Bat McGrath

Bat McGrath started on his musical journey with a band called The Showstoppers which was discovered and signed to a recording contract by the legendary John Hammond of Columbia Records. His next venture was as a duo with talented guitarist Don Potter. McGrath & Potter released one album on Epic records, but perhaps are most noted for opening a club in Rochester, NY called Hyliemorris’ Alley. It was there that Bat’s musical growth and songwriting abilities began to flourish. Late night jams included the likes of Chuck Mangione, Gerry Niewood, Tony Levin, Steve Gadd, Pat Martino, Kenny Burrell, and Stanley Watson. In 1970, Bat wrote lyrics to several Mangione compositions and the resulting “Friend and Love” concert, released on Mercury Records, helped catapult Mangione to international fame. After releasing two critically acclaimed albums of his own on Amherst Records, “From the Blue Eagle” and “The Spy”, Bat moved to Nashville to focus on songwriting. He has written songs recorded by Wynonna, Kenny Rogers, Chely Wright, Earl Thomas Conley, Chalee Tennison, Chad Austin, and Eclipse.

[Source: WIKIPEDIA]