b. 5 May 1947, Newton, Massachusetts, USA. McNamara was an original member of the cast of the Broadway musical Hair in the 60s playing the lead role of Claude from 1969-71, before placing two singles on the charts in 1970. The same year, he signed with the New York-based Steed Records, owned by songwriter Jeff Barry, and recorded ‘Lay A Little Lovin’ On Me’, written by the two of them plus Jim Cretecos. It reached number 11 in the US that summer, and was followed by ‘Got To Believe In Love’, which featured other singers fromHair on backing vocals. The second single did not reach number 80, however, and McNamara’s recording career ended.