entitled, So Good. He has also been credited for vocal performances and arrangements on the albums of Chaka Khan, Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson, Earth, Wind & Fire, Edwin Hawkins, Kristle Murden, Danniebelle Hall, and many others. He also appears in the first gospel album The Chimes of the Chung Brothers in Hong Kong, acting as arranger, pianist and singer in the song "Soul Seranade, Part II".
Sundray Tucker is an American singer. She is the eldest daughter of the late Ira Tucker and Louise Tucker. Her sister is Lynda Laurence, once a member of the Supremes, and her brother is Ira Tucker Jr.
"Hallelujah!" is a 1992 song from Handel's Messiah: A Soulful Celebration, a Grammy award winning Reprise Records concept album. The song is a soulful re-interpretation of the "Hallelujah" chorus from Messiah, George Frideric Handel's well-known oratorio from 1741. It is performed by a choir of all-star gospel, contemporary Christian, R&B and jazz singers, along with several actors. The song was arranged and produced by Take 6 alumnus Mervyn Warren, and conducted by Quincy Jones. Handel's Messiah: A Soulful Celebration won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album in 1992, as well as a Dove Award for Contemporary Gospel Album of the Year.
Light Records is a gospel record label founded in 1966 by Ralph Carmichael, as a joint venture with the Waco, Texas-based Word Records. It is a subsidiary of the MNRK Music Group.
Danniebelle Hall, was an American gospel musician, recording artist, songwriter.
Táta Vega is an American vocalist, whose career spans theater, film, and a variety of musical genres.
Epiphany: The Best of Chaka Khan, Vol. 1 is a compilation album of recordings by American R&B/funk singer Chaka Khan, first released on the Warner Bros. Records label in 1996. Although the compilation, which reached #22 on Billboard's R&B chart and #84 on Pop, was given the "Vol. 1" tag, it remains without a sequel to date.
I'll Be Thinking of You is a 1979 Gospel album by Andraé Crouch, released on the Elektra and Light record labels. The album won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album.
Atle Bakken, is a composer, performer and producer from Norway, known on both sides of the Atlantic, through his work with Stevie Wonder, Sting, Diana Ross, Andy Summers, Snoop Dogg, Andraé Crouch and scoring credits such as the Fox/HBO award-winning TV comedy series Martin, starring Martin Lawrence.
This is a discography for contemporary gospel singer Andraé Crouch.
"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 Cha' Gonna Do for Me. Chaka Khan's version was a hit on Billboard's R&B chart.
Just for You is an R&B studio album by the Gospel group The McCrarys, which was released in 1980.
Pattie Howard is an American gospel and R&B Singer-Songwriter, Producer, Composer and Vocal Arranger. She is a Grammy nominated music industry veteran who has released two albums with major record labels, RCA Records and Light Records. Howard, who owns her own full service entertainment company, PH Balanced Music, is also known for singing background for many major artists including Whitney Houston, Gladys Knight, Brandy, Mary J Blige, Fantasia, Queen LaTifah, Madonna, Rick Astley, Andrae Crouch, Sandra Crouch, Michael Jackson, Curtis Stiger, Lisa Stansfield, BeBe and CeCe Winans, Reba Rambo, and Diana Ross. She has dozens of gold and platinum albums to her credits encompassing artists from almost every genre. Howard landed one of her most profound gigs traveling the world with Whitney Houston from 1992 to 2001, at the height of her career, The Bodyguard Era. During the early 2000s, Howard returned to songwriting, music production, mixing, and mastering and is currently singing, composing, arranging and producing various artists/bands. In 2016 Pattie released 2 singles through her record label PH Balanced Music. "Jesus Is His Name" introduces Pattie's daughter Shekinah Nicole Howard in a contemporary gospel duet produced by Wow Jones and co produced by Pattie Howard. The second single titled "Feel Me, Heal Me" was also Produced by Wow Jones, written and arranged by Pattie Howard. Pattie Howard is featured in the Nick Broomfield Documentary Whitney Houston "Can I Be Me".
Kristle Murden, also known as Kristle Edwards, is an American singer-songwriter, musician, music producer, author and ordained minister. Murden is the soloist on the song "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" from The Lion King. She made her professional debut in 1979 singing the duet "I'll Be Thinking of You" with Andraé Crouch, for which Stevie Wonder played harmonica. She signed as a solo artist with Light Records, also in 1979. She was nominated for two Grammy awards: her solo album I Can't Let Go was nominated in 1980, and in 1984, she was nominated for her solo vocal performance for "Jesus Come Lay Your Head on Me" from Andraé Crouch's No Time to Lose album. In 1981 she was nominated for a Dove Award for her I Can't Let Go album in the category of Best Soul Black Gospel album.
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