Mary MacGregor

Mary MacGregor (born May 6, 1948) is an American singer, best known for singing the 1976 song "Torn Between Two Lovers", which topped the Billboard charts for two weeks.

Mary MacGregor
Born (1948-05-06) May 6, 1948
Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States
GenresFolk, country, soft rock[1]
Years active1976–2000
LabelsAriola America, RSO Records

Career

MacGregor was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. She began studying piano at age six, and was singing with bands by the time she was a teenager. After attending the University of Minnesota, MacGregor began to tour the country with various acts and caught the attention of Peter Yarrow from Peter, Paul & Mary. She soon joined Yarrow, singing backup on a solo tour, and made an appearance on his Love Songs album.[2]

Signed to Ariola Records America, MacGregor released her debut single, "Torn Between Two Lovers", in late 1976; it became a smash hit by February 1977. The new year saw the single top both the pop[3] and adult contemporary charts and was certified as a gold record.[4] In addition, it reached #3 on Billboard's Country chart and also reached No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart.[5] Two further singles from the album of the same name, also written and produced by Yarrow, charted but were overwhelmed by the success of the title track.

MacGregor admitted in The Billboard Book of Number One Hits by Fred Bronson that she hated her own chart-topper, chiefly because she had little sympathy for the narrator of "Torn Between Two Lovers", a woman who confesses to her husband that she is having an affair, but pleads with her husband to stay with her and accept the situation.[6] MacGregor also said that the song indirectly led to the breakup of her own marriage, because her career kept her away from home so often that her relationship with her husband strained, and they decided to separate. [6] She did acknowledge that the song was successful because it appealed to listeners who had found themselves in the situation described in the lyrics.[7][6]

She released several more albums, and had three more minor chart singles (including the song "Good Friend" from the 1979 Bill Murray film Meatballs).[8] "Good Friend" was later added to her third and eponymous final album.

In 1980, MacGregor won best song and best performance at the World Popular Song Festival in Tokyo, Japan with "What's the Use" which she had co-written with David Bluefield.

For the 1981 Japanese anime film Adieu Galaxy Express 999, MacGregor wrote and performed two songs. They were "Sayonara" and "Love Light".

In 1983, Mike Love (of The Beach Boys) and MacGregor performed "Do You Hear What I Hear" from Scrooge's Rock N Roll Christmas.

In the mid-1980s, MacGregor performed in nightclubs around the Central Coast of California with Mary and the Blue Jays, a trio composed of MacGregor, James Royce on bass, and Jim Kennedy on guitar.

In 1999, she teamed up with fellow musician friends, Joe Ghiglia and John Holt to form The Mary MacGregor Band. The result was an album called Perfect Yellow House.

She is also mentioned in the liner notes of 1976's The Steamboat Album as doing vocals for one of the tracks, "Rabbit Ears". The album was recorded by Yampa River Records in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

She now lives in California, has remarried, has two children and is retired.

Discography

Albums
Year Album Chart Positions Label
US US Country AUS[9] CAN UK[5]
1976 Torn Between Two Lovers 17 3 35 28 59 Ariola
1978 ...In Your Eyes — — — — —
1979 Mary MacGregor's Greatest Hits — — — — —
1980 Mary MacGregor — — — — — RSO

Singles
Year Title Chart Positions Album
US US AC US Country AUS[9] CAN CAN AC CAN Country UK[5]
1976 "Torn Between Two Lovers" 1 1 3 1 1 1 3 4 Torn Between Two Lovers
1977 "The Girl (Has Turned into a Woman)" 46 27 36 — 60 23 38 —
"For a While" 90 38 86 100 77 14 — —
1978 "I've Never Been to Me" — 29 — — — 29 — — In Your Eyes
"Memories" — — — — — — — —
"The Wedding Song (There Is Love)" 81 23 — — — — — — Mary MacGregor's Greatest Hits
1979 "Good Friend" 39 11 — — 86 6 — — Mary MacGregor
1980 "Dancing Like Lovers" 72 31 — — — — — —
"Somebody Please" — — — — — — — —
1981 "Sayonara" — — — — — — — — Adieu Galaxy Express 999 (OST)

References
  1. Brown, G. (2004). Colorado Rocks!: A Half-Century of Music in Colorado – G. Brown – Google Books. ISBN 9780871089304. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  2. Ruhlmann, William (April 12, 1996). "Peter, Paul and Mary - A Song To Sing All Over This Land". Goldmine. Retrieved January 6, 2017. Next, he began looking for a deal for one of his backup singers, Mary MacGregor, who had sung on Love Songs.
  3. "Seventies Almanac – 1977". Superseventies.com. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
  4. "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". Recording Industry Association of America. RIAA. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
  5. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 339. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  6. Lambert, Arden. "Of Love Dilemma, Are You "Torn Between Two Lovers"?". CountryThangDaily.com. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  7. Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits. Billboard Books. p. 453. ISBN 9780823076772.
  8. "Meatballs: Music". April 7, 2009. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
  9. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 185. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.

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