The Story Behind Bye Bye Blues
In January 2024, Melinda and I were staying in a cabin on the Suwanee River in Northern Florida. Larry McCray had informed me that he was gathering songs for a proposed second album for Joe Bonamassa’s KTBA Records, so I was spinning my brain to come up with some new material while I was also pitching old material to Larry. I told myself not to worry about the words or melody, just find an infectious groove, then work from that. After several failed attempts, I woke early one morning with a groove in my ear, repeating and repeating until I had the feel for it, and I couldn’t shake it out of my head. The Carolina Wrens were chirping away as I drove 15 miles to town that morning for coffee and milk, and by the time I returned to the cabin, I had three verses. I sat at the piano and worked out the song while Melinda watched in amusement at her spellbound husband. I made a crude recording on my iPhone Voice Memo and sent it off to Larry and Peggy with the message, “Our Next Big Hit!”
In April, I gathered Larry and drummer brother Steve McCray at Andy Reed’s studio in Bay City to record a few demos, one of which was Bye Bye Blues. After laying down the rhythm tracks and a scratch vocal, we took the recording to Scott Baker’s studio where Larry and Scott worked like madmen recording fabulous guitar riffs and incredible vocal lines, mostly recording a single line at a whack. Larry, Scott and Steve finished the song and sent me the demo, and in my not so humble opinion, it sounded great! We pitched our demo to Larry’s producers Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith, along with several other songs Larry was considering.
In September, Larry and Peggy traveled to Los Angeles to meet with Joe and Josh at the legendary Sunset Sound Studios to record Larry’s next album Heartbreak City. On the second day, Peggy sent me a video of Larry singing Bye Bye Blues. You could have tipped me over with a feather at that point, but until the final track listing is set, we can’t be certain which songs will make the album.
In February, I received a notification from Spotify that Bye Bye Blues was set to release in April as the first single on Larry McCray’s Heartbreak City album. 15 months after inception, the song was being released to the public on an outstanding blues album! – CW
Here are Larry’s words about the song: Bye Bye Blues – Well, I want to talk about the evolution of this project. Bye Bye Blues is one of my personal favorites. It was written by Charlie Walmsley and myself, and we have collaborated much over the years. But this particular song really was reminiscent of my childhood, when soul music was king and still being played on the radio. when you could hear artists like Johnnie Taylor, Bobby Bland, BB King , Little Milton, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, Candi Staton. I am totally a soul and blues baby and I’m very proud of this work and I think that people who hear this song will like it also and will find a real reason to get in the groove, snap them fingers, and shake that head. – Larry McCray