Song:I Try
Album The Very Best Of Macy
With her quirky style and raspy voice, Macy Gray burst upon the scene with the 1999 top five hit I Try. Though Macy is still around, I Try turned out to be her only big hit. I think it's fair to say her career has been disappointing. She was born Natalie McIntyre Sept. 6, 1967 in Canton, OH. Though she studied music, she didn't like her own voice. So she went to the University of Southern California to study screenwriting. She wrote some songs for a friend. But when the singer didn't show, Macy sang them herself and her demos got her a deal with Atlantic Records. Record company management changes cancelled the deal and she went home to Canton. She was convinced to return to Los Angeles and she signed with Epic Records. She recorded her 1999 debut CD On How Life Is with former Warren Zevon producer Andrew Slater. Macy writes a lot of her own songs with members of her band, especially pianist Jeremy Ruzumna. I Try was the second single and it reached #5 on the Billboard hot 100. The album On How Life Is was certified 3XPlatinum. She also won some awards and even appeared in the 2001 film Training Day. With her quirky look and Billie Holiday influenced voice, Epic thought Macy was set up for long term success. But she never had another hit single and after three albums, she left Epic for Geffen. Though he 2007 Geffen debut album Big was produced by will.i.am of Black Eyed Peas, it did not sell. Since then Macy has recorded for Concord, 429, Kobalt and her latest CD Stripped was released on Chesky in Sept. 2016, she has been unable to capture the success of I Try. It looks like when her second Epic album did not sell as well as the first album, the record company hit the panic button. Macy's new album is with jazz musicians Ari Hoenig, Russell Malone, Daryl Johns and Wallace Roney. She says now she got caught up trying to hit pop music home runs and now she's getting back to basics. You can get all her Epic hits on this budget comp. I never liked Macy's pop music but I may check her out again if she's doing jazz. Here's the video for I Try by Macy Gray.
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