HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

John Gary (born John Gary Strader; November 29, 1932 – January 4, 1998) was an American singer, recording artist, television host, and performer on the musical stage.


Early life

From
Watertown, New York Watertown is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, New York, United States. It is approximately south of the Thousand Islands, along the Black River, about east of where it flows into Lake Ontario. The city is bordered by the t ...
, Gary started singing at the age of 5. He joined his older sister, Shirley Strader. At the age of 9, he won a 3-year scholarship to the prestigious Cathedral School of St John in Manhattan. He auditioned for the choir master, Norman Coke-Jeffcott. At the age of 10, Gary had won two pins of distinction from the American Theatre Wing Merchant Seaman's Club for the Stage Door Canteen. Aged 12, he toured the southern states with Frank Pursley, a blind pianist for the Mason Conservatory.


Career

Gary sang in movies, on Broadway, had his own prime time network television variety series and appeared at
Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...
, with numerous orchestras. He appeared thirty times as a guest on ''
The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has been broadcast on NBC since 1954. The program has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2 ...
'' with
Jack Paar Jack Harold Paar (May 1, 1918 – January 27, 2004) was an American talk show host, writer, radio and television comedian, and film actor. He was the second host of ''The Tonight Show'' from 1957 to 1962. ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine's ob ...
,
Steve Allen Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television and radio personality, comedian, musician, composer, writer, and actor. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-creator and ...
and
Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, and writer best known as the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson is a cultural phenomenon and w ...
. He traveled across the US and Canada with approximately 40 concerts per year. For six years he gave community concerts in over 400 cities and towns. He recorded 24 albums for
RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...
. Prior to national stardom, Gary appeared on local New Orleans television station
WDSU-TV WDSU (channel 6) is a television station in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Hearst Television. The station's studios are located on Howard Avenue in the city's New Orleans Central Business District, Centra ...
, as a regular feature on the noontime television show ''Midday''. He also appeared at the Blue Room of the Roosevelt (later Fairmont) Hotel. He performed ''The John Gary Show'', three fifteen-minute shows a week, presaging his national (
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
) show a decade later, a summer replacement for the '' Danny Kaye Show''. Gary was considered by many to be one of the most talented of popular singers due to his extraordinary breath control and tonal quality of his voice. He had an exceptionally wide range of octaves. His singing ranged from robust
baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...
to a high sweet
tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...
often in the same song. Many popular songs of the time were suited to his intimate style. Gary first recorded on
Fraternity Records Fraternity Records is a small record label based in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was started by Harry Carlson and silent partner Dr. Ashton Welsh in 1954. The first recording to be released on Fraternity was Jerri Winters' "Winter's Here". The first hit ...
between 1958 and 1960. In 1960, he joined
ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...
and composed several popular songs. After signing with RCA Victor, Gary was nominated for a 1964
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
for Best New Artist. He was a favorite singer of fellow RCA Victor artist
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
. He had five songs that made the adult contemporary (or easy listening) chart in ''Billboard'' magazine. The song "Cold", released in 1967, was his most successful, topping the chart for two weeks at the end of that year. However, the song failed to crack the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 pop chart. In 1968 he voiced John Alden in the Rankin/Bass Animated TV special '' The Mouse on the Mayflower''. RCA has reissued some of his recordings and a 92-track, four-CD box set on the Collectables label. He served honorably in the United States Marine Corps. John Gary died in 1998 at age 65 of cancer in Dallas, Texas.


Discography

LP ALBUMS **LA BREA 8010/S8010-1961 pre RCA Victor only known album on this label; probably unauthorized collection of demonstration recordings. **RCA VICTOR *'' Catch a Rising Star'' (1963) *''Encore'' (1964) *''So Tenderly'' (1964) *''The John Gary Christmas Album'' (1964) *''David Merrick Presents Hits from His Hits'', with Ann-Margret (1964) *''The Nearness of You'' (1965) *''Your All-Time Favorite Songs'' (1965) *''A Little Bit of Heaven'' (1965) *''A Heart Filled with Song'' (1966) *''Your All-Time Country Favorites'' (1966) *''Choice'' (1966) *''Especially for You'' (1967) *''Carnegie Hall Concert'' (1967) *''The Best of John Gary'' (1967) *''Spanish Moonlight'' (1967) *''On Broadway'' (1968) *''John Gary Sings/John Gary Swings'' (1968) *''Holding Your Mind'' (1968) *''Love of a Gentle Woman'' (1969) *''That's the Way It Was'' (1969) *''This is John Gary'' (2 record set) (1971) **RCA CAMDEN *''The One and Only John Gary'' (1966) *''That Warm and Tender Glow'' (1968) **KAMA-SUTRA *''Constantly'' (1975) **RCA INTERNATIONAL *''Sincerely Yours'' (1984) **CHURCHILL *''In a Class By Himself'' (undated) **BRIARWOOD- *(no number)— ''On Tour'' (date unknown) COMPACT DISCS **RCA/BEAUTIFUL MUSIC COMPANY *''All-Time Heart-Touching Favorites'' (1989) *''Songs of Love & Romance'' (1996) **''Sings Cole Porter'' (1994) **RCA *''The Very Best of John Gary'' (1997) *''The John Gary Christmas Album'' (2000) *''The Essential John Gary'' (2001) **RCA/COLLECTABLES COL-CD *''The Nearness of You''/''All-Time Favorite Songs'' (2002) *''So Tenderly''/''A Little Bit of Heaven'' (2002) *''Catch a Rising Star''/''Encore'' (2002) *''A Heart Filled With Song''/''Choice'' (2003) *''Carnegie Hall Concert'' (2004) *''The One and Only John Gary''/''That Warm and Tender Glow'' (2004)


See also

* List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gary, John 1932 births 1998 deaths 20th-century American singers Singers with a three-octave vocal range RCA Victor artists Ace Records (United States) artists American male composers 20th-century American composers American male voice actors United States Marines People from Watertown, New York 20th-century American male singers USA Records artists Deaths from cancer in Texas