Photo by Arnie Goodman
Rustbelt blues guitarist and singer Larry McCray has been connecting with the blues for nearly 50 years. Born in 1960 and raised on a farm in Magnolia, Ark., 12 miles from the Louisiana state line, McCray honed his skills by adding rock riffs to the traditional blues he had grown to love. In the late ’80s, while he was playing a local circuit and working at a factory, McCray garnered the attention of the head of Virgin Records’ blues label – who signed him as Point Blank Records’ inaugural artist.
After his critically acclaimed 1990 debut album Ambition, McCray simultaneously maintained and redefined the blues, releasing several albums, including Delta Hurricane (1993), Meet Me at the Lake (1996) and Born to Play the Blues (1998). In 2000, McCray decided to start his own label, Magnolia Records, and released Believe It (2000), Blues Is My Business (2001), Live on Interstate 75 (2006), Larry McCray (2007) and The Gibson Sessions (2015). Over the years, he amassed many awards, including Male Blues Guitarist of the Year in 2000, Top Guitarist prize in the International Blues Matters 2014 writer’s poll and the “Sunshine” Sonny Payne Award for Blues Excellence in 2015.
His most recent project, Blues Without You, released on March 25 of this year and debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Blues Album chart. The project showcased a raw understanding of blues that could only come with a life well lived. Though McCory is still a relatively young man at 62, he has played with the likes of B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Albert King, John Mayall, Johnny Winter, Robert Cray, Keb Mo and countless others over his 30-year career. During those times, he experienced the rags-to-riches stories of the blues and, like many artists, went through periods of time where he gave in to his vices. Today, we share the video for a standout track off the 12-song release “No More Crying.”
“I wrote ‘No More Crying’ with a gentleman by the name of Aaron Sarkar. He’s a rapper but I try not to restrict myself who I socialize with musically because I feel that I can draw from every situation, whether it’s rap or punk or rock,” McCray shared with Relix. “I’m a blues man, born and bred by nature. So when I hear salsa, when I hear Latin, I’m hearing the blues, I’m just hearing it in a different rhythmic format. ‘No More Crying’ was inspired by the pandemic. When I think about my life, I try to reflect on all my experiences and express that with the music.”
Watch the video for “No More Crying” below.
