Mary McCreary is an American singer, pianist and composer. She has been a member of hit making recording acts, Little Sister and Leon & Mary Russell. She has recorded her own albums for the MCA and

Shelter Shelter is a small building giving temporary protection from bad weather or danger. Shelter may also refer to: Places * Port Shelter, Hong Kong * Shelter Bay (disambiguation), various locations * Shelter Cove (disambiguation), various locatio ...

labels. As a session singer she has sung on a multitude of artists' recordings such as

Sly & the Family Stone Sly and the Family Stone was an American band from San Francisco. Active from 1966 to 1983, it was pivotal in the development of funk, soul, rock, and psychedelic music. Its core line-up was led by singer-songwriter, record producer, and multi-i ...

, Michael Bolotin,

Melba Moore Beatrice Melba Hill or Beatrice Melba Smith (sources differ) (born October 29, 1945), known by her stage name Melba Moore, is an American singer and actress. Biography Early life and education Moore was born Beatrice Melba Hill or Beatrice Melba ...

and

Denny Laine Denny Laine (born Brian Frederick Hines, 29 October 1944) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter, known as a founder of two major rock bands: the Moody Blues, with whom he played from 1964 to 1966, and Wings, with whom he played from 1 ...

Background

Mary McCrary is a singer and musician who plays piano and did her own arrangements on her recordings. In 1961, when she was aged ten, she sang on stage with the folk group

The Limeliters The Limeliters are an American folk music group, formed in July 1959 by Lou Gottlieb (bass violin/bass), Alex Hassilev (banjo/baritone), and Glenn Yarbrough (guitar/tenor). The group was active from 1959 until 1965, and then after a hiatus of si ...

, performing the song, "Run Little Donkey Run" which appeared on the group's album, ''

Through Children's Eyes (Little-Folk Songs for Adults) ''Through Children's Eyes (Little-Folk Songs for Adults)'' is a live album by the American folk music group, The Limeliters, backed by a chorus of 70 children from the Berkeley Unified School District in California. The album was recorded on 29 D ...

''. She was part of The Heavenly Tones and then later, Little Sister who had three hits in the early 1970s, " You're the One (Part 1)", " Somebody's Watching You" and " Stanga". After her time with Little Sister, McCrary joined the rock choir New Generation. She was part of the duo, Leon & Mary Russell who had the hit "Rainbow in Your Eyes" in 1975 which got to no. 52 on the ''Billboard'' singles chart. In 1973, she signed with

Shelter Records Shelter Records was a U.S. record label started by Leon Russell and Denny Cordell that operated from 1969 to 1981. The company established offices in both Los Angeles and Tulsa, Russell's home town, where the label sought to promote a "workshop ...

and made her debut album with ''Butterflies in Heaven''. She is now known as Mary Rand.

Career

1973

;''Butterflies in Heaven'' album Her album '' Butterflies in Heaven'' was released in 1973. It was produced by D. J. Rogers and included the songs "My Soul Is Satisfied", "God Is Always Near", "Evil Woman" and "Butterflies In Heaven". She composed most of the songs and played piano on all except for one.

Maxayn Lewis Maxayn Lewis is an American soul singer, musician, songwriter, and producer. She began her career in the 1960s, under her birth name Paulette Parker, as member of the Ikettes in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. In the 1970s, Lewis sang lead in the ba ...

sang backup and

Marlo Henderson Marlo Henderson was an American guitarist and saxophonist, who played in mainly blues and R&B genres. As a session musician he played on albums such as '' Off the Wall'' by Michael Jackson, '' Them Changes'' by Buddy Miles, '' Face to Face'' by Ev ...

played guitar on one track. It was reported by ''Billboard'' in the week ending July 7, 1973 ''Butterflies in Heaven'' was an FM action pick with airplay on WHCN.FM, one of the country's leading progressive radio stations. The following week it was an FM action pick on another leading progressive station, WNEW.FM. Her single "Evil Woman" that she co-wrote with Lawrence Hill was produced by D. J. Rogers. It was reviewed in the First Time Around section of the July 28 issue of ''Billboard''. Her powerful vocals and the piano playing were noted as well as the pop and soul audience potential. ;Further activities On August 5, she was appearing at the Oakland Alamedia County fair. She opened the concert at the Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California that also featured

Leon Russell Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges; April 2, 1942 – November 13, 2016) was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock and ...

and

Loggins & Messina Loggins and Messina was an American rock- pop duo consisting of Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina, who achieved their success in the early to mid-1970s. Among their well-known songs are "Danny's Song", "House at Pooh Corner", and "Your Mama Don't ...

. The review of her performance in the August 11 issue of ''Billboard'' was favorable which noted her powerful vocals and good piano ability. She was appearing at the Schaeffer Stadium in

Foxborough, Massachusetts Foxborough is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, about southwest of Boston, northeast of Providence, Rhode Island and about northwest of Cape Cod. Foxborough is part of the Greater Boston area. The population was 18,618 at ...

on August 13, the Atlanta Stadium in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

on August 16 and at the American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina on August 18. ''Billboard'' reported in the September 29, 1973 issue that McCreary and

Phoebe Snow Phoebe Snow (born Phoebe Ann Laub; July 17, 1950 – April 26, 2011) was an American roots music singer-songwriter and guitarist, known for her hit 1974 and 1975 songs "San Francisco Bay Blues", "Poetry Man", "Harpo's Blues", and her credited g ...

were part of an experiment by Shelter Records in connection with

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

for a four recorder, four camera video bus. Shelter president Denny Cordell was at the controls and Leon Russell was present.

1974

She composed the song "Singin' the Blues" which was released on Shelter 40217. It was backed with " High Flying Me". It was a recommended single in the May 11, 1974 issue of ''Billboard''. ;''Jezebel'' album Her ''Jezebel'' album had already been released by November, 1974. It was mentioned in the November 9 issue of ''Billboard'' which noted a mix of material that drew from the soul, rock and reggae genres. The musicians that played on the album were Leon Russell,

Chuck Rainey Charles Walter Rainey III (born June 17, 1940) is an American bass guitarist who has performed and recorded with many well-known acts, including Aretha Franklin, Steely Dan, and Quincy Jones. Rainey is credited for playing bass on more than 1,00 ...

Andy Newmark Andrew Newmark (born July 14, 1950)

Jose Feliciano Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galile ...

, the Tower of Power and Charles Larkey. On the week of November 9, the record was at no. 210 on the ''Billboard'' Bubbling Under The Top LP's chart that week. On the week ending October 19, it was sharing the no. 13 spot with ''Dragonfly'' by

Jefferson Starship Jefferson Starship is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1974 by a group of musicians including former members of Jefferson Airplane. Between 1974 and 1984, they released eight gold or platinum-selling studio albu ...

and ''Free Beer and Chicken'' by

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues. Hooker often ...

on the Billboard FM Action chart. On the week ending November 16, her album was at no. 209 on the ''Billboard'' Bubbling Under The Top LP's chart. On the week of November 23, the album had made its debut at no. 188 on the ''Record World'' 151 - 200 New & Active chart. On the week of December 7, it was at no. 183 on the ''Record World'' 151 - 200 Album chart. With the chart now renamed as the 151-200 Album Chart, the record reached its peak position of 181 on the week of December 14. It was still in the chart at no. 195 on December 28. ;Singles from album She composed the song "Brother" which was released on Shelter SR-40327. Produced by Denny Cordell and Leon Russell, it was a recommended single in the Top Single Picks in the November 9 issue of ''Billboard''. It was culled from the album. It was also reviewed by ''Cash Box'' that week. Her gutsy voice and the backing vocals that augmented her voice beautifully were noted. It was given chart movement potential. "Brother" was in the ''Record World'' Hits of the Week section for the week of November 23. ;Further activities Eric Clapton covered her song "Singin' the Blues" which appeared on his ''There's One in Every Crowd'' album that was released in 1975. She contributed her backing vocals to

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album, ''

Rough Rough may refer to: * Roughness (disambiguation) * Rough (golf), the area outside the fairway on a golf course Geography * Rough (facility), former gas field now gas storage facility, off the Yorkshire coast of England People * Alan Rough (born 1 ...

'' that was released in 1977. In 1979, her album ''Heart of Fire'' was released on the

Paradise In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in paradis ...

label. It was credited to Mary Russell. It was reviewed in the March 3 issue of ''Record World''. It received positive review with the quality of her musicianship and vocals were noted. The tracks "Body Music" and "Heart of Fire" were noted as potential for instant adds at BOS stations. It was also reviewed in the March 12 issue of ''Walrus''. The drawing from classic R&B moves, pleasing tunes and solidity were noted but the singular sense of style was pointed out as a drawback. The magazine also reported that she was getting moderate airplay on WBAB in Long Island NY and was added to the playlist of KZEL in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

. ''Cash Box'' reported that the album was added to the playlist of KRST-FM in Albuquerque. It was also recorded as an Album Breakout at Radio Doctors, the well-established record store in Milwaukee.

As Mary Rand

In 2005, she released her ''Still Together'' album and in 2015 she released ''Love & Praise'', and ''Go Just Go''.

Personal life

She was married to Leon Russell and they had a son, Teddy Jack Willie John Russell Bridges. He is also a musician.Fox 23, Mar 16, 2022
Teddy Jack set to perform at the Venue Shrine - Dominique O'Neil
/ref>

References

External links

* * William Sargent channel
Satisfy You - Leon & Mary Russell
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCreary, Mary American rock musicians American session musicians MCA Records artists Paradise Records artists Philips Records artists Shelter Records artists American women pianists Little Sister (band) members 1950s births Living people