CLINTON LIFE MAGAZINE

by Crystal Huskey, editor

June 2014

 

Peg McKamey, a preacher’s daughter and matriarch of the Gospel-singing McKameys, has been singing since she was a little girl. This month, she and her family return to Clinton for their annual Hometown Sing. 

 

Q: How did you first get involved in performing? 

My daddy was a preacher and he sang. My oldest sister, Dora, sang with him when she was old enough.  After a few years, she wanted me and my sister Carol to give her harmony. So in 1954 we started singing together.  

 

 

 

Q: What was that like? 

We were just little kids. We sang acapella and would go to different churches to sing. After a few years, Dora’s church wanted us to sing on a Sunday morning and I met my now husband there. This June we’ll have been married for 55 years!  

 

 

Q: Was he musical as well?  

Oh yes, he sang with his family and he played the guitar. I was fascinated with the guitar. We had a lot of things in common. There were 12 kids in my family and 12 in his, we sang, they sang, so we started courtin’ and courted a couple of years. He would play for us and for his family when they sang. Eventually he played more with us once we started courting. After a couple of years of courting we got married, still sang. Once we made our first recording in 1968, Dora asked Ruben, my husband, to add a fourth part.  

 

 

 

Q: How many records have you made now?  

In 1968 we made two long play albums. We just recently finished our 50th project. It comes out in June.  

 

 

Q: Did you all write most of the songs?  

People send us their new material and I listen to it. Our daughter is a writer and has written more than a hundred songs and we’ve recorded close to 100 of her songs. 

 

 

Q: Who exactly makes up the McKameys? 

Ruben and I had two girls, Connie and Sheryl, and when my oldest sister Dora retired from singing to

go into the medical field, and my sister Carol retired to start her family, Ruben and I continued the band with our girls. Ruben and I are the Beans. 

 

 

Our baby daughter, Sheryl, who is the writer, came off the road to start her family and my sister Carol came back in her place. She sang with Connie and myself and Ruben for 26 years. Then, she retired again to spend time with her 12 grandchildren and Sheryl was able to come back to the group. Since 1980, Ruben, myself, and our daughters have performed full-time. Connie’s husband Roger plays some music, he plays guitar and piano. Their son Eli has always traveled with us and sings and plays as well. So six of us. 

 

 

Q: Are you originally from Clinton?  

No, I was born in Campbell County, a coal mining town. I moved to Anderson County and have been here since we started singing.  My and Ruben’s brothers and sisters all live here. 

 

 

Q: How often do you tour, and where all do you go?  

We tour every week except a couple of weeks for vacation and sometimes three weeks for Christmas. We’ve been in Maine, New York, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California. We have toured out west, but it’s been a few years since we traveled that far. We’ve performed on cruises and taken trips to Hawaii. Our home church is Batley Baptist Church and we make it back almost every Sunday. 

 

 

Q: What do you love most about your lifestyle? 

It’s a joy to be with the family on the weekends. Sheryl lives in Georgia just outside of Chattanooga. Connie lives in Clinton and takes care of McKamey Publishing. I like seeing other parts of the country. I love out west where the sky is so big. I like going into Amish settlements and singing a couple of days and hearing the click clack of the horses and buggies. 

 

 

Q: Is the tour schedule a challenge? 

It’s tiring. For example, one weekend we’ll start out on a Thursday in Savannah, Tenn., then Ohio, then Oklahoma and then back home. Because I love people I love seeing the different cultures. Everyone’s different and interesting to me. But I don’t love the travel like I used to. But my strength comes from the Lord. I am energetic and I thank the Lord for that. If it weren’t for him I’m sure I wouldn’t be.  

 

We’ve had our personal struggles too. Eli was diagnosed with nephritic syndrome when he was five months old and was on chemo for years. It destroyed the kidney’s filters. In 2007, his daddy gave him a kidney and he’s traveled with us with all this. It keeps us humble because we know God’s in control. My youngest daughter has also had health issues and takes chemo in a pill form. We treasure each moment we have with her. We realize life is short and enjoy it to the fullest. We praise the Lord for the privilege to travel the country and share the Gospel.  

 

 

Q: What was it like touring while raising a family?  

Before, Ruben was a contractor and built houses. I helped him decorate with wallpaper and paint. The whole family was involved in that and we traveled in the band. The girls would get their homework done in the van by the dome light. You just do what you have to do. They graduated with honors. We’ve just grown up together and have been close. We adopted two boys; they don’t sing but they followed in their daddy’s footsteps in the carpentry work. 

 

 

Q: Can you tell us more about the Hometown Sing? 

It’s Friday and Saturday, June 6-7. A lot of the people stay and go to church on Sunday and we have our homecoming there. We usually have over 20 states represented. The first thing we do is set up and get everthing ready, including ourselves. Then we wait at the product table, greet people and sell our products. A lot of time people will ask us to sing specific songs and we’ll take requests. We make a list of prayer requests as well. We’re proud to be from Clinton and enjoy getting to sing for people here at home. 

 

For more information, visit McKameysonline.com.