Sidney McCray, a.k.a. “SidMac”, who is best known as the original lead singer and co-founder of hardcore punk rock group Bad Brains, has died.
The band confirmed the sad news on their Facebook page, simply writing: “R.I.P to the Don, my brother – sail on”. No cause of death was given.
According to a GoFundMe page that was set up by McCray’s family to raise money for his memorial and shared via Facebook by Bad Brains, McCray passed away on September 9th.
“He is remembered and loved by seven children, family, friends, his former band members and a host of loyal fans,” the description read.
“Sidney’s children would like to have a Memorial Service for their father and are gratefully in acceptance of donations. Contributions will solely go towards the Last Honors for SidMac. We Thank You in advance for your Condolences, Love and Prayers.”
At the time of writing, the GoFundMe has raised $4,945 towards their goal of $5,000.
In a tribute to SidMac, the New York Hardcore Chronicles said: “R.I.P., Sid McCray. Sid was the original singer of Mind Power, which became Bad Brains and was also part of the Brains road crew. He was also the one responsible for introducing Punk rock & Metal to their fusion and helped create the template for what the Bad Brains became. Thank You.”
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While McCray was only in Bad Brains from 1977 to 1978, he was responsible for helping pen write early songs like ‘The Regulator,’ which he performed alongside his former band at a secret show in NYC in 2017 in his first performance with them in nearly 40 years.
The band’s current frontman H.R. – who was friendly with McCray before taking over the role of the band’s frontman – has previously said in Finding Joseph I that the late rocker was the person who introduced the band to punk rock in 1977.
“I sung with the band for a little while, but I fizzled out because I saw H.R. was a much better singer,” McCray said in the book. “It wasn’t a competition thing; I just thought he was a better singer, more theatrical.” He also explained that he didn’t vibe with H.R.’s reggae influence at the time.
“At that time, they saw Bob Marley [in concert] and I wasn’t ready to see Bob Marley. I still had some running and tearin’ things up to do, so we split ways.”
Check out ‘The Regulator’ by Bad Brains:
