Gary Myrick is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist.

Career

Born in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, Texas, Gary Myrick played guitar and sang in Dallas and neighboring Fort Worth starting as a teenager. Eventually, he built a significant enough reputation to be asked to join

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

band Krackerjack, replacing

Stevie Ray Vaughan Stephen Ray Vaughan (also known as SRV; October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble (band), Double Trouble. Although his ma ...

who had left to begin his solo career. After belonging with KrackerJack, Gary formed a band called Slip o’the Wrist that played nothing but original Texas blues rock songs. After relocating to Los Angeles, California, he formed Gary Myrick & the Figures, releasing a self-titled album in 1980 which included the hit "She Talks in Stereo", which peaked at number 56 in Australia. The band then released the LP ''Living in a Movie'' (1981) before breaking up in 1982. Myrick released the solo EP ''Language'' (1983), which featured the percussive single "Guitar, Talk, Love & Drums" and an MTV hit "Message is You". His combination of

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

, rock and new wave won him airplay on

modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college and commercial rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. ...

radio stations in the United States and exposure on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

throughout the 1980s. Two of his songs, "She Talks in Stereo" and "Time to Win", were used in the 1983 film '' Valley Girl''. Myrick took a break from his solo work to write four songs and play guitar on

John Waite John Charles Waite (born 4 July 1952) is an English rock singer and musician. As a solo artist, he has released ten studio albums and is best known for the 1984 hit single "Missing You (John Waite song), Missing You", which reached No. 1 on th ...

's '' No Brakes'' album, which included Waite's biggest solo hit " Missing You" and reached the top spot on the Billboard album chart in 1984. The following year came Myrick's LP ''Stand for Love'' with the single "When Angels Kiss" and a re-recording of "She Talks in Stereo." For the next few years, Myrick concentrated on work as a session and touring guitarist before joining his next group.

Paul Simonon Paul Gustave Simonon (; born 15 December 1955) is an English musician and artist best known as the bassist for the Clash. More recent work includes his involvement in the supergroup the Good, the Bad & the Queen and playing on the Gorillaz alb ...

(former bassist of

The Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...

), Nigel Dixon (former lead singer of Whirlwind) and Myrick united to form Havana 3 am. The band released a self-titled album in 1991, melding

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

and punk traditions. After Simonon left the band, Myrick began work on the next Havana 3 am album with Dixon. Dixon, however died of cancer in 1993. Myrick rebuilt Havana 3 am and completed the ''Texas Glitter and Tombstone Tales'' album in 1996 with Tom Felicetta and Jamie Chez. Moving towards roots rock, Myrick switched to a stripped down, acoustic approach for his 2001 solo release, ''Waltz of the Scarecrow King''. ''Reinvent the Gods'', featuring a cover of

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

' " As Tears Go By," was self-released in 2004. Myrick continues to play solo but also performs as a session and touring guitarist. He has worked with

Big Audio Dynamite Big Audio Dynamite (later known as Big Audio Dynamite II and Big Audio, and often abbreviated BAD) were an English band, formed in London in 1984 by Mick Jones (The Clash guitarist), Mick Jones, former lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist of th ...

Jackson Browne Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American rock musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 30 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he had his ...

, members of

the Eagles The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles, six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s in ...

, Steve Jones (former guitarist of the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

Wilson Pickett Wilson Pickett (March 18, 1941 – January 19, 2006) was an American singer and songwriter. A major figure in the development of soul music, Pickett recorded more than 50 songs that made the US R&B charts, many of which crossed over to the '' ...

, Queen Ida, Bonnie Raitt,

Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the bands Nazz and Utopia. He is known for his sophistica ...

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and others. He has also done some work scoring films. Gary Myrick and the Figures reunited in 2010 with their first concert in Hollywood, California at The Roxy on June 22. Myrick played guitar and sang on the 2013 album by Carla Olson, ''Have Harmony, Will Travel''. Myrick contributed "Train Kept A-Rollin'" to the 2021 Renew / BMG album ''Americana Railroad''.

Discography

Albums

*''Gary Myrick & the Figures'' (1980) No. 203 US *''Living in a Movie'' (1981) *''Language'' (1983) No. 138 US *''Stand for Love'' (1985) *'' Havana 3 am'' (as member of Havana 3 am) (1991) No. 169 US *''Texas Glitter and Tombstone Tales'' (1996) *''Waltz of the Scarecrow King'' (2001) *''Reinvent the Gods'' (2004) *''Guitarista'' (2013) *''Gary Myrick's Bluestrash'' (2015)

References

External links

* Gary Myrick at allmusic.com* Dead link {{DEFAULTSORT:Myrick, Gary Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Musicians from Dallas American session musicians American rock guitarists American male guitarists Guitarists from Texas