Carrie Underwood and Maren Morris paid tribute to Deborah McCrary, the Nashville-born singer who died on June 1. Underwood worked with McCrary and her sisters, who made up the singing group the McCrary Sisters, multiple times and asked her fans to pray for McCrary’s family. McCrary was 67.
“I want to take a moment to honor Deborah McCrary,” Underwood wrote on June 2. “I was blessed to have worked with her on so many occasions. She was always kind… always professional… the anchor in whatever it was we were singing! I know she will be missed by so, so many… Prayers for Deborah’s family and friends. See you again someday.” Underwood included a photo of herself with the McCrary Sisters during a Christmas special. The sisters also sang background vocals on Underwood’s 2015 song “Choctaw County Affair” and the 2020 track “Let There Be Peace.”
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Morris also mourned McCrary’s death. The McCrary sisters sang on Morris’ hit “My Church” and joined her for her 2016 CMA Awards performance. “It is such a loss to Nashville and the entire music industry to lose Deborah McCrary today. I’m praying for her family,” Morris wrote. She later added a broken heart emoji and wrote, “My heart goes out to you today.”
The McCrary Sisters announced McCrary’s death on Facebook. “My sister Deborah McCrary just got her wings! Gone but not forgotten! I thank God for her life she was our baby! We love you, Deborah,” Alfreda McCrary wrote, alongside a photo of McCrary. They also released a brief statement to PEOPLE, reading, “It is with deep sorrow that we share the news of the passing of our beloved sister Deborah.” McCrary’s family has not shared her cause of death.
McCrary was born on June 17, 1954, to gospel musician and preacher Rev. Samuel H. “Sam” McCrary. She was a member of the Grammy-nominated BCM Mass Choir, who performed on Dinah Shore’s variety show with Elvis Presley and Isaac Hayes. McCrary left the music industry for a time to become a nurse before she and her sisters Ann, Regina, and Alfreda formed the McCrary Sisters in 2010.
The quartet released their first album, Our Journey, in 2010. They also recorded All the Way (2013), Let’s Go (2015), and A Very McCrary Christmas (2019).The group, who also sang with Miranda Lambert, Margo Price, and Allison Russell, was signed to Rounder Records, which also sent condolences to McCrary’s family. “We are saddened by the news of Deborah McCrary’s passing,” the label’s statement read. “Our hearts go out to her family during this difficult time.”ย
