b. 15 October 1935, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA. McGuire first came to prominence as a minor actor in Route 66 before teaming up with singer Barry Kane as Barry And Barry. In 1962, he joined the New Christy Minstrels and appeared as lead singer on several of their hits, most notably, "Green Green" and "Saturday Night". He also sang the lead on their comic but catchy "Three Wheels On My Wagon". While still a Minstrel, he composed the hit "Greenback Dollar" for the Kingston Trio. After leaving the New Christy Minstrels, McGuire signed to Lou Adler's Dunhill Records and was assigned to staff writers P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri. At the peak of the folk rock boom, they wrote the rabble-rousing protest "Eve Of Destruction", which McGuire took to number 1 in the USA, surviving a blanket radio ban in the process. The anti-establishment nature of the lyric even provoked an answer record, "Dawn Of Correction", written by John Madara and Dave White under the pseudonym the Spokesmen. Ironically, "Eve Of Destruction" had originally been conceived as a flip-side and at one stage was offered to the Byrds, who turned it down. Coincidentally, both Barry McGuire and Byrds leader Jim McGuinn received a flattering namecheck on the Mamas And The Papas' hit "Creeque Alley" ("McGuinn and McGuire were just a-getting higher in LA, you know where that's at'). McGuire, in fact, played a significant part in bringing the million-selling vocal quartet to Adler and they offered their services as his backing singers on 1965"s This Precious Time.

Listen to Barry McGuire at Finetune.

• (1995)  Best Of Barry McGuire
• (1990)  Cosmic Cowboy

• Eve of Destruction
• Bullfrogs And Butterflies
• Cosmic Cowboy (Cosmic Cowbow Album Version)
• Callin'me Home
• Anyone But Jesus

• The Mamas & The Papas
• Petra
• Bob Dylan
• Rolling Stones
• Creedence Clearwater Revival
• The Animals
• Johnny Cash
• Simon & Garfunkel
• Bee Gees
• Donovan
• Elvis Presley
• The Who
• Jefferson Airplane
• The Kinks
• The Beach Boys
• The Byrds
• Cat Stevens
• The Turtles
• Herman's Hermits
• The Moody Blues

• WildWindwolf
• rainbowrocker
• mimcollier
• lgvhnI5s