- Barry McGuire
Infobox musical artist |
Name = Barry McGuire
Img_capt = Barry McGuire in 1979.
Img_size =
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name =
Alias =
Born = birth date and age|1935|10|15
Died =
Origin = Oklahoma City,Oklahoma US
Instrument =Guitar ,Vocals
Genre = Rock
Occupation =Singer ,Songwriter
Years_active =
Label = Horizon, Ember, Dunhill, Ode, Myrrh, Sparrow
Associated_acts =New Christy Minstrels
URL =
Current_members =
Past_members =
Notable_instruments =Barry McGuire (born
15 October 1935 ) is an Americansinger-songwriter .Early life
McGuire was born in Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma , and moved toCalifornia in early childhood. At age 16 he joined theUnited States Navy , but was discharged ten months later for being 'under age'.After living as a drifter in his late teens and early twenties, McGuire got a job singing in a bar. In 1961, he released his first single called "The Tree", which was not a hit, and formed a duo with Barry Kane. They both joined the
New Christy Minstrels in Spring 1962. In 1963, McGuire wrote the Christys' first and biggest hit single: "Green, Green." He left the Christys in January, 1965, after recording thealbum , "Cowboys and Indians"; however, on the 1965 album "Chim Chim Cher-ee", he sang only on the title cut.olo career
As a
folk rock solo singer in the 1960s, he was best known for his hits "Eve of Destruction" and "Sins of the Family", both written byP.F. Sloan . His other chart successes, "Child of Our Times" was co-written bySteve Barri , and "Cloudy Summer Afternoon (Raindrops)" was penned by Travis Edmonson of 1960's folk-duo, Bud & Travis.McGuire's LP, "The Eve of Destruction", reached its peak of #37 on the
Billboard Hot 200 chart during the week ending 25 September 1965. That same day the single of that name went to #1 on both charts. McGuire was never again to break into theTop 40 of theBillboard Hot 100 . According to McGuire, "Eve of Destruction" was recorded in one take on a Thursday morning (from words scrawled on crumpled piece of paper) and then he got a call from the record company at 7:00 the next Monday morning, telling him to turn on the radio - his song was playing. The recording includes an "ahhh" where McGuire couldn't read the words. [Spicks and Specks (Australian TV show),12th of March, 2008]The Temptations referenced McGuire's song "Eve of Destruction" in their song "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today) ". For other references and covers of "Eve of Destruction" see the article: "Eve of Destruction".The album "This Precious Time" was released in 1966, his second with
Dunhill Records . It includes a version of "California Dreamin' " withThe Mamas and the Papas singing backing vocals. McGuire is mentioned several times inThe Mamas & the Papas hit, "Creeque Alley ".Frank Zappa wrote McGuire's name in the sleeve of his "Freak Out " album (1966) as one of his musical influences.McGuire appeared in the 1967 movie, "
The President's Analyst " withJames Coburn as the character, "Old Wrangle," and in "Werewolves on Wheels " in 1971. He also starred for a year in the Broadway musical "Hair".McGuire became a
born-again Christian in 1971. In 1973, he joined the Myrrh label and released the album "Seeds". This album is also notable for the backing vocals provided by the family trio that would become known as the2nd Chapter of Acts . In 1974, McGuire released his secondJesus Music album "Lighten Up", which included a remake of "Eve of Destruction". He toured with 2nd Chapter of Acts and "a band called David " and in 1975 this collaborative effort resulted in the doublelive album , "To the Bride".In 1976, he left Myrrh, joining former Myrrh executive Billy Ray Hearn's new label,
Sparrow Records . He recorded seven albums on Sparrow, the best known of which is "Cosmic Cowboy", released in 1978. That year he also released a top-selling children's album "Bullfrogs and Butterflies" (part of theAgapeland series) for Sparrow's subsidiary label, Birdwing.In 1978, he also toured England, Scotland, and Wales with the Jimmy Owens' musical "The Witness", in which he played the part of the apostle Peter. His acting and singing in the musical was considered very inspiring. Also, the voice of Peter on the "Witness" album is his.
Later life
In the 1980s, McGuire left the
music industry , and settled for a time inNew Zealand with his New Zealander wife, Mari (former secretary of McGuire's Agape Force associate,Winkie Pratney ). He returned to theUnited States in the 1990s, teaming up with Terry Talbot and recording as Talbot McGuire. The duo released four albums between 1996 and 2000.As of 2006, he takes engagements which include a few songs and talks on a mixture of topics, by both McGuire and his wife. The McGuires currently reside in Fresno,
California .On March 12, 2008, McGuire appeared on the Australian music comedy/game show Spicks and Specks, performing an updated version of
Eve of Destruction , with new lines such as, "You're old enough to kill/ you just started voting" and "... can live for ten years in space". The reference to "Red China" was also removed.In 2008, McGuire teamed up with former member of
The Byrds John York for a live tour called "Trippin' the '60s", which McGuire describes as "...taking the songs and the truth that was in those songs from the 60's and bringing them into the present moment...It's not a cover pack, it's us singing songs that we sung with a lot of our friends that aren't around anymore to sing them." [http://stainfreemedia.blogspot.com/ Accessed May 29, 2008]Partial discography
* "Barry Here and Now" (1962)
* "The Barry McGuire Album" (1963)
* "Eve of Destruction" (1965)
* "This Precious Time" (1965)
* "The World's Last Private Citizen" (1967)
* "McGuire and the Doctor" (1971)
* "Seeds" (1973)
* "Lighten Up" (1974)
* "Narnia" (1974)
* "Jubilation" (1975)
* "To the Bride" (1975)
* "Eve of Destruction (Star Power)" (1975)
* "C'mon Along" (1976)
* "Anyone But Jesus" (1976)
* "Jubilation Two" (1976)
* "Have You Heard" (1977)
* "Cosmic Cowboy" (1978)
* "Inside Out" (1979)
* "Best of Barry McGuire" (1980)
* "Finer Than Gold" (1981)
* "Pilgrim" (1989)
* "Let's Tend God's Earth" (1991)
* "When Dinosaurs Walked The Earth" (1995)
* "Ancient Garden" (1997)
* "Frost And Fire" (1999)
* "Eve Of Destruction (20 Inspirational Classics)" (2000)ee also
*
List of 1970s Christian pop artists
*List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
*List of 1960s one-hit wonders in the United States
*Hot 100 number-one hits of 1965 (USA)
* [http://StainFreeMedia.wordpress.com ]References
External links
* [http://www.barrymcguire.com/ www.barrymcguire.com]
* [http://www.trippinthesixties.com/ Barry McGuire's "Trippin' the '60s" official site]
* [http://stainfreemedia.wordpress.com/ Interview with Stain Free Media, November 16, 2007]
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:w9ftxq85ldje~T1 Barry McGuire biography] atAllmusic website
* [http://www.thebeginningsconcert.com/ TheBeginningsConcert.com] - Reuinion Concert Event.
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