Arnold McCuller (born August 26, 1950) is an American vocalist, songwriter, and record producer, born and raised in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...

, Ohio. He was active as a solo artist and

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

, but is perhaps best known for his work as a touring back-up singer with artists such as

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, hav ...

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his experimental and lo-fi style, and became known for creating musical colla ...

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American blues singer and guitarist. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporate ...

, and

Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, multimedia artist, sound engineer and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the band U ...

. He toured for forty-five years with Taylor and is an audience favorite for his featured vocal parts on the songs "

Shower the People "Shower the People" is the opening track on James Taylor's 1976 album '' In the Pocket''. Reception ''Cash Box'' said that the song is "a meaningful ballad that will pick up a lot of FM airplay" said that it has "a way with melody and phrasing" ...

", "I Will Follow", and "Is That the Way You Look". He has also toured extensively with Collins and is one of the main lead vocalists on the live version of " Easy Lover". In 2010 McCuller joined the Troubadour Reunion Tour supporting James Taylor and

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one o ...

Film

McCuller has had numerous acting parts in films, particularly in movies centered on music, such as '' American Hot Wax'' (1978) and '' The Hollywood Knights'' (1980). He appeared in the film '' The Sum of All Fears'' singing "

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bo ...

". Although he did not appear onscreen in '' Duets'', his vocals were blended with those of actor

Andre Braugher Andre Keith Braugher (; born July 1, 1962) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Detective Frank Pembleton in the police drama series '' Homicide: Life on the Street'' (1993–1999), used car salesman Owen Thoreau Jr. in the co ...

to make a composite singing voice for the character "Reggie Kane"; in the film, Reggie Kane sang with Paul Giamatti on "

Try a Little Tenderness "Try a Little Tenderness" is a song written by Jimmy Campbell, Reg Connelly, and Harry M. Woods. Original version It was first recorded on December 8, 1932, by the Ray Noble Orchestra, with vocals by Val Rosing. Another version, also record ...

" and performed an a cappella version of "

Free Bird "Free Bird", also spelled "Freebird", is a song written by Allen Collins and Ronnie Van Zant and performed by American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. The song featured on the band's debut album in 1973. Released as a single in November 1974, "F ...

". McCuller also performed the song "Nowhere to Run" for the 1979 film '' The Warriors'', which appears on the film's soundtrack (A&M Records); and was one of the four singers in the "guitar duel sequence" in the 1986 film '' Crossroads'', with Ry Cooder.

Discography

Solo albums

* ''A Part of Me That's You'' (1984) with

David Benoit David Bryan Benoit (born August 18, 1953) is an American jazz pianist, composer and producer, based in Los Angeles, California, United States. Benoit has charted over 25 albums since 1980, and has been nominated for three Grammy Awards. He is a ...

* ''Exception to the Rule'' (1994) * ''You Can't Go Back'' (1999) * ''Exception to the Rule'' (2000) reissue (with fewer songs) * ''Back to Front'' (2002) * ''Live at the Baked Potato'' (2002) * ''Circa 1990'' (2003) * ''Sabor'' (2009) *''The Present'' (2010) * ''Soon as I Get Paid'' (2011) * ''Back @ The Baked Potato Live 2015'' (2015) * ''Witness'' (2017)

with James Taylor

*''

Flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design emp ...

'' (1979) *'' Dad Loves His Work'' (1981) *''

That's Why I'm Here ''That's Why I'm Here'' is the eleventh studio album by singer-songwriter James Taylor released in 1985, four years after his previous effort, ''Dad Loves His Work''. The album contains a version of Buddy Holly's " Everyday", as well as the par ...

'' (1985) *'' Never Die Young'' (1988) *'' New Moon Shine'' (1991) *'' (LIVE)'' (1993) * ''

Hourglass An hourglass (or sandglass, sand timer, sand clock or egg timer) is a device used to measure the passage of time. It comprises two glass bulbs connected vertically by a narrow neck that allows a regulated flow of a substance (historically sand) ...

'' (1997) *'' October Road'' (2002) *'' At Christmas'' (2006) *'' Covers'' (2008) *''

Before This World ''Before This World'' is the nineteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter James Taylor. Released on June 15, 2015, it was Taylor's first new studio album of original material since '' October Road'' (2002) and first studio album of any ...

'' (2015) *'' American Standard'' (2020) With many years of touring from 1977-2022; with the exception of 1990 (Phillip Ballou filled in), 1994 (Dorian Holley filled in), 2012 (Jim Gilstrap filled in with the exception of solo on "Shower the People"), and some of 2019 (Dorian Holley filled in at first and then both performed at Las Vegas & Tanglewood).

with Phil Collins

* '' Serious Hits... Live!'' (1990) * '' Dance into the Light'' (1996)

with Lyle Lovett

* '' Joshua Judges Ruth'' (1992) * '' I Love Everybody'' (1994) * '' The Road to Ensenada'' (1996) * '' It's Not Big It's Large'' (2007)

Film and television soundtracks

* '' The Warriors (soundtrack) oundtrack to the Motion Picture' (1979) * '' Duets (film) oundtrack to the Motion Picture' (2000) * '' Hairspray oundtrack to the Motion Picture' (2007) * ''

Chiquititas ''Chiquititas'' (literally translated as "Little Girls", known in English as ''Tiny Angels'') is a children's musical Argentine soap opera, created and produced by Cris Morena. It starred Morena's daughter Romina Yan and Agustina Cherri. The so ...

'', Vol. 2 (2013)

References

External links

Official website

Arnold McCuller's MySpace
* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCuller, Arnold 1950 births Living people 20th-century African-American male singers American male film actors Record producers from Ohio Songwriters from Ohio Musicians from Cleveland American session musicians African-American songwriters 21st-century African-American people American male songwriters Lyle Lovett and His Large Band members