Fly

Background:

“The greatest thing about Hollywood is the most talented people don't necessarily make it. I made it as a singer and I can barely sing. I can hit a couple notes and I can get by.” Mark McGrath

Musician, occasional actor and TV host Mark McGrath is best known as the lead singer of the American rock band Sugar Ray. Along with the group, which was formed in 1992 in Orange County, California, the Hartford, Connecticut, native rose to fame with the double platinum album “Floored” (1997), which spawned the hit single “Fly.” They continued to gain success with the triple platinum album “14:59” (1999), which produced such hit singles as “Every Morning,” “Someday” and “Falls Apart,” and the gold album “Sugar Ray” (2001). “In the Pursuit of Leisure,” their fifth and last album with Atlantic Records, was released in 2003, two years before the launch of the greatest hits album “The Best of Sugar Ray.”

Frequently mocked by critics as being an alternative rock pinup boy, McGrath attained pop-star status and became a sex symbol following the success of “Fly.” Since then, he has decorated such magazine covers as Rolling Stone and made a number of appearances on VHI, MTV, and various talk and award shows. He also hosted several TV programs, most notably the entertainment magazine show “Extra” (2004-2008). As an actor, McGrath appeared in “Pauly Shore Is Dead” (2003) and the Brittany Murphy starring vehicle “Uptown Girls” (2003). He also guest starred as J.J. Price in an episode of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” called “Design” (2005).

In 2004, McGrath was involved in “The Justice Ball,” an annual fundraiser for the Los Angeles based charity Bet Tzedek Legal Services - The House of Justice. The show was held at the Hollywood Palladium in Hollywood, California.

As for his romantic life, McGrath had a long term relationship with esthetician Carin Kingsland. The pair experienced a short separation and McGrath reportedly dated actress Jordana Brewster. In October 2007, McGrath declared he had separated from his girlfriend of four years during a concert in Singapore.

Boxing Fan

Childhood and Family:

Mark Sayers McGrath was born on March 15, 1968, in Hartford, Connecticut. He was raised in Newport Beach, California. His parents, Edward T. McGrath, who is of Irish descent, and AM McGrath, a software trainer, divorced when Mark was 12 years old. He has an older sister named Tracey. His older brother, Edward T. McGrath Jr., died of SIDS before Mark was born.

Mark attended Corona Del Mar High School and joined the school's track and basketball teams. After graduating in 1986, he studied business communication at the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business in Los Angeles.

The fan of the L.A. Kings & L.A. Lakers mentions boxing and hockey as his favorite sports and was inspired to be a hockey player when he was a kid. He stated, “I'm a huge boxing fan. I love the strategy and the combat. I'm not a fighter, but I would love to be a boxer because I love the courage and toughness. I mean, there can be nothing more terrifying than walking into an arena and looking at Mike Tyson in the ring. That's pretty terrifying!”

Extra

Career:

A truck driver prior to his career in music, Mark McGrath performed in front of the public at age 14 when he made his Broadway debut in a 1982 production of “Little Man.” Two years later, he appeared in “The Three Musketeers.” He went on to develop a passion for music and played with different bands before joining The Shrinky Dinx in 1992. Along with bassist Murphy Karges, guitarist Rodney Sheppard and drummer Stan Frazier, he collected a fan base through their performances around the Los Angeles/San Diego area and eventually landed a recording deal with Atlantic Record. In 1994, after legal action by Shrinky Dinks manufacturer Milton Bradley, the group changed its name to Sugar Ray, which they adapted from boxer Sugar Ray Leonard.

McGrath and Sugar Ray launched a debut album called “Lemonade & Brownies” on April 4, 1995, but it was a failure. Their huge breakthrough arrived two years later with the release of their sophomore effort “Floored.” The album rose to No. 12 on the U.S. Billboard and was certified double platinum thanks largely to the popular song “Fly,” which was a collaboration with the group and reggae artist Super Cat. The song peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard's Hot 100 Airplay and stayed there for six consecutive weeks. It also became a No. 1 hit on the U.S. Modern Rock Tracks.

The success of Sugar Ray subsequently established McGrath as a pop star. He appeared on the covers of such national magazines as Rolling Stone and Spin and on the television shows “Oddville, MTV,” “Late Night with Conan O'Brien,” “Hollywood Squares,” “VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards,” “The Howard Stern Radio Show,” “ESPY Awards” and “My VH1 Music Awards.” He also hosted the 1998 “MTV Sports & Music Festival 2” and “The 2000 Radio Music Awards,” and along with Sugar Ray, appeared in the 1997 motion picture “Fathers' Day,” starring Robin Williams and Billy Crystal.

After “Floored,” McGrath and his group resurfaced with the album “14:59,” which was released on January 12, 1999. The album spawned one of the group's most successful singles, “Every Morning” (#1 on the Modern Rock Tracks, #2 on the Hot 100 Airplay and #3 on the Billboard Hot 100), as well as the hits “Someday” and “Falls Apart.” The album rose to No. 17 on the Billboard 200 and earned triple platinum certification from RIAA. The follow-up, “Sugar Ray” (2001), a top ten hit on the Billboard 200, has been certified gold since its release. It consisted of 11 tracks, including the radio airplay favorite “When It's Over” and the song “Under the Sun.”

The fifth studio album, “In the Pursuit of Leisure,” hit the music stores in 2003. It was followed by the greatest hits album “The Best of Sugar Ray” in 2005. Released by Warner Bros, the album was comprised of a dozen previous hits and three new songs, including the Howard Stern written “Psychedelic Bee.”

McGrath also contributed vocals to the track “Reaching Out” on “Strait Up,” a tribute album to deceased vocalist Lynn Strait, and appeared on the video of “Angel's Son,” a song written by the band Sevendust that was also included on “Strait Up.” In 2004, McGrath teamed up with country music superstar Shania Twain for the song “Party for Two.”

McGrath has also appeared on such TV shows as “Las Vegas” and “North Shore” (both 2004) and acted in the comedy movies “Pauly Shore Is Dead” (2003) and “Uptown Girls” (2003), which was directed by Boaz Yakin and starred Brittany Murphy and Dakota Fanning. He then appeared in a 2005 episode of the TV series “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” as J.J. Price and hosted TV programs like “The Teen Choice Awards 2002” (2002), “2005 Radio Music Awards” (NBC, 2005), “Extra” (2004-2008), “The Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll” (2007) and “Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious” (2008). He once served as a guest judge for “American Idol” auditions.

Having left Atlantic Records in 2006, Sugar Ray is currently with Pulse Recordings.

Awards:
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