Page 6 Portland Observer February 26. 1981
entertainment
HAPPENINGS
ENTERTAINMENT
SINGING CAREER BEGAN
IN CHURCH
i
t
!f l I
1
■
I he McCrary siblings, as so many other groups, began singing in church,
and their music Io this day reflects their spiritualness. They have come a long
way since (hose days in their Youngstown, O hio, choir, having firm ly
established themselves in gospel, R&B and dance music, and now the Mc-
Crarys are expanding their territory into the pop field with their Capitol
debut, Just h'or You.
Born into a family ol ten, Alfred, Charity, Howard, Linda and Sam Mc­
Crary were introduced to music by their father, and rehearsals often took
place at home whenever they could squeeze in a few bars. “ We use to practice
singing while we were washing dishes.“ remembers Howard. "Sam was the
eldest, so he was sort o f the supervisor."
I he group appeared on the Ted Mack Amateur H our television program
and made ihe finals, a feat which whetled their collective appetite to become
professional performers. “ It did a lot for our morale,” indicates Alfred.
Being on national I V at that point helped launch our desire."
I hey loured the U.S. and Canada with several choir groups, but they were
desirous ol a career o f their own. Owing to this, a decision was made to move
Ihe entire fam ily to Eos Angeles so that their door would be more readily
available when opportunity came knocking. Just in case, they continued to
work crusades with Oral Roberts and Billy Graham.
Finally, in 1972. they were offered a record contract and released Sunshine
Day on I ight Records. Although the music was gospel, the quintet found
that they were constantly adding more and more showmanship in their live
concerts. We have a concept that we could do a combination o f message
music with upgraded showmanship," says Alfred. “ Thai opened doors for
us because we became very successful at it.”
I hey made several guest appearances on television and went on USO tours
o l Alaska and the Far East before recording their first secular album ,
Emerge, on the Catseye label in 1975. In the wake o f the I P, the McCrarys
decided, o f all things, to break up.
W ed been together since we were kids,” says Charity, "and we needed to
develop our private lives a little more.”
Busch Pool League C om m issioner M in n es o ta Fats presents the
second place trophy to captain A ndrew W illiam s (Center) follow ing
the finals of the recent Busch Pool League National Championship in
St. Louis. La Juan's lost 4 3 to another St. Louis team. "The Place II,"
in the finals of the 25 team national cham pionship tournam ent, held
at the Bel A ir H ilton H otel O ther players c ele b ratin g the second
place finish and $2,000 in prize m oney include (background, le ft to
right) Charles M illiner, Sam Bailey and James Shelton.
Like
Mt. St.
Helens!
Let your Birthday or
Anniversary Party be a blast
Geneva \
282-6363
ASK FOR PAUL
/ have to say it. Don J give a ll yo u r
money hack to the man downtown.
A TOUCH OF NEW ORLEANS
BOURBON STREET
1530 N.E. Grand Ave.
P o rtla n d O re g o n 97212
287 8723
Mardi Gras Ball
$10.00 per person
Thursday, M arch 5, 1981
8:00 P.M .
Prize for Best Dressed Customes
1st Prise - $25.00 & com p. Dinner for 2
NIKOLAIS DANCE
THEATRE IN CONCERT
2nd Prize. $15.00 '
3rd Prize $10.00
Limited Reservations
Free 3 m onth subscription to everyone w ho
w a lk s thru the door. C o m p lim e n ts of the
Portland Observer.
MARCH
13
14 13
’ ik » .
JEFFERSON
l ’JKI PKKEORMING A R IS
G EM ER
SEE SPORTS O N G IA NT SCREEN T V
— William Glover, Associated Prass
7 am to 10 am
5 pm to 7 pm
W ell D rinks - $1.00
7 am to 10 am
R E S TA U R A N T M E A L HOURS
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1801 N.E. Alberta
THC UJIZ' IZ
A UIOUI!"
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$2.50
JOE’S PLACE
in
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B reakfast Special
2 Eggs, Ham or Bacon,
Hash Brown's & Toast
THE M cC R A R Y S
"Actually, it was a very significant period for us," adds Alfred, "because
we still had a lot of determination while we were apart. We all remained very
active writing and doing sessions.”
Charity and I inda found themselves doing background vocals on such
records as Stevie W onder’ s Song In The Key O f Live, Thelma Houston’ s
“ Don ’i Leave Me This H ay” and on several Diana Ross sessions.
Alfred, meanwhile, had taken a job as a staffw riter at Island Music. " I
really got into writing at that point," he says. " I t was my only outlet.”
One day he brought a batch o f songs in and the publisher asked whom he
thought should record them. Without hesitation Alfred took it upon himself
to announce that the M et rarys were available.
The singing McCrarys (says Howard, who had other interests to attend to
temporarily) gladly reunited to record Loving Is Living, which spawned a
Top 10 R&B, Top 40 pop charts single, “ You” featuring Stevie Wonder
playing harmonica.
National tours with Marilyn McCoo and Hilly Davis and the Dramatics en­
sued, and the McCrarys recorded a follow-up LP, One The Other Side, w hich
was more dance-music oriented, in 1978. They supported it with a major tour
accompanying the Jacksons.
Fast year the McCrarys hooked up with producer Patrick Henderson (best
noted lor his work on the Doohie Brothers’ Minute By Minute I P and for co­
producing Amy Holland’s LP with Doohie Mike McDonald), who brought a
dose o f his pop sensibilities to Just I o r You. "P a tric k incorporated that
element o f surprise,” notes Alfred. "H e added that well-rounded appeal.”
Another welcome surprise for the family is the official return o f Howard
who plays keyboards and harmonica on the new album and shares in the
songwriting and lead singing. " I am truly overjoyed to be back," enthuses
Howard. " I believe that everything has its perfect timing and this just hap­
pens to be it.
“ We have a message,” he continues, "and it is that loving is living. That is
a universal concept o f human belief. Love is the only truth. It transcends all
races, colors and religious beliefs.”
Frida y
Breakfast 7 to 10 A M
Lunch 11 to 2 PM
Dinner 5 to 10 PM
M
X
À
SATURDAY
S hort Order 3 to 5 PM
Dinner 5 to 10 PM
SUNDAY
C h a b lis B ru n c h 10 to 4 P M
W ith Live Entertainm ent 1 to 4 PM
P & J 's TIPPIN INN
Tavern
838 N. Killingsworth
The N e w Musical Version of
"The W onderful Wizard of Oz
UIINNCRI 7 TONV AWARDS
INCLUDING B€ST MUSICAL!
Blue Monday
-7
★ N ow Featuring ★
Jim m y (J. J.) Johnson
From Chi Town
D. J.'nnnnnnnnnning the latest soundsl
From 9 p .m ., until you get tired I
Come in and
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Wed 4 Tbur Mar 18 4 19 at 8 PM
PORTLAND PARAMOUNT
Aaaarvad Seats »12 50 H O 50 at EVERYBOOYS
RECORDS. all BUDGET TAPES and RECORDS,
STEVENS and SONS TICKETS FREDERICK and
NELSON TICKETS. MIER and FRANK. G I JOE S
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8560 Portland Or 97205 Enclose stamped addressed
envetope family DISCOUNT Half poce for family
members 17 and under when purchased with adult
* * a t and Semor Citizens 85 and over CaH 226-0035 for
GROUP SALE info n w n u m order 20 tickets
Fresh Pork
3 lbs. & U n d e r
Open 9 am till...
Parking in rear
Wed. Ladies Night
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