Photo: Mike Shea · CC BY-SA 3.0 · credits
Tier 2 · legacy legend
Larry McCray
Person · male · United States · Magnolia · born 1960 · recording since 1990
American blues guitarist and singer
streamingstreamingstreamingticketsdatabasedatabasedatabase
Listen on SpotifyYouTube Music
Also known as Larry Mc Cray · Ларри Маккрей
Timeline
12 events▣ Album 10◦ Birth 1★ Debut release 1
1960s
1990s
· Debut release
Debut release: Ambition
First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
2000s
2010s
2020s
Biography
English biography300 words · 3 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1349769564
Biography
Larry McCray (born April 5, 1960), is an American blues guitarist and singer from Magnolia, Arkansas.
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, in 1972.
McCray took his influence from his sibling and the three Kings (B.B., Freddie and Albert), to playing the local club circuit, with his brothers Carl on bass guitar and Steve on drums.
Career
After high school, McCray worked at General Motors on the assembly line, before recording his debut album, Ambition
AmbitionSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Ambition3:572Count on Me for Love5:123Me and My Baby4:414One More Lonely Night3:525Frustrated Baby4:226Keep on Walking3:437Sally's Got a Friend in New York City3:208I Don't Mind3:199Nobody Never Hurt Nobody With the Blues3:2710Country Girl6:4911Secret Lover3:3712The Sun Rises in the East2:08 (1991), via Pointblank Records. It was recorded in a friend's basement recording studio in Detroit. He was soon touring with a fellow record label artist, Albert Collins. His 1993 follow-up, Delta Hurricane, was produced by the veteran British blues devotee, Mike Vernon.
In 1999, McCray recorded a cover version of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" for the tribute album, Tangled Up in Blues. In 2000, McCray founded his own independent record label, Magnolia Records, and Believe It was its first release. The same year, McCray played alongside Jimmy Thackery, as guest guitarists on Sista Monica Parker's album, People Love the Blues. Magnolia released McCray's first live album, Live on Interstate 75
Live on Interstate 75Spotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Delta Hurricane5:002Man on Bended Knees4:593Gone for Good7:554Witchin’ Moon4:335Four Nickels5:316Believe It7:507Blue River5:448Somebody’s Watching5:459Blues Is My Business7:2810Four Little Boys11:3211Nobody Never Hurt Nobody With the Blues4:0912Soulshine8:15, in mid-2006. This was followed with Larry McCray, in 2007.
His 2015 tour commenced at the King Biscuit Blues Festival in Helena-West Helena, Arkansas on October 11, where McCray was honored with the "Sunshine" Sonny Payne Award for Blues Excellence.
In 2022, McCray released his Blues Without You album on Joe Bonamassa's KTBA Records. It was nominated Best Contemporary Blues Album via the Blues Music Awards. The album was also voted the No. 1 album in 2022 by Blues Rock Review magazine.
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 8 | 49.7th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 11 | 82.8th |
| Studio albums | 10 | 91.1th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 12 | 88.9th |
| Recording span (years) | 35 | 74.2th |
| Genres | 2 | 74th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (11 release groups · 10 studio albums)
Albums · 10
1990 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 12 tracks · 48:27
1Ambition3:572Count on Me for Love5:123Me and My Baby4:414One More Lonely Night3:525Frustrated Baby4:226Keep on Walking3:437Sally's Got a Friend in New York City3:208I Don't Mind3:199Nobody Never Hurt Nobody With the Blues3:2710Country Girl6:4911Secret Lover3:3712The Sun Rises in the East2:081993 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 11 tracks · 48:29
1Delta Hurricane4:272Adding Up4:413Last Four Nickels4:104Soul Shine4:495Not That Much3:506Last Hand Of The Night3:407Witchin' Moon3:398Blue River5:029Hole In My Heart5:3810Three Straight Days Of Rain3:2611Blues in the City5:071996 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 45:59
1Too Much Rooster4:322More Walk, Less Talk2:463In a Funk in a Phone Booth6:394Hell to Pay4:555Look Around4:456No Letter4:087Havoc4:018Never Let it Happen Again5:369The Moon is Full7:1110Spend It1:261998 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 12 tracks · 1:00:43
1Born to Play the Blues4:532Smooth Sailing5:083Feel So Damn Good4:074Same Old Blues4:465Sunny Monday6:056I Wonder5:397Worried Down With the Blues6:568Woman Across the River4:019Man on Bended Knee4:5910Sugar Coated Love4:2811Gone for Good6:3112I'm a Lover Not a Fighter3:102000 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 11 tracks · 55:52
1That's How Strong6:562You Don't Know4:223Blues Is My Business5:004Love Gone Bad7:215Burglar3:166Strong Companion5:197Best in Town5:158Believe It5:139She's a Wolf4:2910Cash Money4:2111Best Friend4:202001 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 11 tracks · 55:33
1Best In Town5:142Blues Is My Business4:593That’s How Strong6:544Love Gone Mad7:205Burglar3:146Strong Companion s5:187You Don’t Know4:198Believe It5:129She’s A Wolf4:2710Cash Money4:1911Best Friend4:172007 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 12 tracks · 1:03:17
1Run5:382Get My Blue's On4:083Don't Need No Woman4:134Broken Promise4:365Big Black Hole4:266No More6:077Somebody Watching6:348Buck Naked6:359You Are the One4:2510Never Hurt So Bad4:5111Really Knock Me Out6:0612Real Mother for You5:382014 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 12 tracks · 1:02:00
1Needle and the Spoon3:542Night Moves5:533Waiting for the Bus4:204I'm No Angel4:565Can't You See5:106Listen to the Music4:267Strealin'4:378Unchain My Heart4:259Changes4:0910Wild Horses7:0611Born on the Bayou7:0912Love the One You're (with)5:552022 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 12 tracks · 1:05:17
1Arkansas4:352Without Love It Doesn’t Matter4:503Good Die Young4:414Down To the Bottom5:435Breaking News6:296Roadhouse Blues6:207Drinkin’ Liquor and Chasin’ Women5:368Blues Without You (For Paul)5:109Mr. Easy7:1110No More Crying4:1711Don’t Put Your Dreams To Bed5:1012I Play the Blues5:152025 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 52:47
1Try to Be a Good Man4:192Heartbreak City7:243Bye Bye Blues4:544Bright Side5:375Everything Falls on Me4:436I Know What I've Done4:407Keep on Loving My Baby6:598Hangman5:039Stop Your Crying4:3110Crazy World4:37
Album · 1
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Live on Interstate 75Search SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 12 tracks · 1:18:411Delta Hurricane5:00 2Man on Bended Knees4:59 3Gone for Good7:55 4Witchin’ Moon4:33 5Four Nickels5:31 6Believe It7:50 7Blue River5:44 8Somebody’s Watching5:45 9Blues Is My Business7:28 10Four Little Boys11:32 11Nobody Never Hurt Nobody With the Blues4:09 12Soulshine8:15 | Live | 2006 |
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Larry McCray head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 8 | 49.7th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 11 | 82.8th |
| Studio albums | 10 | 91.1th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 12 | 88.9th |
| Recording span (years) | 35 | 74.2th |
| Genres | 2 | 74th |
Awards & honours
Line-up
| Name | From | To | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Larry McCray Band(band) | — | present | eponymous |
Where this record comes from
portrait—Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LarryMcCrayMonterey2011.jpgaliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/09c635be-c8e8-4f89-94bf-05c66b8144a1discography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/09c635be-c8e8-4f89-94bf-05c66b8144a1core—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3218080genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3218080seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_McCraybiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_McCray
Why this artist is in the database
- List of blues musicians — rank #66
| 1962 | | Arkansas | Electric blues |
Tier rule: genre canon: blues
Image: Mike Shea · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q3218080 · MusicBrainz: 09c635be-c8e8-4f89-94bf-05c66b8144a1
Similar artists
Browse every Tier 2 artist →Ranked from this record's own data: shared genre tags (rarer tags weigh more), era, home country and comparable fame. Every card lists the signals that placed it — no editorial picks.
Terry Evans
United States · Person
blues
1 shared genre tag · debut 1988, 2 years apart · from United States
8 wikis
Miles Jaye
United States · Person
blues
1 shared genre tag · debut 1987, 3 years apart · from United States
3 wikis
Steve Gaines
United States · Person
blues
1 shared genre tag · debut 1988, 2 years apart · from United States
15 wikis
Neal Schon
United States · Person
blues
1 shared genre tag · debut 1989, 1 year apart · from United States
24 wikis
Curtis Salgado
United States · Person
blues
1 shared genre tag · debut 1996 · from United States
5 wikis
Tad Robinson
United States · Person
blues
1 shared genre tag · debut 1994 · from United States
3 wikis
Peter Wolf
United States · Person
blues
1 shared genre tag · debut 1984 · from United States
13 wikis
Ron "Pigpen" McKernan
United States · Person
blues
1 shared genre tag · debut 1995 · from United States
16 wikis