The McAuley Boys are an R&B/Pop vocal group from London, Ontario. The four brothers, Gary, George, Mark and Randy McAuley, have enjoyed a recording and performance career that spans over three decades in the music industry.
From early on, music filled the McAuley household. Their parents, Winston and Rita McAuley, immigrated to Canada from the Caribbean island of Grenada, W.I. in the late 1960’s. Their father, Winston, was the lead singer of a band in Grenada that relocated to New York, NY, to record and tour. Their mother, Rita, ran the London Montessori School for more than 45 years. After a couple years with his band, Winston decided to start a family with Rita and settle in London, Ontario where they raised their family. Both Winston and Rita graduated from then University of Western Ontario, with Winston earning is Masters degree at Laurier University. The social worker and Montessori teacher (respectively) kept the tradition of music alive in their home. All four brothers studied piano in both the Suzuki Method and Royal Conservatory of Music. After years of practice, Kiwanis Music Festivals, school assemblies, local recitals and talent shows, oldest brother Gary decided to turn his attention to Pop music from Classical music. While attending the Faculty of Music at Western, he wrote and recorded original music in his spare time, eventually pivoting to singing with his brothers at various talent shows and local events. They played their first gig at a luncheon for the Congress of Black Women, London Chapter, of which their mother Rita was a member (and President, at a later date). Awareness of the brother act grew, but it wasn’t until Gary took a trip to Los Angeles in October of 1994 to meet with legendary music producer, David Foster, that he decided to formalize the group. In that first meeting, Gary discussed all the projects on which he’d been working, including performing with his brothers. Foster made a comment about what it took to ‘make it’ in the music business: “Just keep doin’ it!”. Inspired by this meeting, Gary (the eldest of the brothers) shared what he had learned with his mother, who suggested that he record a Christmas cassette with his brothers and release it that year. Gary started producing the Album on November the 1st, and by December 1st, the ‘Boys’ were ready to promote it by making appearances at local radio and TV stations and in shopping malls and the like, being permitted to tour though Cadillac and Fairview malls throughout the Province. The album art was illustrated by Gary’s high school friend and future Academy Award nominated artist, Maciek Szczerbowski.
Gary decided he and his brothers should go professional and he named their musical group “The McAuley Boys”. They sold that first album independently at local record stores, and off the stage, and made appearances at local radio and TV stations. It was a mini success for the family, and word of the group spread quickly!
