Macy Gray
I’ve always been a singer, but I was never interested in being a recording artist. It happened when my husband asked me to make a demo tape for his friend and record producer Kenny Gamble. He loved it and asked if I could write some songs with him, so we did that together for about 3 years.
Over the years, Macy Gray has sung backup vocals for several artists including Al Green, Michael Jackson, David Bowie and Prince. She has also volunteered at an AIDS hospice in Los Angeles.
In her early years, Macy Gray was a backing vocalist for Al Green and Michael Jackson. She had provided background vocals for David Bowie’s song “Tonight”.
She has also recorded a duet with Prince, “Love, Sex and Money”. She was selected by Prince to sing on his 2006 album Planet Earth.
Macy Gray is known for her unique vocal rasp and the high tones in her voice which she has been described as sounding like “a human kazoo”,
Although Gray has released two albums, she has primarily been a backing singer for other artists.
Gray married Eric Benet in 1999. They have two sons whom he previously publicly referred to as “brothers.” Gray was diagnosed with progeria, a form of rapidly progressing aging, in 2000. She had the gene for progeria or Hutchinson-Gilford syndrome. It’s a condition that occurs when one of the parents has a chromosome change within the same gene altering it. She was diagnosed with the gene due to having children before the age of 30.
Gray has four sons from her first marriage. Coincidently, Eric Benet had an eight-year-old son, Ziggy (whose real name is Johnnie) from his marriage to actress Kim Fields of TV sitcom Martin when he and Gray married in 1999. Her progeria was diagnosed shortly after her marriage to Benet.
“…invoking elements of R&B, gospel, rock, and western influences to dust
things up with a helping of soulful grit.”
– popMatters
“…epitomizes Americana folk, country, and blues.”
– NY Music Examiner
“…sweetly optimistic and fun-loving…”
– Guitar World Magazine
Huntington Beach's David Rosales, and his touring band of Scoundrels,
bring their sun-soaked, heart on the sleeve brand of Americana to the
stage for an immersive new roots experience.
A sound that pairs well with contemporaries they have shared the stage
with in Ben Harper, Brandi Carlile, Matt Costa, The White Buffalo,
Donavon Frankenreiter and Steep Canyon Rangers.
In his acclaimed 2018 full-length debut album, Brave Ones, Rosales
showcased his folk rock songwriting prowess throughout a seamless album
that blended his vintage sonic tastes with fresh vision. Brave Ones took
the listener on a journey through the wind-swept expanse known as the
Mojave High Desert, delving into the rocks and crevices of American
roots music. Much like the remote log cabin studio where Rosales and
longtime friend and collaborator, Matt Grundy (Donavon Frankenreiter),
tracked the record, the album was deep with introspection, wide with
reach and warm in its delivery.
The Brave Ones album has grown to become even more than the music itself
when Rosales co-founded the Orange County, CA based BraveOnes Foundation
– a 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation dedicated to raising awareness and
resources that allow children in need to focus on the joys of being a
child. Working with Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) and
other local health care facilities, Rosales and his team have raised
over $150,000 for various initiatives and campaigns. They even run the
successful bi-monthly "Meaningful Meals" program that feeds children,
families and health care heroes in the community through local
restaurant partnerships.
After a long strange 2020, Rosales is set to release his sophomore
album, REVIVE, in the Summer of 2021.