Herb McQuay (died June 29, 2005) was a popular jazz and soul singer from New York who lived and worked in New Zealand during the late 1970s to the mid 1980s. He is remembered for his cover of the

Edwin Starr Charles Edwin Hatcher (January 21, 1942 – April 2, 2003), known by his stage name Edwin Starr, was an American singer and songwriter. Starr was famous for his Norman Whitfield-produced Motown singles of the 1970s, most notably the number-one ...

song, "

Oh How Happy Oh How Happy is a song written by Edwin Starr. It was a hit for the group The Shades of Blue. In the early 1980s, it was a minor hit for New Zealand based New York City soul singer Herb McQuay. Many artists have covered the song. It has been co ...

", which was a minor hit for him.

Background

For a period of time, McQuay and his family resided in Auckland. While in New Zealand, he recorded an album and had a number of singles released. McQuay had also recorded radio jingles. McQuay was born in New York. While in high school, he was a member of a street corner a cappella quartet. After high school, he studied music education at Shaw University. After he was drafted into the army in 1969.

Career

1970s

While in the Army, McQuay was a member of the Special Services Entertainment Division and went to Korea, Vietnam, Okinawa and Thailand and to Germany. Later after heading back to New York, he was in Germany and then went around Europe. He was later working cabaret as a result of getting a Managerial contact in Britain. His single "Runnin' Away From You", written by Colin Frechter and John Goodison, backed with his own composition "Storm Clouds" was released on the

Bell A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inte ...

label in 1974. He first arrived in New Zealand in 1975 or 1976. There he appeared at Auckland's Tanui Tavern By 1979, McQuay was hoping to settle in New Zealand permanently.

1980s

In 1980, his single "

" was released on the

Ode An ode (from grc, ᾠδή, ōdḗ) is a type of lyric poetry. Odes are elaborately structured poems praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally. A classic ode is structured in three majo ...

label. In 1981, McQuay recorded his first album at

Mandrill Studios Mandrill Studios was a recording studio in Parnell, a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. Many of New Zealand's prominent artists have had their work recorded there. Background The studio was located in the Auckland suburb of Parnell on York Street ...

. The album tracks included "Oh How Happy", "You Are The One", "Do Your Thing", "Hey Girl", "Mrs. Jones", " A Change Is Gonna Come, So You Win Again", "Unchained Melody Blues" and Storm Clouds". Towards the end of that year, on the 18th of December, Ernestine Anderson, with Blue Market Quintet appeared at His Majesty's Theatre in Auckland. McQuay also appeared at the event. Around 1982, he narrated the New Zealand made documentary ''Flying Light.... In a Sky of Our Own'', a Graham McLean production which featured hang gliding champion, Graeme Bird piloting a microlight aircraft.

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...

, provided music for the documentary. In 1983, his single "Night People" bw "Superstar was released. The record which was recorded at Mandrill Studios was produced by

Richard Lush Richard Lush is a British-born Australian recording engineer and producer. He began his career in the mid-1960s as an assistant engineer at the EMI Abbey Road Studios in London. Working alongside producer Sir George Martin and senior engineer G ...

. On July 22, 1984, McQuay was appearing with his trio at the Auckland Art Gallery. In 1986, after residing in New Zealand for four years, McQuay and his family left New Zealand for San Francisco.

Post New Zealand

In 1989, he was appearing at the Juniper Lounge at the High Sierra. He was there in May. Then he appeared later in the year. He was booked from the 26th of September to the first of October. During the 80s, McQuay had worked with big names such as Smokey Robinson,

Billy Dee Williams William December Williams Jr. (born April 6, 1937) is an American actor. He appeared as Lando Calrissian in the '' Star Wars'' franchise, first in the early 1980s for ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) and ''Return of the Jedi'' (1983), and thir ...

and The Brotherhood of Man. In New York, he appeared in productions such as ''

Porgy and Bess ''Porgy and Bess'' () is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play '' Porgy'', it ...

'' and ''

Bye Bye Birdie ''Bye Bye Birdie'' is a stage musical with music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams, based upon a book by Michael Stewart. Originally titled ''Let's Go Steady'', ''Bye Bye Birdie'' is set in 1958. The short story "Dream Man", authored ...

''.

1990s onwards

He spent 10 years from 1995 to 2005 as a member of one of the versions of

The Platters The Platters was an American vocal group formed in 1952. They are one of the most successful vocal groups of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound bridges the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the new burgeoning genre. The a ...

Death

He died on June 29, 2005, aged 56.Reno Band
McQUAY, Herb
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Discography

Film and television

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McQuay, Herb 1948 births 2005 deaths American expatriates in New Zealand American soul musicians American jazz singers 20th-century African-American male singers