Barry McGuire (born October 15, 1935) Rocksinger-songwriter

Barry McGuire

Barry Eugene McGuire (Oklahoma City, 15 ottobre 1935) è un cantautore statunitense.  

Carriera

Dopo aver pubblicato un singolo nel 1961 The Tree, Barry McGuire forma un duo con Barry Kane, che diventeranno i New Christy Minstrels nel 1962. Tuttavia nel 1965 dopo aver registrato l'album Chim Chim Cher-ee, McGuire lascia il gruppo e prosegue la propria carriera come solista.
Come solista di rock-folk degli anni sessanta, McGuire diventa popolare principalmente per i brani Eve of Destruction e Sins of the Family, entrambi scritti da P.F. Sloan. Altri suoi successi sono stati Child of Our Times, scritto insieme a Steve Barri e Cloudy Afternoon (Raindrops), composto da Travis Edmonson. Eve of Destruction il 25 settembre 1965 arrivò alla prima posizione della Billboard Hot 100, la prima e l'unica volta che McGuire entrò nella top 40 pop statunitense.
McGuire è apparso nei film del 1967 The President's Analyst con James Coburn, Old Wrangle, ed in Werewolves on Wheels nel 1971. McGuire ha anche preso parte per un anno al musical di Broadway Hair (musical).
Dagli anni settanta ha abbracciato la religione cristiana, aderendo al movimento musicale del christian rock e pubblicando alcuni album per la Myrrh Records, che lascerà nel 1976. Gli album successivi della carriera di McGuire saranno pubblicati dalla Sparrow Records, anche se nel 1980 deciderà di ritirarsi dall'industria discografica e ritirarsi a vita privata in Nuova Zelanda.
Negli anni novanta Barry McGuire tornerà negli Stati Uniti, e si unirà con Terry Talbot per registrare con il nome collettivo Talbot McGuire. Il duo ha pubblicato quattro album dal 1996 al 2000. Nel 2008 McGuire girerà l'America in tour, insieme al collega John York.

Discografia parziale

• 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)

Barry McGuire (born October 15, 1935) is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for the hit song "Eve of Destruction", and later as a pioneering singer and songwriter of contemporary Christian music. 

Early life

McGuire was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and moved to California in early childhood, when he was two years old. After working as a commercial fisherman, and then going on to become a journeyman pipe fitter, McGuire got a job singing in a bar. In 1961, he released his first single called "The Tree", which was not a hit.
He formed a duo with Barry Kane (d. 2013) called Barry & Barry. The new duo folk act performed their own brand of original folk arrangements—noticeably impressive melodies laced with rich harmonies—at The Ice House, a small folk club in Pasadena, California before moving on to The Troubadour in Hollywood in the spring of 1962. At The Troubadour they both joined The New Christy Minstrels, a large folk group performing there, and McGuire sang lead vocals on their novelty single "Three Wheels on My Wagon".
They continued to perform their separate duo act there as well as performing with The New Christy Minstrels. Under Horizon Records, they cut their first and only album as Barry & Barry, called Here And Now, which contained songs such as "Gold Wedding Ring", "Land Of Odin", the single "Another Man", "Summer's Over", "You Know My Name", "Bull 'Gine Run", and "Far Side Of The Hill". It also included "If I Had A Hammer". released three months after the release of the same song by folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary.
In 1963, McGuire, along with Randy Sparks (the founder of The New Christy Minstrels), co-wrote and sang lead vocal on the Christys' first and biggest hit single: "Green, Green." He left the Christys in January 1965, after recording the album Cowboys and Indians, although, on the 1965 album Chim Chim Cher-ee, he sang on the title cut.

Solo career

As a folk rock solo singer in the 1960s, he was best known for his hits "Eve of Destruction" and "Sins of a Family", both written by P.F. Sloan. Barry's other chart successes were "Child of Our Times" and "Cloudy Summer Afternoon (Raindrops)" (penned by Travis Edmonson of the 1960s folk-duo, Bud & Travis). "Eve of Destruction" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. The album, Eve of Destruction, peaked at No. 37 on the Billboard 200 album chart during the week ending September 25, 1965. That same week the single went to No. 1 on both the Cashbox and Billboard Hot 100 chart. McGuire was never again to break into the Top 40. The song knocked "Help!" by The Beatles out of the top spot on the chart. According to McGuire, "Eve of Destruction" was recorded in one take on a Thursday morning (from words scrawled on a 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 could not read the words. The Temptations referenced McGuire's song "Eve of Destruction" in their song "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)".
The album This Precious Time was released in 1965, his second with Dunhill Records. It includes a version of "California Dreamin'" with The Mamas & the Papas singing backing vocals. McGuire is mentioned several times in The 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 with James Coburn as the character "Old Wrangler" (leader of a band which completely comprised the Los Angeles group Clear Light, who were between lead vocalists) and in Werewolves on Wheels in 1971. He also starred for a year in the Broadway musical Hair in 1968.
McGuire became a born-again Christian in 1971 after a brief encounter with evangelist Arthur Blessitt in October 1970. 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 the 2nd Chapter of Acts. In 1974, McGuire released his second Jesus 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 double live 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 the Agapeland series) for Sparrow's subsidiary label, Birdwing.
In 1978, he toured England, Scotland, and Wales with the Jimmy Owens' musical The Witness, in which he played the part of the apostle Peter, a part he also played on the studio recording of The Witness.

Later life

In the 1980s, McGuire left the music industry, and settled for a time in New Zealand with his wife, Mari. He returned to the United States in the 1990s, teaming up with Terry Talbot and recording as Talbot McGuire. The duo released four albums between 1996 and 2000.
In 1990, he published a novel co-written with Logan White. A paperback, In the Midst of Wolves, told a story about a group of bikers who come to know God. He did a brief stint with The New Mamas and the Papas in 1997–1998.
As of 2006, he undertook engagements which include a few songs and talks on a mixture of topics, by both McGuire and his wife. The McGuires reside in Fresno, California, but also spend part of every year in New Zealand.
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 2009, McGuire released "Eve 2012", where the text had been modified to reflect contemporary problems (mostly environmental problems) rather than the problems of the 1960s.
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 1960s 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."

Partial discography

Albums

• 1962: Barry Here and Now
• 1963: The Barry McGuire Album
• 1965: Eve of Destruction
• 1965: This Precious Time
• 1967: The World's Last Private Citizen
• 1971: McGuire and the Doctor
• 1972: Seeds
• 1974: Lighten Up
• 1974: Narnia
• 1975: Jubilation
• 1975: To the Bride
• 1975: Eve of Destruction (Star Power)
• 1976: C'mon Along
• 1976: Anyone But Jesus
• 1976: Jubilation Two
• 1977: Have You Heard
• 1978: Cosmic Cowboy
• 1979: Inside Out
• 1980: Best of Barry McGuire
• 1981: Finer Than Gold
• 1989: Pilgrim
• 1991: Let's Tend God's Earth
• 1995: When Dinosaurs Walked the Earth
• 1997: Ancient Garden
• 1999: Frost and Fire
• 2000: Eve of Destruction (20 Inspirational Classics)

Charting singles

Year	Song	Peak chart positions						Album
		US	NO	NL	UK	DE	BE
1965	"Eve of Destruction"	1	1	3	3	6	15	Eve Of Destruction
	"Child Of Our Times"	72	—	—	—	—	—	This Precious Time
1966	"Cloudy Summer Afternoon"	62	—	—	—	—	—	The World's Last Private Citizen

 

Barry McGuire - Eve Of Destruction - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfZVu0alU0I

Lyrics

The eastern world, it is explodin',
Violence flarin', bullets loadin',
You're old enough to kill but not for votin',
You don't believe in war, but what's that gun you're totin',
And even the Jordan river has bodies floatin',
But you tell me over and over and over again my friend,
Ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.

Don't you understand, what I'm trying to say?
And can't you feel the fears I'm feeling today?
If the button is pushed, there's no running away,
There'll be no one to save with the world in a grave,
Take a look around you, boy, it's bound to scare you, boy,
And you tell me over and over and over again my friend,
Ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.

Yeah, my blood's so mad, feels like coagulatin',
I'm sittin' here, just contemplatin',
I can't twist the truth, it knows no regulation,
Handful of Senators don't pass legislation,
And marches alone can't bring integration,
When human respect is disintegratin',
This whole crazy world is just too frustratin',
And you tell me over and over and over again my friend,
Ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.

Think of all the hate there is in Red China!
Then take a look around to Selma, Alabama!
Ah, you may leave here, for four days in space,
But when your return, it's the same old place,
The poundin' of the drums, the pride and disgrace,
You can bury your dead, but don't leave a trace,
Hate your next door neighbor, but don't forget to say grace,
And you tell me over and over and over and over again my friend,
You don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.

No, no, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.

Songwriters: P. F. Sloan

Eve of Destruction lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Artist: Barry McGuire

Album: Eve Of Destruction

Released: 1965

 

 

Barry McGuire - The Sins Of a Family Fall On The Daughter - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbii7NWc45c

Lyrics

She had a bad childhood when she was very young
So don't judge her too badly
She had a schizophrenic mother who worked in the gutter
And would have sold herself to the devil, gladly

What a sad environment
A bug ridden tenement
And when they couldn't pay the rent
It was 'cause her father was out
Getting liquored
Oh, the stone's been cast
And blood's thicker than water

And the sins of the family fall on the daughter
Yeah the sins of the family fall on the daughter

At the age of 16 she had been around more
Than any girl over 30
And the high I.Q's who condemned her
Knew she's a product of poor heredity

It's a fictitious fact when you fall on your back
You can backtrack failure with inspection, without exemption

All the sins of the family fall on the daughter
Yeah the sins of the family fall on the daughter

Oh, the devil is open to all of us
Heaven selects a precious few
And it takes some inside pull to get Gabriel
To make an angel of you

One can't live a lie then expect to die
With a soul in paradise
You know you gotta pay the price
Like you oughtta
Blood's thicker than water

And the sins of the family fall on the daughter
Yeah the sins of the family fall on the daughter

Artist: Barry McGuire

Album: Eve Of Destruction

Released: 1965

 

Barry McGuire - Child of Our Times - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kflzhbAOBj4

Lyrics

Take your first look around
And see the world you're coming into
Ah, have a good cry
I sympathize with you

Ah, forever gone is your serenity
For the fleeing fawn
There's no sacred tree
They'll try to make
Hypocrisy of your heredity

So choose your views most carefully
The future's hope is on
What you turn out to be

Child of our times
Child of our times
Product of our society
What will you grow up to respect
Tell me what will you
Grow up to protect
In your burning, turning mind
You are your own worst enemy

Every minute you're alive
You're that much closer to death
So try to make the most of
Each precious breath

Ah, don't wave banners
You don't believe parasite
You'll have to discover
Your own wrong and right
Just color your perspectives
Black and white

They'll label you weird
But that's all right
They'll thank you in the end
After they've seen the light

Child of our times
Child of our times
Product of our society
What will you grow up to respect
Tell me what will you
Grow up to protect
In your burning, turning mind
You are your own worst enemy

Ah, the heroes of the past
Were all good guys
But the leaders of the next war
No one will memorize

Only the orphan child
Will sound the cries
Of a mistake that could
Never be rectified
I'm telling you now
Cause you can stop it if you try

Child of our times
Child of our times
Product of our society
What will you grow up to respect
Tell me what will you
Grow up to protect
In your burning, turning mind
You are your own worst enemy

Child of our times

Songwriters: P. F. Sloan

Child of Our Times lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Artist: Barry McGuire

Album: This Precious Time

Released: 1965

Genre: Rock

 

Barry McGuire Cloudy Summer Afternoon - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk4a9E5_WaU

Lyrics

On a cloudy summer afternoon
We sat and waited for the raindrops
Pitter patter of the raindrops
Fell in love, fell in love

Time was passing by the shadows fell
I never noticed when the rain stopped
Pitter patter of the raindrops
I fell in love, I fell in love

We read the paper
As we laid on the floor
Smoking that last cigarette

Nothing was said
For an hour or more
But I can never forget

How the time was passing by
The shadows fell
I never noticed when the rain stopped
Pitter patter of the raindrops
I fell in love, oh, I fell in love

Oh, we read the paper
As we laid on the floor
Smoking that last cigarette

Nothing was said
For an hour or more
But I can never forget

It was on a cloudy summer afternoon
We sat and waited for the raindrops
Pitter patter of the raindrops
I fell in love

Oh, we fell in love (raindrops)
Me and my girl fell in love (raindrops)

Songwriters: Travis Edmonson

Cloudy Summer Afternoon lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Artist: Barry McGuire

Released: 1980

Genre: Folk Rock

 

Barry Mc Guire-You Were On My Mind - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaKAa-vMiv0

Lyrics

When I woke up this morning
And you were on my mind.
You were on my mind

I got troubles, woe-woe
I got worries, woe-woe
I got wounds to bind.

So I went to the corner
Just to ease my pain
I said, just to ease my pain.

I got troubles, woe-woe
I got worries, woe-woe
I came home again.

When I woke up this morning
And you were on my mind.
And you were on my mind.

I got troubles, woe-woe
I got worries, woe-woe
I got wounds to bind.

But I gotta feelin` yeah
Down in my shoes
I said, way down in my shoes.

I got a rainbow, woe-woe
I gotta move on, woe-woe
I gotta walk away my blues.

When I woke up this morning
And you were on my mind
I said, you were on my mind.

Well I got troubles, woe-woe
I got worries, woe-woe
I got wounds to bind.

Songwriters: Sylvia Fricker

You Were on My Mind lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc

Artist: Barry McGuire

Album: Eve Of Destruction

Released: 1965