Macy Gray
Macy Gray is an American RampB, jazz and soul singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, and actress, known for her distinctive raspy voice, and a singing style heavily influenced by Billie Holiday.
Macy Gray was born in Canton, Ohio, to Laura McIntyre, a math teacher, and Otis Jones. While studying scriptwriting at the University of Southern California, she agreed to write songs for a friend, and a demo session was scheduled for the songs to be recorded by another singer. When the vocalist failed to turn up, Gray recorded them herself. She then met writerproducer Joe Solo while working as a cashier in Beverly Hills. Together, they wrote a large collection of songs and recorded them in Solos studio. The demo tape gave Gray the opportunity to sing at jazz cafs in Los Angeles. Despite Grays dislike of her own voice, Atlantic Records signed her. She began recording her debut record but was dropped from the label upon the departure of AampR man Tom Carolan, who had signed her to the label. Macy returned to Ohio but in 1997 Los Angeles based Zomba Publishing Senior VP AampR man Jeff Blue, convinced her to return to music and signed her to a development deal, recording new songs based o
Source: Wikipedia