Larry McCray

DJ: Larry McCray. I’m so glad you had some time to talk. I know you’re a very busy man.

Larry: Well, it seems to be these days anyway, Dave.

DJ: Well, that’s good. It’s good to be busy. 

Larry: Yes, it is.

DJ: Well, I’m going to go way back. You were born in Magnolia, Arkansas, and you were the second youngest of nine children. So how many boys and how many girls?

Larry: One girl and eight boys.

DJ: One girl. So your sister Clara, right? She played guitar and she’s the one taught you to play. Is that right?

Larry: Right. Yes, I moved in with her, when I was 12 years old and, uh, I didn’t move in with her, I come to visit her in Michigan when was 12. She had already left and I had come for summer vacation and I never left after moving in before it was time to go back. My mother told me and the kids that we won’t ruin the whole family with movin’.

DJ: And Clara introduced you to the music of the three Kings, B.B., Freddy, and Albert. 

Larry: Everything. She introduced me and she gave me my whole orientation to modern music.

DJ: Those guys obviously had a big influence on you at that young age, I guess.

Larry: Oh, for sure. For sure. You know, I used to, like I say, I moved, came up here to visit with her for the summer, I was livin’ with her and during those days, you know, the musicians and guys would come over, move all the furniture back and set up right in the living room.

DJ: Oh, wow. And around that time, didn’t you also, did you take up the saxophone, like in school?

Larry: I did – I played saxophone from junior high throughout high school. About six years.

DJ: Yeah, I attempted to play trumpet in school and I was just terrible. And I gave that up pretty quick. 

Larry: It’s tough blowin’ horns. Horns are not easy.

DJ: Yeah. I just, I didn’t feel like I had the lungs for it.  So, and then when you got out of high school, you worked at GM for awhile on the assembly line?

Larry: Yeah, I want to GM right after high school.

DJ: But you continued to play the guitar, right?

Larry: Oh, for sure. For sure. I mean, you know, I never thought that I would have a musical career. I didn’t get into guitar because I thought I would have a career. I just love guitar. I just love music. So I played and played for myself and hoped that maybe, you know, one day I could gig, or, you know, whatever, you know?

DJ: Yeah. I was the same way. I think a lot of us were, we just wanted to, we just loved playing and wanting to learn and… 

Larry: Exactly. Yep, I was the same way.

DJ: So the first band you were in, is that, was it a band you put together? Did you start it or did somebody ask you to be in a band?

Larry: It was me and my two brothers. It was me and my brother, Paul, my brother Steve, and Clara had two kids. So it was five, you know, three brothers and two nieces and nephews.

DJ: All in the family. Nice.

Larry: That was the McCray Brothers.

DJ: Well, the first album you put out,  Ambition — that was recorded just in like a friend’s basement in Detroit. What was the setup and recording equipment like?  

Larry: Well, I think he, at that time he had a, um, reel-to-reel machine. It was must have been a quarter inch tape or something like that, whatever they had back in those days.

And, uh, I mean, you know, I would get up in the morning and go down there and hang out ’til just before time for me to start work, you know, that way it wasn’t too late to drive back and get to work on time. And I did then for months until I got the record wrapped in and got it got about together, you know?

DJ: And then, um, down the road, before you knew it, you, you toured with Albert Collins around that time – I’d love to hear about that experience.

Larry: Well right after, um, you know, right after I had made the record, I was the first artist signed to, Point Blank Music, to the Point Blank label. So after I signed with them here comes Donald Kinsey and the Kinsey Report. After that, it was Albert Collins and we were the first three artists signed over there. Beyond that it came, uh, Johnny Winter, John Lee Hooker, John Hammond Jr., Pops Staples, Terry Evans. And, you know, the list goes on and on and several other ones started there. But during those times, Point Blank really promoted those bands well, but they didn’t promote anybody individually. It was all about Point Blank. Point Blank was in big letters and then the artists would all be listed smaller than that, you know, underneath to show who they were promoting, but they would promote themselves using us as their flagship, you know.

DJ: Right. So it wasn’t like you were opening up, you were all just kind of playing.

Larry: It was like a review. They’d put a review on the road and I mean, that was nice. I mean, because it introduced me to all those people. Although I had known Johnny Winter before, but I’d never, I didn’t know Albert until the late, late eighties. I’d known him before we did the album thing, but I didn’t meet him until ’87. You know, from that point on, you know, I knew him and stayed close with him. So, you know, after the label put the music out, it was, it was a good thing. But, uh, he was, uh, Gary Moore’s, walk-on guest and I was Gary Moore’s support band for Still Got the Blues. So for sixty some odd dates, you know, we did that in Europe, all over Europe.

DJ: How did you like touring back then? Was it.…

Larry: Oh, it was great back then. It was great then, I was young and, you know, ready for the experience and ready to see and do some things. And it really was, uh, quite sweet and quite memorable. I mean, you know, I’ve got those memories for the rest of my life.

DJ: Right, because you eventually, you toured with like Albert King and Buddy Guy, Jimmy Vaughn, even.

Larry: Right, right. Albert King, believe it or not, was the walk-on guest, too, for a few of the dates for a handful of days. Like he played the Hammersmith Odeon and a couple of more places that we all played together. And, uh, that was quite the experience to, to see them two together and to hear all the conversations and everything that was going on behind the stage because they knew each other for so long.

DJ: Wow, I love that.

Larry: Yeah. It was something else, the experience. And those memories, I mean, you know, you cherish for the rest of your life. In Detroit, Michigan, they have Comerica Park, it’s where the Detroit Tigers play ball right now. And I went into Comerica Park one day. This is years ago, not long after it had opened and in the lounge area there, they have a place they call Fifth Avenue. Fifth Avenue was a place in Royal Oak where all the blues bands used to play. And I was a Fifth Avenue, band, too. Long story short, the guy that owned that club bought a space up in the Comerica Park building and took Fifth Avenue there. So I’m going around and I’m looking at all the different pictures and everything on the wall.

And lo and behold, I see a picture of Albert Collins, I recognize it – but then when I look into the background and into the backdrop, I saw myself on the picture. I remembered the night where it was at and everything, and that was quite a surprise to me.  I remember that like yesterday. Yeah. So that was kind of fun to go in and find a picture of yourself in a place that you had no idea that you might be in there. You know, yep…and, on the photo, with Albert Collins, that made it even sweeter.

DJ: Well on the album Tangled Up in Blues, which was released in 1999, you did a powerful cover of Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower”. I won’t refer to that as a tribute album because on the cover, the cover art clearly states in big capital letters – THIS AIN’T NO TRIBUTE, which I always thought was kind of funny. But I love your version of this song. Who approached you about contributing to that?

Larry: It was our producer John Snyder. And John Snyder, he was, from what I understand, I guess he’s a world-class trumpeter. He taught trumpet in one of the jazz bands in, uh, North Carolina at the university. I don’t know if it was a Chapel Hill or where, but anyway, he had affiliation there. When I started doing things with him, you know, uh, it was first, uh, the Paint it Blue songs of The Rolling Stones. And then we did a song, a tribute for Eric Clapton, and then Bob Dylan came up as well. So when Dylan came up, I had wanted to do “Serve Somebody”, but they had that reserved for Etta James and I had to pick another song. And as it was, then I got a chance to, uh, pick early, you know, I picked “Watchtower”.

DJ: Yeah, great song and a great cover of that.

Larry: Well thank you, I appreciate it. 

 DJ: There was also your very cool version of “Midnight Rambler” by The Stones on the All Blues’d Up Rolling Stones  cover album as well.

Larry: Right. Well, you know, for me, I try to find my personality or my identity in the music, the best I can. And by the fact that I am such a blues advocate, I mean, you know, usually the interpretation turns out a little bit closer to the blue side, ya know?

DJ: You play one hell of a guitar solo on that one, on “Midnight Rambler”. That’s great.

Larry: Well, I just loved the music and I’m just so happy that, you know, people still can find some appreciation for what I do.

DJ: Yeah, I’m a big Stones fan, but you, you did a really sweet version on that. 

Larry: Well, thank you. 

DJ: Some other great artists on that album, like Mavis Staples and Taj Mahal. 

Larry: Uh-huh. Johnny Copeland, Junior Wells, Carl Weathersby, Derek Trucks,  Eric Gales. Um, then I say, Johnny Clyde Copeland?

DJ: I think you did. Yeah. Yeah.

Larry: That’s a name, you know, to name some – Otis Clay, Gatemouth, Sonny Landreth, Derek Trucks. Uh, it was a lot going on on those sides.

DJ: Yeah, it was a lot of great stuff. Um, Alvin Youngblood Hart’s on there too. Uh, I only, I learned of him – years ago, I was up in Chicago and a friend of mine and I, we were just looking to go hear some live music and we just, we went over to Schubas and it turned out that Alvin was playing. We didn’t really know about him or much about him at all. And that ended up being a really great show.

Larry: Oh, yeah, big boy can get out, huh? (laughs) Big Alvin.

DJ: You also founded your own independent record label, uh, named after the town you were born in – Magnolia.

Larry: Magnolia Records, yes, indeed. You know, I had a hell of a go with the labels and all, then, you know, a lot of things didn’t work out. You know, there’s a lot of, you know, especially during that era, you know, when the big names were still boss, man, I mean, you know, they didn’t have a lot of, uh, good things for artistry, especially if you wasn’t sellin’ X amount of records or whatever like that. And if you didn’t come in with a big push behind you. And after a while, it just got to the point that it was more hassle than what it was worth and I was willing to take my own chances, promoting my own music. Which, not necessarily was the greatest idea, but it was an option. 

DJ: Well, Sonny Payne, Sunshine Sunny, who was host of  the radio show King Biscuit Time in Arkansas – there’s an award called the Sunshine Sunny Payne Award for Blues Excellence. And back in 2015, I understand you were honored with that award.

Larry: That’s right. And Sonny was another one of those guys who really held true to his, to his heart, you know, his whole career, Sonny Payne was one of the first people ever playing blues music on the radio. And, uh, that’s back when Rufus Thomas, uh, started in radio, him and B.B. King both, you know Sonny was there before both of them and kind of brought them in. And, uh, you know, I knew Sonny for a long time from playing on the Biscuit festivals and to, get his honorarium really meant a lot because you know, Sunny definitely, he stood for the blues and he promoted it his whole life.

DJ: Yeah. That radio show was on for years.

Larry: Oh yeah. What a lot of people don’t know too, but there came this few festivals that are Levon helm was from Forest City, which is not far from there. And he used to be up there all the time, when the festival would be going on, just walking around with some black Chuck Taylors, a pair of jeans, white t-shirt.

DJ: Aw, I love that image. 

Larry: Just Levon, being Levon, having fun, you know?

DJ: I’m a big fan of The Band.

Larry: So was I.

LARRY: HEY, HEY! BLUES FANS – THIS IS LARRY McCRAY. AND YOU’RE LISTENING TO FRETS with DJ FEY. KEEP IT RIGHT THERE.

DJ: Well on your album, The Gibson Sessions, you used a couple of your great guitars – a Gibson Les Paul and also a Flying V. You probably have quite a few guitars, but are there any favorites or is there one that’s really a special guitar to you?

Larry: Oh, yeah. Well, as you mentioned earlier, I really do like a Flying V guitar and the Les Paul, but I also love 335 and I love Gibson Blueshawk as well. Those are all, some of my go-tos. If I have a choice about, you know, what I use and it’s just because, uh, dynamically, uh, they have a lot of, you know, a lot of impact and they are similar, but each one of them individually has their own voice also.

And beyond that I, uh, in the Fender brand, I love Strat and I love Tele, and I’ve tried to use all my guitars as individual voices. So whatever the song seemed like it’s calling for then that’s, that’s what I use as my guide in terms of what I use on that song.

DJ: Yeah, yeah. There are some great covers on that one as well. You did stuff by ZZ Top and Creedence. Even some Lynrd Skynrd.

Larry: Oh, yeah. Well, you know, I always wanted to do some of those songs, or my interpretation of it, and to get a chance to do that and put it out to the people that was really special for me. And I wasn’t trying to, you know, go against the grain or this and that and the other, I wasn’t trying to make a statement.

I just was doing some of my favorite rock tunes and do ’em the way I do ’em, you know?

DJ: And the guest musicians yet on there. David Hidalgo and Dickey Betts. Um, you mentioned Derek Trucks. And your son also provided background vocals on that, right?

Larry: Yes, he did. And he’s really doing good for himself now. He’s playing guitar. He’s fronting a band. And, you know, things are really going well for him right now. And I’m hoping that I can help him in, uh, you know, open some doors for him as well. But as far as the other special guests that were on there, there was a handful of people that I’ve known for a long time. And I never called in any favors, but on each one of them songs, like “The Needle and the Spoon”, I think Derek made that special. I think Dickey definitely made “Can’t You See” special. And, uh, David Hidalgo had a great contribution for, “I’m No Angel”. So it worked out well in terms of what I envisioned. I just hope that the people were happy with it as well.

DJ: yeah, you guys work really well together – it all sounded great.

Larry: It was a lot of fun. It was a whole lot of fun.

DJ: Well, we’ve talked a lot about your incredible guitar playing ability, but you have one hell of a voice as well. You’ve got a great, great voice.

Larry: You know what? I was always a little bit intimidated about singing or never envisioned myself as being a singer, you know, I come up through an era where that, um, you know, in the seventies, uh, funk music was really king and, you know, after that it came, uh, Disco and Rap and a lot of other different things. So I was always, I was not always in a fashionable position as a singer, but definitely distinguishable and identifiable, because it was different than what was going on. It took me a long time to get comfortable with saying it to try to be a singer, you know, and I’m still kinda like that. I don’t just race to the microphone, but if I need to, I will.

DJ: But then once you’re up there and you’re, you’re in it, it just, it must just all come flowing out of you.

Larry: Right. And like I say, you know, even now I feel that I have come a long way, but I, I man, I just love playing guitar and I didn’t even really get serious about singing until later.

DJ: Well, your new album, another great one, by the way, it was produced by Joe Bonamassa.

Larry: Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith. That’s right. And it was really a great thing for me because I had known them guys for quite a while and really respect what they do on a high level. You know, to have somebody like that, sit in the booth with you or to listen to you or to critique you or to maybe propose a different idea for you. You know, it was very special. It was very, very convenient and very effective to have them dance at, you know, they’re at the control panel.

DJ: Yeah. Yeah. I love that. The first track on the album is simply called “Arkansas” and the lyric is ‘take me back to Arkansas’. You obviously have a strong affinity for the place you were born.

Larry: Right. Well, you know what a lot of people, you know, the first thing they want to speak about is the migration. You know, a lot of people left from there and went to other places to live in, to look for for a better life. And that’s true, but the redemption of that situation was always returning in a better position.

And goin’ there for the things you loved to enjoy. Opposed to the things that kinda, you know, colored it different or put a gray cast over it. So, you know, you get past the bad and go straight to the good. And that’s kind of like what that song was about. Yeah. You know, we come up working hard, but it was always time for celebration, you know, after the work was done. Yup. And that’s kind of what, you know, kind of what it’s all about.

DJ: You’re pretty good friends with Joe Bonamassa, right?

Larry: Yeah, yeah, Joe’s a great guy, man.

DJ: Well, in just a couple of weeks, you’ll be heading out on tour in the states and even a few dates in Germany.

Larry: Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, you know, everything is quite new, you know? My management from a long, long time,  comin’ passed away about a year ago. And, uh, since that happened, you know, I got new management, I got a new booking agent and everything just seems to be going well, although it’s still pretty new. So I figured that I’ll really be able to tell the difference or feel the effects maybe a year up the road, you know what I’m saying? And I’m just hoping that, um, my philosophy is right and hope that I do see these changes coming.

DJ: You’re going to hit quite a few states on this tour.

Larry: Oh, yeah. Yeah. Well, you know, they intend to keep me busy. I just did a thing, with Devon Allman and Samantha Fish. And, I was gone for about six weeks. So coming up this time, I think I’ll be gone for three or four weeks. Come back home for a couple of days and take off and go to Europe, come home and work a little bit more. Go back to Europe with Devon Allman. Come home and go out and do more… (laughs)…ya know, so…

DJ: Keeping you busy.

Larry: It’s a lot of, a lot of going on right now. I just got to pace myself cause I ain’t young as I used to be.

DJ: Yeah, well, I’m way overdue for a trip to Chicago. Used to go there all the time, but, I might try to get up there for your show at the House of Blues.

Larry: Oh, cool. Where’s home for you?

DJ: St. Louis, Missouri, and it’s not terribly far to get up to Chicago, like, it’s a pretty good road trip. I mean, you can even take the train, but that’s even longer, but yeah. Most people just take, most people hit the road from St. Louis to go up to Chicago or hop a flight.

Larry: Right. Well, you got about the same trip to Chicago as I do, takes you about five hours.

DJ: Yeah. Something like that right around five hours.

Larry: That’s the same distance for me.

DJ: I’ve been to the House of Blues in Chicago a few times. It’s a great venue.

Larry: Oh, it is. It’s a real nice venue.

DJ: That’s the one that wraps up the tour, right. Or this current tour. Right?

Larry: Right? Right.

DJ: Well, Larry, this has been a pleasure getting to talk with you, and thank you so much for calling.

Larry: Aww, DJ Fey, it was my pleasure, man. I appreciate you.