Larry McCray (born April 5, 1960), is an American

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 ...

guitarist and singer from

Magnolia, Arkansas Magnolia is a city in Columbia County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 11,577. The city is the county seat of Columbia County. Magnolia is home to the World's Largest Charcoal Grill and the World Championship ...

Early life

McCray, the second youngest of nine siblings, grew up living on a farm.
McCray learned guitar from his sister, Clara. "She used to play real low-down and dirty", McCray recalled years later. His family moved to

Saginaw, Michigan Saginaw () is a city in Saginaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 44,202 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Saginaw River, Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township, ...

in 1972. McCray took his influence from his sibling and the three Kings ( B.B., Freddie and

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), to playing the local club circuit, with his brothers Carl on bass guitar and Steve on drums.

Music career

After high school, McCray worked at

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on the assembly line, before recording his debut album, ''Ambition'' (1991), via

Point Blank Records Point Blank Records is a record label subsidiary of Virgin Records. Point Blank Records was founded in 1988 by John Wooler. Wooler served as Deputy Head of A&R at Virgin Records UK from 1984 to 1994 and Senior Vice President of Virgin Reco ...

. It was recorded in a friend's basement recording studio in Detroit. He was soon touring with a fellow record label artist,

Albert Collins Albert Gene Collins (October 1, 1932 – November 24, 1993)Skeely, Richard. "Albert Collins: Biography" Allmusic.com. was an American electric blues guitarist and singer with a distinctive guitar style. He was noted for his powerful playing ...

. His 1993 follow-up, '' Delta Hurricane'', was produced by the veteran British blues devotee, Mike Vernon. In 1999, McCray recorded a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

's "

All Along the Watchtower "All Along the Watchtower" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan from his eighth studio album, '' John Wesley Harding'' (1967). The song was written by Dylan and produced by Bob Johnston. The song's lyrics, which in its original v ...

" for the

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century a ...

, '' Tangled Up in Blues.'' In 2000, McCray founded his own

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

, Magnolia Records, and ''Believe It'' was its first release. The same year, McCray played alongside Jimmy Thackery, as guest guitarists on

Sista Monica Parker Sista Monica Parker (born Monica C. Parker, April 27, 1956 – October 9, 2014) was an American electric blues, blues rock, gospel and soul singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her influences included Al Green, Aretha Franklin, the Staple Si ...

's album, ''People Love the Blues''. Magnolia released McCray's first

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th centur ...

, ''Live on Interstate 75'', in mid-2006. This was followed with ''Larry McCray'', in 2007. His 2015 tour commenced at the

King Biscuit Blues Festival The King Biscuit Blues Festival is an annual, multi-day blues festival, held in Helena, Arkansas, United States. History The name of the festival comes from ''King Biscuit Time'', which was the longest running radio show. Sonny Boy Williamson I ...

in Helena-West Helena, Arkansas on October 11, where McCray was honored with the "Sunshine" Sonny Payne Award for Blues Excellence.

Discography

* ''Ambition'' (1990) * '' Delta Hurricane'' (1993) * ''Meet Me at the Lake'' with the Bluegills (1996) * ''Born to Play the Blues'' (1998) * ''Believe It'' (2000) * ''Blues is My Business'' (2001) * ''Live on Interstate 75'' (2006) * ''Larry McCray'' (2007) * ''The Gibson Sessions'' (2015) * ''Blues Without You'' (2022) * ''Heartbreak City'' (2025)

References

External links

* *

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Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCray, Larry 1960 births Living people American blues guitarists American male guitarists American blues singers American male singers Blues musicians from Arkansas Songwriters from Arkansas Singers from Arkansas Guitarists from Arkansas 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians American male songwriters