Ramon Wayne "Ra" McGuire (pronounced "Ray"; born June 13, 1950) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and founding and longtime member of the rock band Trooper. McGuire performed with Trooper and musical partner Brian Smith from 1975 until their retirement November 2021. In 2023, McGuire was inducted into both the

Canadian Music Hall of Fame The Canadian Music Hall of Fame was established in 1978 by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) to honour Canadian musicians for their lifetime achievements in music. The award presentation is held each year as part of th ...

and

Canada's walk of Fame Canada's Walk of Fame () in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a walk of fame that acknowledges the achievements and accomplishments of Canadians who have excelled in their respective fields. It is a series of maple leaf-like stars embedded in 13 de ...

. As a songwriter, McGuire has received “The National Achievement Award” from

SOCAN The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) is a Canadian performance rights organization that represents the performing rights of more than 175,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers. The organization collect ...

and been nominated four times for the 'Composer of the Year'

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

. As the singer and songwriter for Trooper, his recordings have been nominated twice for 'Album of the Year' and once for 'Best Selling Album of the Year'. Trooper was nominated three times for ‘Group of the Year’, and won the Juno Award for ‘Group of the Year' in 1980. McGuire also received a BC CARAS (JUNO) Award for Best Male Vocalist.

Biography

McGuire was born in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. McGuire and his wife, Debbie, spearheaded the formation of a Fine Arts based school in the

Surrey, British Columbia Surrey is a city in British Columbia, Canada. It is located south of the Fraser River on the Canada–United States border. It is a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver regional district and metropolitan area. Mainly a suburban city, Surr ...

school district from 1996 to 1998. The school is now housed at White Rock Elementary with another proposed for the northern end of the city. In 2005 the couple (unsuccessfully) fought high rise development in their hometown of

White Rock, British Columbia White Rock is a city in British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It is bordered by Semiahmoo Bay to the south and is surrounded on three sides by Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey. To the south ...

. At the 1999

Awards, McGuire received a SOCAN Classic Award for the Trooper hit "Two for the Show", presented for songs that have received over 100,000 documented radio plays. He received two additional Classic Awards with songwriting partner Brian Smith for "We're Here for a Good Time" and "Santa Maria". McGuire received a fourth SOCAN Classic Award in 2005, for "Oh, Pretty Lady." In 2006, McGuire published an account of life on the road with Trooper, ''Here for a Good Time'', with Insomniac Press. In 2007, he served as one of three judges for the

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

's ''

Seven Wonders of Canada The Seven Wonders of Canada was a 2007 competition sponsored by CBC Television's ''CBC News: The National, The National'' and CBC Radio One's ''Sounds Like Canada''. They sought to determine Canada's "seven wonders" by receiving nominations from vi ...

'' competition and co-produced his son, Connor McGuire's first solo album, ''Different After Dawn''. McGuire was featured when Trooper performed in the

2010 Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

Victory Ceremonies in Vancouver on February 21, 2010. Coverage of the event was broadcast in Canada and around the world on networks such as CTV and

Much Music Much is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. It is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in what was o ...

. On April 25, 2012, Ra and Debbie McGuire were awarded the World Harmony Run's Torchbearer Award for their collaborative commitment to inspire cultural harmony and community spirit through music, and champion the importance of fine arts in education. On November 19, 2012, McGuire was presented with a SOCAN National Achievement Award, which is presented to artists who have had outstanding success, predominantly in the Canadian music industry, over the span of their career. He also received three more SOCAN Classic Awards for "Raise A Little Hell", "General Hand Grenade", and "Janine", co-written with songwriting partner Brian Smith. On May 18, 2023, Trooper was inducted into the

and McGuire received the Juno statuette as one of the inducted members.

Retirement

Quoted from their official Facebook group, as of November 8, 2021, the final two founding members are retiring: "We have some news. Ra and Smitty are officially retiring. They've already been *unofficially* retired for a year and a half, so they've just decided to continue not working, since they've realized that they're getting pretty good at it. They are both healthy and happy, they've just decided that this is the best time to step back from the road and enjoy the life that this unplanned time-off has dropped them into. It's been a difficult decision and today marks a bittersweet and emotional turning point in their lives. They send their love to all their fans, friends, and everyone with whom they've shared the joyous, rockin', love-filled cross-Canada party that is Trooper. They will sorely miss you all. BUT HOLD ON ... If you've been looking forward to the next Trooper show, don't despair. Ra and Smitty have given their blessing to the rest of the band and crew to carry on as Trooper without them! More on this soon."

References

External links

Ra McGuire's website

Trooper official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGuire, Ra 1950 births Canadian rock singers Canadian male singers Canadian male songwriters 21st-century Canadian memoirists Living people Singers from Vancouver Writers from Vancouver 20th-century Canadian male singers