Clarence “Mac” McDonald, a keyboardist who played with such legends as Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and Ella Fitzgerald and produced the Emotions’ No. 1 smash “Best of My Love” and many others, has died. He was 76.
His wife, Susan McDonald, said he died July 21 in Las Vegas.
During a career that spanned more than half a century, McDonald was a frequent producing collaborator with Earth, Wind & Fire’s Maurice White. He played keyboards on records by such stars as the Jackson 5, Barbra Streisand, Hall & Oates, James Taylor, The Temptations, Al Wilson, Tina Turner, Linda Ronstadt and Justin Timberlake, along with Charles, Franklin and Fitzgerald.
He also played keyboards on “Movin’ on Up,” the theme song from TV’s The Jeffersons, and was the only credited musician on Cheech and Chong’s 1972 sophomore LP Big Bambu.
“The thing that always remained consistent was the standard of excellence provided by Clarence McDonald,” said Sonny Burke,...
His wife, Susan McDonald, said he died July 21 in Las Vegas.
During a career that spanned more than half a century, McDonald was a frequent producing collaborator with Earth, Wind & Fire’s Maurice White. He played keyboards on records by such stars as the Jackson 5, Barbra Streisand, Hall & Oates, James Taylor, The Temptations, Al Wilson, Tina Turner, Linda Ronstadt and Justin Timberlake, along with Charles, Franklin and Fitzgerald.
He also played keyboards on “Movin’ on Up,” the theme song from TV’s The Jeffersons, and was the only credited musician on Cheech and Chong’s 1972 sophomore LP Big Bambu.
“The thing that always remained consistent was the standard of excellence provided by Clarence McDonald,” said Sonny Burke,...
- 7/28/2021
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Sony Pictures Television has acquired global distribution rights to the documentary Who You Gonna Call? chronicling the life of Grammy-winner Ray Parker Jr., who penned the smash hit song “Ghostbusters”.
Directed by award-winning filmmaker Fran Strine (Hired Gun), the documentary follows Parker’s struggles growing up on the racially charged streets of Detroit in the 1960’s and escaping violence to rise in the music industry touring with Stevie Wonder and The Rolling Stones at just 18 years old. The film provides a full retrospective of Parker’s successful music career before getting the call from Ivan Reitman to write and perform the hit song for the 1984 film “Ghostbusters.”
The project, which is produced by Ola Strøm, and Strine of Power Chord Films, marks the first endeavor for the duo into the world of music and artist documentaries. Strøm also executive produces.
Before “Ghostbusters” Parker wrote, produced and performed with the industry’s biggest icons including,...
Directed by award-winning filmmaker Fran Strine (Hired Gun), the documentary follows Parker’s struggles growing up on the racially charged streets of Detroit in the 1960’s and escaping violence to rise in the music industry touring with Stevie Wonder and The Rolling Stones at just 18 years old. The film provides a full retrospective of Parker’s successful music career before getting the call from Ivan Reitman to write and perform the hit song for the 1984 film “Ghostbusters.”
The project, which is produced by Ola Strøm, and Strine of Power Chord Films, marks the first endeavor for the duo into the world of music and artist documentaries. Strøm also executive produces.
Before “Ghostbusters” Parker wrote, produced and performed with the industry’s biggest icons including,...
- 9/28/2020
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Sony Pictures Television has acquired the global distribution rights to the documentary film “Who You Gonna Call?,” which chronicles the life of the Grammy-winning artist Ray Parker Jr., who wrote the theme song to “Ghostbusters.”
The documentary film is directed by Fran Strine and made its world premiere at the Zurich Film Festival on Saturday. No release plans for “Who You Gonna Call?” have been set yet.
The documentary follows Parker’s struggles growing up on the racially charged streets of Detroit in the 1960s and how he escaped violence to rise in the music industry and tour with Stevie Wonder and The Rolling Stones when he was just 18 years old. The film examines his complete music career all before he got the call from Ivan Reitman to write the song for the 1984 comedy classic “Ghostbusters,” which would go on to become a pop culture staple.
Photo by Michael Ochs...
The documentary film is directed by Fran Strine and made its world premiere at the Zurich Film Festival on Saturday. No release plans for “Who You Gonna Call?” have been set yet.
The documentary follows Parker’s struggles growing up on the racially charged streets of Detroit in the 1960s and how he escaped violence to rise in the music industry and tour with Stevie Wonder and The Rolling Stones when he was just 18 years old. The film examines his complete music career all before he got the call from Ivan Reitman to write the song for the 1984 comedy classic “Ghostbusters,” which would go on to become a pop culture staple.
Photo by Michael Ochs...
- 9/28/2020
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Sony Pictures Television has swooped for global distribution rights to documentary “Who You Gonna Call?” that chronicles the life of Grammy-winning musician Ray Parker Jr. who created smash hit song “Ghostbusters.”
Directed by award-winning filmmaker Fran Strine (“Hired Gun”), the documentary follows Parker’s struggles growing up on the racially charged streets of Detroit in the 1960s and escaping violence to rise in the music industry, where he toured with Stevie Wonder and The Rolling Stones at the age of 18. The film looks back on Parker’s successful music career before getting the call from Ivan Reitman to write and perform the hit song for the 1984 film “Ghostbusters.”
“Who You Gonna Call?” had its world premiere at the Zurich Film Festival on Sept. 26.
The project is produced by Los Angeles-based Power Chord Films, founded in 2019 by Strine and financier Ola Strøm, with the latter serving as executive producer.
“We couldn...
Directed by award-winning filmmaker Fran Strine (“Hired Gun”), the documentary follows Parker’s struggles growing up on the racially charged streets of Detroit in the 1960s and escaping violence to rise in the music industry, where he toured with Stevie Wonder and The Rolling Stones at the age of 18. The film looks back on Parker’s successful music career before getting the call from Ivan Reitman to write and perform the hit song for the 1984 film “Ghostbusters.”
“Who You Gonna Call?” had its world premiere at the Zurich Film Festival on Sept. 26.
The project is produced by Los Angeles-based Power Chord Films, founded in 2019 by Strine and financier Ola Strøm, with the latter serving as executive producer.
“We couldn...
- 9/28/2020
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Of the five celebrities on “The Masked Singer” to make it to Wednesday’s semi-final, the most surprised was the one hiding behind the Thingamajig mask. He shouldn’t have been so shocked given the rousing reception he got for his performance of “Ordinary People” by John Legend. We think we’ve figured out who is inside the cumbersome costume. And while he is used to hearing a crowd roar it isn’t when he is singing.
But the man inside the Thingamajig costume should get used to just that after nailing his first five appearances on this reality competition series. He has only been at risk of elimination once. That was in week 8 when he crooned “Haven’t Met You Yet” by Michael Bublé. He redeemed himself with the four judges with the Usher hit “Caught Up.”
Prior to that, the Thingamajig had done himself proud with lively versions...
But the man inside the Thingamajig costume should get used to just that after nailing his first five appearances on this reality competition series. He has only been at risk of elimination once. That was in week 8 when he crooned “Haven’t Met You Yet” by Michael Bublé. He redeemed himself with the four judges with the Usher hit “Caught Up.”
Prior to that, the Thingamajig had done himself proud with lively versions...
- 12/12/2019
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
“The Masked Singer” took Thanksgiving week off and returned on December 4 with four of the seven celebrities hoping to make the season 2 final. Competing this week in elaborate disguises are the Butterfly, Fox, Thingamajig and Tree. Each hopes to earn enough support from the studio audience that they don’t end up in the bottom two who have to sing for survival in front of the four judges.
Among this famous foursome is one true standout — the Thingamajig — who towers over the competition. He wowed the crowd on the premiere with his cover of The Commodores hit “Easy.” He then soared in week 4 with his version of “Rainbow” by Kacey Musgraves. And he rocked the house in week 5 with his rendition of “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” by The Temptations.
We’ve been working away trying to figure out the famous face hiding behind this mask and think we...
Among this famous foursome is one true standout — the Thingamajig — who towers over the competition. He wowed the crowd on the premiere with his cover of The Commodores hit “Easy.” He then soared in week 4 with his version of “Rainbow” by Kacey Musgraves. And he rocked the house in week 5 with his rendition of “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” by The Temptations.
We’ve been working away trying to figure out the famous face hiding behind this mask and think we...
- 12/4/2019
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
Music makes such a huge difference when it comes to enjoying TV’s top shows, on a level that goes well beyond a theme song. Great composers create an aural language that’s as tangible and essential as the actors or sets on screen, aided by music supervisors who discover undiscovered tracks as well as essential classic gems —without which the show’s most powerful moments would have no impact.
Even the Television Academy agrees: For this first time, this year the Emmy Awards handed out a prize for outstanding music supervision. Susan Jacobs won the award for the “Big Little Lies” episode “You Get What You Need.”
There were so many shows that changed the way music was used on television this year — whether it was Tom Petty’s “American Girl” becoming a shout of protest, an obscure Elvis Presley cover becoming one of our favorite tunes of the year,...
Even the Television Academy agrees: For this first time, this year the Emmy Awards handed out a prize for outstanding music supervision. Susan Jacobs won the award for the “Big Little Lies” episode “You Get What You Need.”
There were so many shows that changed the way music was used on television this year — whether it was Tom Petty’s “American Girl” becoming a shout of protest, an obscure Elvis Presley cover becoming one of our favorite tunes of the year,...
- 12/27/2017
- by Hanh Nguyen, Steve Greene and Liz Shannon Miller
- Indiewire
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