Richard McGhee Star Vocalist, San Francisco, CA 1993

Richard McGhee Star Vocalist (1993) - 25 minutes.

Mark Harvey interviews Richard McGhee Star Vocalist.

I first met Richard McGhee in the Castro at the Cabaret DuNord. He reminded me of Harry Dean Stanton doing karaoke Sinatra standards, which if you think of it, sounds pretty cool. After his performance, I got to sit and talk with Richard a bit, and we became friends. I asked if I could make this video about him, and he agreed. I followed Richard McGhee around to a few gigs and recorded these early performances. Later on when Richard was playing the bigger venues like The Warfield, he would always get us back stage passes so we could help Richard prepare for his show. Opening for acts like Swell, Smashing Pumpkins, and The Cramps made Richard an overnight cult icon, and The Fillmore had him up in their lounge as a regular until Richard's dying day. I spoke with Richard on the phone the day he was packing up to head back to his mother's house. He had been diagnosed with cancer. Richard died 3 weeks later in Ohio near his family. An inspiration to us all, this site is dedicated to the memory of Richard McGhee Star Vocalist.

This video documentary was shot in San Francisco California, 1993 on VHS camera, edited between two VHS decks, and mastered onto VHS. Digital transfer 2003, compressed for the web 2008.