Dan Crary | nl

Dan Crary is an imposing figure--both literally and figuratively. At over six feet tall, his eyes peering out behind tinted glasses, his thinned gray hair pulled back into a tight, small pony tail and his gray beard neatly trimmed, Crary speaks with a resonant baritone voice that commands attention. It's fitting then, that Crary spends much of his time teaching Communication Sciences at Cal State Fullerton. As a guitarist, Crary, indeed casts a giant shadow. In 1970 Crary released the first bluegrass album built around the guitar aptly called Bluegrass Guitar. In the liner notes to the CD reissue of...

An unsung family group from Los Angeles, the McCrarys sang gospel prior to signing with Portrait Records in 1978 for four singles and two albums. Linda, Alfred, Sam, and Charity McCrary sang on the Portrait recordings, while another sibling, Howard, had sung with them on a 1972 gospel release, "Sunshine Day." Their most popular singles were "Lost in Loving You," "Love on a Summer Night," and "You" (the latter with Stevie Wonder on harmonica), while their career highlights include opening for the Jacksons and appearing on Soul Train. They sang a fresh, hip, urban style of gospel that was years...