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Larry McCray and the Saginaw Blues
by
Sheena Brandt

 

 

How many of Saginaw's residents know about internationally-recognized Blues guitarist and vocalist, Larry McCray, who grew up and graduated from high school in Saginaw? Larry McCray is now a world-class blues guitar legend who is still on the rise to Blues stardom. According to McCray's road manager, Gator, Larry has won several awards and honors for his work. He won the Lifetime Achievement Award that was issued by the Detroit Music Awards, and for ten to twelve years he won the Tri-City Music Awards in multiple categories. Larry has also been a W.C. Handy Awards nominee. In 2000 he was awarded the Orville H. Gibson "Best Male Blues Guitarist" Award. In addition, the list includes international recognition as a Lifetime Honorary Member of the Argentina Blues Society (Gator).

I was fortunate enough to meet Larry McCray back in 1998, when his band opened up for one of my favorites, Gov't Mule. Now, after watching Larry myself throughout the past three years, I see why his fans love him and his music as much as they do. He'll stick around and shake hands with people, sign autographs, and have conversations with his fans, even if it means he won't leave the club until three in the morning. He loves to show his appreciation to his fans, because they mean so much to him. My cousin, Rod Carrigan, grew up in Saginaw, and he also met and became good friends with McCray. They've known each other for about twenty years. They would fish near the water treatment plant by the Zilwaukee Bridge, where they would catch many nice sized bass. "Larry, he's got a good heart, he's always kind to everyone, he'd never intentionally hurt anyone," Rod stated of his longtime friend (Carrigan).

Larry McCray was born in Arkansas on April 5, 1960. He had seven brothers and one sister (McCray). His older sister Clara was the biggest influence when he began playing the guitar. "She was one of the best lady guitarists ever, although, she was never discovered. She was the baddest. The men used to back off when she played. Clara was totally self taught and she taught me everything," Larry stated (qtd. in Manely).

Larry and his sister were not the only musicians of the family, as his youngest brother Steve also began digging into the Blues at a very young age. Steve McCray has been the backbone of the Larry McCray Band from the beginning. Larry believes Steve is the most talented musician in the family. He plays drums, guitar, and is an excellent vocalist. Larry only "wishes that he had Steve's voice" (McCray). Their father James was also a Blues musician who played the harmonica. "He blew the walls off when he played the harmonica," Larry explained (qtd. in Manly).

Larry moved from Arkansas to Saginaw to be closer to his sister, Clara, at the age of thirteen. His younger brother, Steve, made the move as well. The two brothers attended Saginaw High School and were involved in the Jazz Band and Soul Choir (Manely).

Before McCray was discovered he spent thirteen years working for the Saginaw Division at GM (White). He was playing in a band with his brothers Steve and Carl as well as his nephew, Tony Purifoy. The band was called the Larry McCray Brothers Blues Band. Larry signed alone with Virgin/Pointblank, which forced a break up of that band. Steve remained the drummer for Larry and his new back-up band. There were no hard feelings over the break up. "They understand it's what I have to do at this point in my career," he said. "I'm not going to forget them. If it goes big enough I'm going to get them involved again" (qtd. in White).

Even after signing with Virgin/Pointblank Larry still worked the assembly line. He would arrive at the studio at eleven o'clock in the morning and then be to work at four that afternoon. There would be nights he had to work overtime and he wouldn't get home until two in the morning. "It was a rough time," explains McCray. "But all the toil paid off nicely." As Virgin records picked up the project, Billboard Magazine hailed McCray as "a deep-voiced player with strong original tunes," and soon after BB King's road manager dialed his number. Still in his early 30's, McCray was well on his way (Norberg 201).

Eventually Larry had to decide which career path to follow. Larry explains how he felt during the time of transition:
I had more fun with music. Leaving the security of a steady paycheck and the benefits GM offers was a tough decision. I found myself caught in the middle of two things. I was trying to work and I was trying to record an album in Detroit. They gave me a deadline for the album project, and I started working less and less. I left the Saginaw Division. I just decided (the assembly line) was something I didn't want to worry about anymore. I kind of gave up on it, though I know I couldn't have come this far without the financial security the job offered. Despite what happens I will not look back. (White)

Shortly after leaving GM Larry began touring in Europe. He opened shows for great legends such as Eric Clapton, Peter Gabriel, and Albert Collins. According to Keith Shadwick, author of the book Blues: Keeping the Faith, Larry originally self-produced his first album Ambition in his family's basement studio. It was then recorded and released in 1990 by Virgin/Pointblank in England, where it sold heavily. The combination of blues, rock, and soul made an immediate impact on Blues fans. Shadwick referred McCray's style of playing to players like Hendrix and Clapton (211).

Larry's brother Steve is the baby of the McCray family and was born August 26, 1964, in Cambden, Arkansas. He has been credited for recording on seventeen different albums, four of which are recorded by the Larry McCray Band. Some of the other work he has done includes "Paint it Blue: Songs of the Rolling Stones," "Blues Power: The Songs of Eric Clapton," and "Tangled Up in the Blues: The Songs of Bob Dylan." When Steve isn't busy recording or traveling he enjoys the outdoors. He has fun playing basketball and enjoys the relaxation of fishing (Gator).

Larry McCray's Band


The Larry McCray Band's most current bass player, Johnny B. Gayden, has recorded on forty-five albums over the span of his career. He was born in Chicago as the second of ten children. There both his mother and his grandmother raised him. His older brother lived with his grandmother while Johnny and his siblings lived with their mother, leaving Johnny the oldest bother of the household and a father figure to his younger siblings. Johnny's father left the family when he was a young child. He believes he may have been passed his musical talent from his father. Like McCray's father, he played the harmonica. "I can remember him havin' a couple of guys over and them makin' a lot of noise in the house. Well, that's what my mother would call it" (Scott 10).

Johnny never graduated from high school. As a teen he worked day jobs to help support his family. He worked in factories doing odd jobs as well as landscaping. He held a job at a record store for about six years. Although his mother enjoyed his music she wanted him to finish school or learn a different trade in case music didn't work out for him. Johnny says he regrets not finishing high school. "I think anyone who's never finished school would like to finish," he says (10).

Johnny B. Gayden was the only musician among his siblings until two of his sisters began high school. One played saxophone and one played clarinet in the school band (11). While most musicians have a major influence or musical hero, Johnny was raised on the radio. "Whatever was good on the radio, I learned to play it. And, at one time, we were too poor to own a record player so we had the radio" (11).

Sometimes the world's greatest musicians are never discovered. Other times they just happen to be at the right place at the right time, which is how it happened for Gayden. "I really feel fortunate because there are so many other guys that can play much better than myself," he says humbly. "I just happened to be in the right place at the right time meetin' Bruce Iglauer (of Alligator Records)." At the time he was playing with his friend Son Seals. Johnny describes when he met his friend Bruce:

I guess I played with [Seals] around `73; right after [he] made his first LP on Alligator Records. I did some dates around Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa and it was like my first taste of the road. I played with Son about a year off and on. At different times I was playin' with R&B bands, funk bands, but I still liked playin' the blues with different people, and Son happened to be one of the main people I played with. And that's how I met Bruce Iglauer and we got to be friends and he always called me in to play with someone if I was available. (11)

Gayden played with Seals until about 1976. He then began playing with him again in '78. Around that time Iglauer approached him about joining the Master of the Telecaster. Johnny was working at the record store one afternoon when Iglauer came to him. Iglauer asked Johnny if he would be interested in playing with Albert Collins. "Of course," he answered, "you know I sell his records all day, every day!" The first gig Johnny played with Albert Collins was in September of 1979, and it was unrehearsed. From that point on Johnny's career began to take off. He found himself spending more and more time in the studio (11).

Gayden remained Collins' bass player for the next fourteen years. He toured in Japan three times, Europe about seven times, Australia three times, New Zealand and so on (11).
Johnny moved to Detroit and then moved to Waterford sometime in late 1996 because of a young lady. He moved to Detroit because of those "fine, fetching Motor City babes" (9).

Larry McCray's Success

 

In conclusion, I believe one of Larry McCray's best qualities is that he does what he can to stay the same person, no matter where he has gone in his lifetime, who he has met, or how big of a name he has; he makes it a priority to remember who he is and where his heart is. I believe that is a very important quality for anyone to have, especially if they are seeking success. Larry explains changes he has seen with different trends from Saginaw to Detroit:

Everybody is saying that the blues is trendy now, but it's not a new trend with me because I've been involved in this music ever since I was four years old, the blues was a cliché to most kids my age. When I started playing I remember how we'd be playing in clubs and people would come in," he laughed, "and when they found out blues music was being played, they'd turn around and walk out the door. But more people are coming around to accepting the blues nowadays. I've seen people in Saginaw jumping on all the trends from Detroit, whether it was platform shoes or long coats. Me, I've always stayed the same. (qtd. in Norberg 201)

Works Cited

  • Carrigan, Rod. Personal Interview. 20 Nov. 2001
  • Gator. Delta Hurricane Review. 9 Sep. 1996. 13 Nov. 2001 <http://www.larrymccray.com/
    reviewd.htm>.
  • Gator. Personal Interview. 22 Nov. 2001.
  • Manely, Michael. "McCray Brothers Find Acceptance in Chicago." The Saginaw News.
    13 Jun. 1987.
  • McCray, Larry. Personal Interview. 8 Nov. 2001.
  • Norberg, Marc. Black & White Blues. New York, NY: Graphis Publications, 1995.
  • Scott, Barbara. "Johnny B. Gayden: Bassic Instinct." The Blues Review. 6. 4. Apr.
    1997: 9-13.
  • Shadwick, Keith. Blues: Keeping the Faith. Edison, NJ: Quintet Publishing Limited,
    1998.
  • White, Sue. "More Fun With Music." The Saginaw News. 8 Dec. 1989: A-1-2.
 
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