Robin McNamara dies at age 74: The singer was best known for the 1970 song Lay A Little Lovin' On Me and for starring in the Broadway musical Hair

  • Robin McNamara passed away earlier this month at the age of 74 
  • The singer was best known for the 1970s hit Lay A Little Lovin' on Me 
  • He also starred as Claude on a Broadway run of Hair from 1969 until 1971 

Robin McNamara passed away earlier this month at the age of 74.

The singer was best known for his popular pop song from 1970, Lay A Little Lovin' on Me, which dubbed him a One Hit Wonder, though he had two other songs that did well on the charts: Got To Believe In Love and Beer Drinkin' Man.

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The musician also starred as Claude on a Broadway run of the iconic musical Hair from 1969 until 1971. 

A loss for music: Robin McNamara passed away earlier this month at the age of 74. The singer was best known for his popular love song from the 1970s, Lay A Little Lovin' on Me

The crooner died on October 21 but the cause for his death has yet to be revealed.  

The news was shared on his website which said McNamara had 'gained his angel wings.'

'This gentlest of gentle souls was predeceased by his loving wife, Suzie, who departed the earthly plane on May 16, 2018,' the note said.

'Robin and Suzie are now reunited for all eternity. Robin will be greatly missed, for his talent but especially for his kind and loving spirit.'

He was known for his long hair: Seen with Brenda Lee at the 12th annual Grammys. he had two other songs that did well on the charts: Got To Believe In Love and Beer Drinkin' Man

He wed Suzie in 1998. She died in 2018, according to her obituary.

McNamara was born in 1947 and raised in Newton, Massachusetts.

He played in a band in high school then went on tour. 'In 10th grade a couple of friends of mine played guitar and asked me if I wanted to sing in a band,' he said in an interview on his website. 'It was 1963, and I loved Roy Orbison, so [we did] some of [his] material; we also did a lot of Buddy Holly material. I was one of the first to grow my hair long in those days and got thrown out of high school a few times because my hair grew too long.'

Band man: McNamara was born in 1947 and raised in Newton, Massachusetts. He played in a band in high school then went on tour. 'In 10th grade a couple of friends of mine played guitar and asked me if I wanted to sing in a band,' he said in an interview on his website

Then he relocated to New York City in the late 1960s, he explained on his website. 

'I'd pick up the trade papers like The Village Voice and there would be ads in there for a singer for this or for that and I'd go and audition,' he said. 

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But his big break came from a stage musical.  

'I had no clue. I said, "What's Hair?" [A secretary] told me it was a Broadway show and they're looking to replace some of the cast,' he stated.

'I went down and auditioned and I had about three auditions for that and they finally hired me to do the show.'

Sad farewell: The crooner died on October 21 but the cause for his death has yet to be revealed. The news was shared on his website which said McNamara had 'gained his angel wings.' 'This gentlest of gentle souls was predeceased by his loving wife, Suzie, who departed the earthly plane on May 16, 2018,' the note said

He was on the show for two years, from 1969 until 1971.

He was introduced to composer/record producer Jeff Barry in 1969. Jeff signed him to his Steed record label. 

Lay a Little Lovin' on Me reached the number 11 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1970, according to Billboard.

Robin said in a July in a Facebook post that he wrote the tune with Jimmy Cretecos, who was his writing partner at the time.

'We brought it to Jeff Barry, and he liked where it was going but was leery of the song's title at first,' McNamara wrote.

Hair era: The musician also starred as Claude on a Broadway run of the iconic musical Hair from 1969 until 1971
They had to have long hair: His locks help him get cast in the show; seen with his costars

'He thought it might be a little too raunchy even after I pointed out the success Bob Dylan was having with Lay Lady Lady, which was currently in the top 10.'

McNamara said they altered the song's title to Take a Little Time To Know Me but then changed it again. 

'We all began to realize how bland it sounded and we went back to the original title,' he wrote.

'When we decided to do that I'll never forget Jeff saying, ''Okay, if we're going to go in that direction…' then he started banging on his desk, searching for a rhythm and then came up with the first line, "Can't you see that I am HUNG…..on your love" and then we all paused, looked at each other and started laughing. We then proceeded to finish the song together.'

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He was working up until he passed away. 

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