The Day Barry McGuire Thought He Was On the ‘Eve of Destruction’

He reveals how his life nearly came tumbling down when he found out that his son, for whom he had written Bullfrogs and Butterflies, was suffering from Bi-Polar Disorder

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

IRVINE, CA (ANS) -- Barry McGuire (born October 15, 1935 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) is an American singer-songwriter best known for the hit song "Eve of Destruction", and later as a singer and songwriter of Contemporary Christian Music.


He co-wrote "Green, Green" with Randy Sparks, which became a huge hit with the New Christy Minstrels, with whom he sang with for many years, and he also starred for a year as the male lead in the Broadway musical HAIR.


McGuire became a born-again Christian in 1971 after a brief encounter with evangelist Arthur Blessitt in October 1970. In 1973, he joined the Myrrh label and released the album Seeds. This album is also notable for the backing vocals provided by the family trio that would become known as the 2nd Chapter of Acts. In 1974, McGuire released his second Jesus Music album Lighten Up, which included a remake of "Eve of Destruction". He toured with 2nd Chapter of Acts and "a band called David" and in 1975 this collaborative effort resulted in the double live album, To the Bride.

In 1976, he left Myrrh, joining former Myrrh executive Billy Ray Hearn's new label, Sparrow Records. He recorded seven albums on Sparrow, the best known of which is Cosmic Cowboy, released in 1978. That year he also released a top-selling children's album Bullfrogs and Butterflies (part of the Agapeland series) for Sparrow's subsidiary label, Birdwing.


In 1978, he also toured England, Scotland, and Wales with the Jimmy Owens' musical "The Witness", in which he played the part of the apostle Peter. His acting and singing in the musical was considered very inspiring. Also, the voice of Peter on the "Witness" album is his.




In the 1980s, McGuire left the music industry, and settled for a time in New Zealand with his New Zealand wife Mari (former secretary of McGuire's Agape Force associate, Winkie Pratney).

While still living in England, I even worked with Barry McGuire on a yet unfinished book about his incredible life with the working title of "From HAIR to eternity." (I am still hoping that one day it will be published.)


I caught up with Barry McGuire again last Saturday, August 27, 2011, at a unique Jesus Freaks Reunion in Irvine, California, put on my the Upper Room Ministry, where he joined with other artist like Chuck Girard, from Love Song, Karen Lafferty who wrote "Seek Ye First..", the powerful worship song, and the one and only Andrae Crouch, who performed with his wonderful backing group.


Anyone who knows Barry McGuire is always struck by his incredible personality and joyful persona but, on this occasion, he shared with me about one of the most difficult periods of his life - when he discovered that his son, Brennan, who was born in Anglesey, North Wales, had Bi-Polar Disorder.

"At first, we didn't know it," said Barry. "We just thought that Brennan had behavior problems, but then, as he grew older, his mood swings would go from super volcanic angry to weeping tender when he would say, 'I'm so sorry.'


"Then when he was twenty-one years old, he had his first psychotic break and he was diagnosed as having Bi-Polar Disorder. We understood then what was going on and then it was the march of trying to find out what kind of medication you know would stabilize his brain chemistry in a way that he could actually function on a semi-normal level.


"But what it does it that it takes the fire out of them. He is an awesome concert pianist and writes the most phenomenal music you've ever heard in your life, but since he's been on his meds the fire's gone out of his piano and the passion is gone. And he misses that, and he longs for that, and yet he realizes that that is the price he would have to pay."


McGuire then said, "So many artists are that way. For some people, it's OK and it doesn't bother them; their mania works for them and they don't go over the line. However, Brennan goes so far over the line he leaves this universe and he's no longer a part of our time and space continuum. So he has to be medicated or he's in a rubber room."


Sensing Barry's pain, I asked him if he ever got angry at God over the situation.

"Yes," he confessed. "I reached a point when he had his twenty-first birthday some twelve years ago. I was in Ireland actually where I was doing a tour for UNICEF to help vaccinate Third World children and I got a call from my wife telling me that he was being treated with Thorazine [which is used to treat the symptoms of schizophrenia] and strapped to a gurney at the psychiatric hospital. He was in the States I was in Ireland."


Barry said that this caused him great confusion and he began lashing out at God in his hotel room over the dire situation.


He said, "It may work for other people, but the very boy that I wrote Bullfrogs and Butterflies for is right now locked up, strapped down to a gurney and with his brain shut down on Thorazine drooling from his mouth.


"I said, 'Where's your healing power. It either works or it doesn't work. There's no two ways about it. You throw the switch and the light is on and you can then throw it off and it turns off.' That night I said, 'Forget it. I'm out of here. I'm gonna walk away for all of this."


Barry said that this occurred about fourteen years ago, and after he calmed down, he told me, "Then I thought, 'well where would I go? Would I go back to live like I used to and dive back into that septic tank of filth and immorality and debauchery that God pulled me out of? I thought, 'Man, I can't do that.'


"Then I thought about my years in Christ and what God had done in my life and the transformation that has taken place within me. I realized what Peter said which in essence was 'Where would I go? You're the only one. There's no life outside of Christ."


"And I thought, 'I know that to be true through my own experience. This other stuff that I've been taught doesn't work. So I must have been taught wrong because something's missing and is not right.


"So I began to think about when Jesus first started his ministry and he said, 'Follow me.' And when he finished, he said, 'Abide in me.' And that was my moment that I knew that if I was going to follow him, I had also to abide in him. And to 'abide' in him means to live in him and for him to live'


"So, on that night in Ireland I said, 'OK God, I'll never ask you for anything again. Do with me as you will. I'll pray for other people if they ask me to, but hey, you know my wife, my son, my daughter and my grandchildren and they all belong to you and you know what's best. I don't know what's best and you have a plan and you see the big picture and I only see the little picture. So whatever happens to my wife, my son, my grandchildren, to me; whatever comes my way, I'll receive it from your hand as the best thing that could happen in the big picture.


"And so from that night that is when I totally surrendered my life to Christ and it was no longer 'My will, but thy will be done.'


"From that day onwards, I let go. I have no agenda. I have no plan for the future. All I have is this moment with you here and this microphone, this conversation, and I don't know what God's gonna bring next. A seven-forty-seven could come right out of the sky. We don't know what the next moment this whole thing."


So how is his son doing now?




"He's doing better gradually as time has gone by," said Barry. "He has started growing and understanding his own illness. He's starting to understand how much his mother and I love him and to appreciate our situation in life with him and how we have dealt with his years of suffering with his illness.


"Also, he met some friends who are alcoholics and they go to AA meetings and so they've adopted him and taken him on their twelve step program and he's learning how to own all of his own problems and decisions and how anger doesn't help anything. He's learning the twelve steps to bi-polar freedom and his meds have been really good.


"But the side effects to his meds are really devastating. It's gonna shorten his life, but hey we're all gonna die anyway."


What would you say to a parent that's just discovered that their child is bi-polar?


"I would say to seek help and take them to a group that have meetings and seek psychiatric help," said Barry.


"Seek all the help you can find and try and get them on meds. Be honest and be careful and love them and realize that it's not them, that you're talking to but you know it's a miss-wired brain. You know, the brain is just an organ and it's like your kidneys, your lungs or your heart, and if you have kidney problems people aren't going to kick you out on the street.


"But when your brain doesn't work, you have all of the emotional relationship problems and your emotions are just all over the map and when you're screaming, yelling, angry and mad, it's not you, it's just the disease. But hey, if you have to call nine-one-one, call nine-one-one. We've done that several times they'd come and get him and off he would go."


I then thanked Barry McGuire for courageously sharing his story with me and then discovered that besides singing at Jesus Freak reunions and on PBS nostalgia shows, he is also now doing a tour, even though he now has a Pacemaker, called Trippin' The Sixties with John York from The Byrds.


I wanted to sing Bob Dylan tunes but Roger beat me to them."


"It is a show that's just my journey through that decade; who I knew, met, partied, performed with recorded with, and wrote songs," he said. "I tell the story behind the scenes what happened in our personal lives some of the things that went down. And we do the songs that everybody knows like California Dreamin' that John Phillips wrote and we do Tambourine Man that Roger McGuinn got to before I could.


Like Barry's son, my colleague at ASSIST News, Michael Ireland, has also been diagnosed with Bi-Polar Disorder. I asked him to share how the disorder affects him.
"It is both a blessing and a curse, but mostly a blessing in disguise," said Michael.


"One thing I have had to learn is that I am not the disease, I have the disease. I am a person with problems and struggles, joys and victories just like everyone else, except that with Bi-Polar, some things can go to extremes and become unbalanced or out-of-whack. I am not at fault for having the disorder, but I am responsible for how I handle it," Michael said.


"A problem with Bi-Polar is that if not managed well, life can become difficult to handle, not only for the sufferer, but also the people in your life. I once read that for the Bi-Polar sufferer 'life can be great and exciting while in mania, but it is murder for your friends and family,'" he said.


Michael stated that if you or your loved one develops this no-fault brain disease, which is caused by a biochemical imbalance in the brain, it is important to know that there is help available, both in the form of medications (managed by regular monitoring by a psychiatrist) and by cognitive therapy from a licensed psychologist in the form of psychotherapy.


He added: "It is true that with the mood swings between mania and depression those who have Bi-Polar can be extremely productive and efficient, but in times of depression they need to learn to pull-back, and take care of themselves until balance and equilibrium returns. It's a little like a see-saw: you also have to make sure you don't go 'over-the-top' when mania strikes. In a way, it's also like Diabetes in that you never know in advance when mania or depression may strike. So with Diabetes, you can never predict when your blood glucose will be too high or too low.


"We do know, however, that stress is a trigger for Bi-Polar, so the best thing a Bi-Polar sufferer can do is learn the signs of an impending episode and learn how to manage the highs and lows that come with the illness. It is also important for those with Bi-Polar not to come off the meds when you begin feeling better -- that can be a recipe for relapse and disaster. There is no miracle cure for Bi-Polar, but it is possible to manage its effects."


Michael went on to say: "While the medications can help achieve this balance, it is also true they tend to flatten your mood and lower your energy levels and, I for one, know how it is difficult to continue being creative and productive, and you miss the 'highs' that come with an upward swing in mood. However, through cognitive therapy with my counselor I have learned over the years to manage the disorder so that that the swings between mania and depression are not as disruptive. My therapist says that in 30 years of practicing psychology, I am one of his most consistent and reliable patients."


Michael concluded: "Despite having the Disorder, I have faith in Jesus Christ, and with the help of my friends and family, I have been able to face everything life has thrown at me."


To get more information on Barry McGuire's incredible life, please go to his website which is:www.barrymcguire.com where there are also details of his various concerts.


If you are a radio station and would like to broadcast this interview, please contact me at assistnews@aol.com and give me details of the program, the call letters of the station, and where you are based.


You can also find helpful resources on Bi-Polar Disorder from the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance atwww.dbsalliance.org


Note: I would like to thank Robin Frost for transcribing this interview.
Dan Wooding, 70, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for 48 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS) and was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. He now hosts the weekly "Front Page Radio" show on KWVE in Southern California which is also carried throughout the United States. The program is also aired in Great Britain on Calvary Chapel Radio UK and also in Belize and South Africa. Besides this, Wooding is a host for His Channel Live, which is carried via the Internet to some 200 countries. You can follow Dan on Facebook under his name there or at ASSIST News Service. He is the author of some 44 books. Two of the latest include his autobiography, "From Tabloid to Truth", which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, press this link. Wooding, who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, has also recently released his first novel "Red Dagger" which is available this link.