You have discovered Barry's
official website, the most
complete collection of
music, information and
commentary from this
prolific singer, songwriter,
storyteller and
truth-seeker.
Photo by Deirdra
Doan
For nearly 5 decades
Barry has shared his
unique style of folk
and gospel music
blended with
insightful and
heartwarming
stories. This site
is dedicated to
reflecting the past,
connecting you with
the present and
anticipating the
future of one man's
journey.
Perhaps
the story of how
Barry became a
follower of
Jesus is best
told in his own
words. Here is
the way Barry
tells it:
"When I was
a little boy, my
grandmother told
me something
I've never
forgotten. I was
probably about
five, maybe six
years old. She
used to take
care of me
during the day
when my mom
worked. One day
she said to me,
'You know,
Barry, one day
when you grow
up, you're gonna
know the truth,
and the truth is
gonna set you
free.' Now, I
didn't know that
came out of the
Bible. I didn't
even know there
was a Bible. I
was just a
little kid. My
grandmother told
me that. And I
knew she loved
me, and boy, I
knew I loved
her. And when I
grew up, sure
enough, I wanted
to be free. I
mean who doesn't
want to be free?
And certainly, a
lie has never
set anyone free.
So if anything
was gonna set me
free, it had to
be the truth
"And along
came the 60s.
And boy, I was
the right age at
the right time
in the wrong
place, you might
say. And hey, I
wanted to be
free. Boy, I
sang 'Eve of
Destruction'
lookin' to be
free. I went to
Broadway. I did
a show on
Broadway called
HAIR. I played
the male lead in
the original
Broadway cast,
lookin' to be
free. And the
very lifestyle
that we were
promoting was,
as I looked
around me I saw
my friends, one,
two, three at a
time goin' down:
drug overdose,
suicide,
sexually
transmitted
diseases. The
very lifestyle
we were
promoting was
killing us all.
"So I left
Broadway, I came
back out to
California. And
I was livin'
with a friend of
mine, Denny
Doherty, up on
the Appian Way.
And he used to
joke and tease
me, 'cause I was
still lookin'
for truth, and
every time a new
teacher or sage
or somebody,
Meyer Baba, Sai
Baba, Hadji
Baba, any Baba
would do, I mean
I was down there
in the front
row, ya know, 'Humna
Baba, lay the
truth on me,
man!' I was
hummin' and
bobbin' and goin'
for it. And
Denny says, 'Ah,
you belong to
the Guru of the
Month Club.' I
mean, anybody, I
didn't care. If
they had a word,
I was down there
tryin' to learn
the truth. And
they said a lot
of things that
were true, but I
just couldn't
somehow get it
right inside of
me.
"And I was
just about to
give up, and one
day I went over
to a friend's
house, Eric Hord.
He used to be
the lead guitar
player for The
Mamas and Papas,
and he always
had a big bowl
of marijuana
under his coffee
table. And man,
I had this bowl
out that
morning, I had
three papers
glued together.
I figured he's
only gonna lay
one joint on me,
so I'll make the
biggest one I
can roll. And I
look down on
this particular
day, there's a
little paper
back book layin'
on the table
next to the
grass, and it's
called Good News
for Modern Man.
And I thought,
'Hey, I'm a
modern man. I
could use some
good news.' I
mean, everybody
was dyin' all
around me. So I
took the book
home with me,
didn't know what
it was. Got by
myself, opened
it up, and right
on the first
flyleaf page in
the book it
says, 'The New
Testament in
Modern English.'
I got so angry.
'Ah, look at
this! Them Jesus
Freaks, man!
They're diguisin'
the Bible!'
Threw it on the
floor, I didn't
wanna read the
Bible! Give me a
break! And it
layed there for
days. I was
hopin' someone
would come along
and throw it
away. I didn't
wanna throw it
away, 'cause I
knew what it
was, the Bible,
and just in
case, you don't
wanna be
responsible. Who
knows? But it
layed there for
days, weeks,
months actually.
I mean, when
somethin' hit
the floor in my
house, the next
person to pick
it up was an
archaeologist. I
mean, that was
some future dig.
"And I was
there one day by
myself. And
there this
little book
somehow kept
surfacing above
the trash. And
the wind was
blowing through
the window
catching the
pages. It was
flickin' its
pages, flick,
flick, flick,
flick, flick.
'Read me!' it
said to me. And
truthfully, just
out of bored,
sarcastic
curiosity, I
picked up The
Life and Times
of Jesus Christ.
And for the
first time in my
life, I stopped
looking at
Christians, I
stopped looking
at
denominations,
organizations,
Catholics,
Protestants, ya
know, all this
stuff that goes
on in His name.
And I took a
look at Him,
examined what He
had to say. How
He treated His
personal
friends. What He
had to say to
the people in
the street, the
alcoholics, the
prostitutes, the
homosexuals, the
thieves, liars,
robbers. What he
had to say about
the military
people, the
political
leaders, the
spiritual
leaders (which
is about the
scariest thing
he had to say to
anybody). How He
treated the
little children
when they came
around. And
everything that
Jesus had to
say, as I put it
to the test
against what I
knew to be true
through my own
life experience,
I couldn't find
anything wrong
with His words.
There's no
double meaning,
no hidden
agenda. It was
all out front.
And then He said
thirteen words
that changed my
life, because I
saw this was the
answer to my
personal eve of
destruction. He
said, 'Love God
with all your
heart, and love
your neighbor as
your self.'
"How simple
can it get? And
I realized that
if all of us in
the whole world
lived according
to those two
simple
instructions --
I don't care
what your
concept of God
is, you could be
a Buddhist, you
could be B'hai,
you could be, ya
know, whatever
it is,
Christian, just
your concept of
God -- love God
with all your
heart and love
your neighbor as
your self, and
our world would
change. How
simple can it
get? We wouldn't
need a police
force anymore,
and we wouldn't
need armies and
navies and
prisons and
welfare systems.
We wouldn't need
lawyers and
politicians. Two
simple pieces of
instruction:
Love God with
all my heart,
and love my
neighbor as my
self.
"And I
wanted to be
like Jesus. I
thought, 'Man,
this is my guy!'
But I didn't
wanna be a
Christian, see.
I wanted to be
like Him, but I
didn't wanna be
like all them. I
thought if I
said yes to
Jesus I'd have
to get a powder
blue leisure
suit -- remember
those? -- white
shoes, ya know,
walk around
smilin' a lot. I
couldn't do
that.
But then I
wrestled with it
for nearly a
year. And one
day I was up
just off
Mulholland Drive
in Stone Canyon
in the Hollywood
Hills. And I'm
bangin' my head
on the wall, my
friends are all
smokin' dope,
eating peyote,
psilocybin, ya
know, drinkin'
champagne and
orange juice.
And I'm over in
the corner, I
can't have fun
anymore. See,
once you've been
busted by the
truth, you've
been busted. You
can't fake it
anymore. You
can't go around
sayin', 'Well,
who really
knows?' 'Cause
you really know.
You don't wanna
know. But I
knew. Jesus is
the Lamb of God.
His death paid
my karmic debt.
See, I had a
debt I couldn't
pay. I had debt
I could not pay.
I mean, I'm a
murderer, I'm a
liar, I'm a
thief, I'm
everything
you're not
supposed to be.
I did it all.
One time I was
doing a
newspaper
interview, and
the reporter
said, 'Well,
what did you
do?' I said,
'Well, ya know
the Ten
Commandments?'
He said, 'Yes.'
I said, 'I broke
'em. All of 'em.
A lot.'
"That's
what I did. And
that's what we
all did. And
there has to be
justice. How
could God not
allow justice to
be? He couldn't
just arbitrarily
say, 'That's
okay, Barry.
You're
forgiven.' And
Jesus said, 'I
will go. I will
satisfy the
demands of
justice on his
behalf.' And now
the Bible says
if I should
stumble, if I
should sin, it
says God is
faithful and
just. You know
what that
justice cost? It
cost Jesus'
life. And He did
that for me, He
did that for
you, He did that
for every person
that's gonna
ever hear these
words. So that I
could be
forgiven and
truly, truly be
free. That
happened in
1971. I fell on
my face on the
floor of that
house in Stone
Canyon. I said,
'God, I don't
know why, how;
if I wake up
alive tomorrow
I'll follow You
wherever You
lead me.' And
within a week I
was on a
Greyhound bus
out of
Hollywood, and
I've never
looked back,
except in awe
and wonder at
how He revealed
Himself to me in
my state of mind
at that time."
That
Greyhound bus
took Barry to
Fresno,
California.
There, he began
his new life.
Perhaps
the story of how
Barry became a
follower of
Jesus is best
told in his own
words. Here is
the way Barry
tells it:
4:17Barry McGuire - Anyone but Jesus by FavoriteJesusMusic1,953 views 
3:56Love Is - Barry McGuireby u1n2s3u4n5g61,483 views 
3:40Barry McGuire - Eve of Destructionby harm159514,500 views 
4:05Peace - Barry McGuireby u1n2s3u4n5g61,926 views 
2:48 2nd Chapter of Acts - Goin' Homeby charlesianrobb2,310 views 
4:01Barry McGuire - Eve of Destruction 1965 by ekseak37439,730 views 
4:01Barry McGuire-You've Heard His voiceby oneness77712,234 views 
3:22arry McGuire - Chosen Generation (Live)by FavoriteJesusMusic1,121 views 
3:41Eve of Destruction - Barry McGuire - (With Lyrics)by sbusnelli6,805 views 
3:10Last Day of My Life - 2nd Chapter of Actsby u1n2s3u4n5g64,885 views 
4:27Barry McGuire - Follow the Lightby FavoriteJesusMusic695 views 
5:12EVE OF DESTRUCTION ORIGINAL VERSIONby Roggo717156,933 views 
2:54 Barry McGuire - Upon A Painted Oceanby bill19523,895 views 
4:03 Barry McGuire - Bullfrogs and Butterfliesby UCBAustralia10,087 views 
2:24Reason To Believe - Barry McGuireby KeystoneMagazine30,985 views 
4:02 Clouds" Barry McGuireby Daveinnercanyontrail897 views 
3:58Annie Herring - Receiveby SilverCollector5,159 views 
