Heartbreak City Larry McCray

• 1 Try To Be A Good Man 04:17
• 2 Heartbreak City 07:23
• 3 Bye Bye Blues 04:53
• 4 Bright Side 05:37
• 5 Everything Falls On Me 04:43
• 6 I Know What I've Done 04:40
• 7 Keep On Loving My Baby 06:58
• 8 Hangman 05:03
• 9 Stop Your Crying 04:31
• 10 Crazy World 04:35
• Total Runtime 52:40

Info for Heartbreak City

Blues guitarist and vocal-powerhouse Larry McCray returns with "Heartbreak City".

Produced by Grammy nominated duo Bonamassa and Josh Smith, ‘Heartbreak City’ is a bold, unfiltered collection that finds McCray at the height of his powers—fusing raw blues with vintage soul, Southern grit, and a hard-won sense of joy. The ten-track album features standout contributions from Reese Wynans, Kirk Fletcher, and background vocalists Jade Macrae and Dannielle De Andrea, as well as guest guitar work from Bonamassa himself. The record was recorded at the iconic Sunset Sound in Hollywood and mixed by Alan Hertz.

On the title track, McCray taps into the spirit of the club stages that shaped his early career, with gritty vocals and a smoldering guitar solo that reflect his decades of road-tested experience. “I feel like this album captures all the different sides of who I am,” says McCray. “It’s soul, it’s blues, it’s truth. It’s everything I’ve lived.”

Across the album, McCray leans into themes of reflection, resilience, and redemption, drawing from decades of lived experience on and off the stage. His voice—gravelly, weathered, and full of soul—carries the weight of hard-earned wisdom, while his guitar work remains as fiery and fluid as ever. With dynamic arrangements, gospel-tinged harmonies, and a band that matches him punch for punch, Heartbreak City doesn’t just revisit the blues—it reclaims it, reframing it through the lens of someone who’s survived it, played it, and lived it for more than four decades.

The release follows 2022’s ‘Blues Without You,’ which marked McCray’s long-awaited return after a seven-year hiatus. The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Blues chart and was named the #1 Blues Album of 2022 by Blues Rock Review, solidifying his status as a torchbearer of modern blues. In 2024, McCray was inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame, a testament to his deep roots in the state and his enduring impact on American music. Now, ‘Heartbreak City’ builds on that momentum. It’s a record that reflects Larry McCray at his most self-assured and grounded in tradition, but more fearless than ever.

A native of Smackover, Arkansas, McCray grew up immersed in gospel, soul, and the blues stylings of B.B., Albert, and Freddie King. After relocating to Saginaw, Michigan, at age 12, he developed a style that merged deep blues with the fire of Hendrix and the Southern grooves of the Allman Brothers. He was signed in the late ’80s as the first artist on Virgin Records’ Point Blank imprint and released a string of widely praised albums including Ambition (1990), Delta Hurricane (1993), and Born to Play the Blues (1998). Over the course of his career, McCray has shared stages with B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Albert King, Joe Walsh, the Allman Brothers, Jonny Lang, and of course, his modern-day champion and label head Joe Bonamassa.

“Larry McCray is a legend,” shares Bonamassa. “We have known that for 30 years. He is the last of the great blues shouters from the Rust Belt. In the spirit of BB King, Luther Allison, and Little Milton, Larry is among the greats. It’s now up to the world to rediscover him. He has been here all along.”

"Larry is a powerful, emotive singer with guitar work that stands out among the best performing today. Joe certainly is correct; Larry should be on the top of every chart. And if you have any love of soulful blues, this album should be a must." (bluesblastmagazine.com)

"A smoldering groove carrying waves of hesitant heat underscores “Heartbreak City,” in which McCray draws from the courage of his days trying to make it in a world of blues music that chews up and spits out all but the proven top tier. Well, Larry McCray spits in the face of that notion here, proving himself throughout the song, and the album titled for it, that if he’s not at the absolute pinnacle of the soul-blues-rock heap, he’s close to it." (Tom Clarke, makingascene.org)

Larry McCray, guitar, vocals
Joe Bonamassa, guitar
Josh Smith, guitar
Reese Wynans, keyboards, Hammond B3
Lemar Carter, drums
Kirk Fletcher, guitar
Calvin Turner, bass
Jade Macrae, backing vocals
Dannielle De Andrea, backing vocals

Larry McCray
Rust belt blues guitarist and singer Larry McCray was born in 1960 in Magnolia, Ark., as one of nine siblings. Early on, his sister, Clara, introduced him to the guitar and the transformative music of the three Kings of the blues. In 1972, 12-year-old Larry followed Clara to Saginaw, Mich., where he honed his guitar skills, adding rock riffs to the traditional blues style he loved. After high school, Larry began playing the local circuit, and by the late ’80s, he had attracted the attention of the head of Virgin Records’ blues label, who signed Larry as Point Blank Records’ inaugural artist. His debut album, Ambition—aptly named for fusing elements of blues, rock, and soul to create a contemporary blues sound—was released in 1990 to critical acclaim. Throughout the ’90s, Larry continued to help define blues rock, releasing Delta Hurricane (1993), Meet Me at the Lake (1996) and Born to Play the Blues (1998). In 2000, Larry started his own label, Magnolia Records, releasing Believe It (2000), Blues Is My Business (2001), Live on Interstate 75 (2006), Larry McCray (2007) and The Gibson Sessions (2015). Throughout those years, Larry played with such blues greats as BB King, Buddy Guy, Albert King, John Mayall, Johnny Winter, Robert Cray, Keb’ Mo’, Jimmie Vaughan, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and Joe Bonamassa, as well as rock legends the Allman Brothers, Phil Lesh, Jonny Lang, Joe Walsh, Levon Helm, Chris Robinson, Dickie Betts, and countless others. Blues Without You, Larry’s latest, a 12 original track release, was recorded on Bonamassa’s Keeping the Blues Alive record label.

This album contains no booklet.