The Whitney Family //

Updated 2026: The Whitney Family's musical roots run deep:  A renowned Los Angeles area entertainer, family matriarch Louise Whitney began singing professionally at age 16 in Portland, OR, and had an impressive career that’s spanned some 50 years, which included touring with legends of soul Solomon Burke and Johnny Otis. Later, under the moniker Whitney, Whitney & Whitney, she performed with her brother James (Jimmy) Whitney, a Carlos Santana alum, and her sister Mary Lee Whitney – who would go on to become a member of Stevie Wonder’s Wonderlove and the featured female vocalist on Stevie’s classic hit 'AS' from the legendary Songs In The Key of Life album. Local celebrities, the trio were L.A. area nightclub staples. Louise had a thriving solo career as well, and in 1969 was tapped by Quincy Jones to perform He Said He Loves Me from the soundtrack to the Sidney Poitier film, The Lost Man.

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With all this music going on around them, it was only natural that Louise's kids: son's Glynn, Nick, Phillip and Ellis Ray (aka Ray-Ray), and daughter's Tracey, Cozette (aka Cookie), and twins Louise and Louanda, would start to mimic the grown-ups, who were always rehearsing or performing. Whitney took note of her children's natural talent, and together they would go on to become the singing powerhouse, The Whitney Family, debuting at the famed Coconut Grove in Los Angeles in 1971. At the time, the kids (who all sang lead and backup vocals) ranged in age from 5 (the twins) to 13 (Glynn). The Whitney Family toured the U.S. and abroad, played Las Vegas and Tahoe (opening for acts like Debbie Reynolds and Tony Orlando), and shared the stage with Ginger Rogers, Donny and Marie Osmond and even former First Lady, Nancy Reagan. They recorded albums for Warner Curb Records (1977's Airways featured Let Me Be Your Woman, a Billboard magazine Top Singles Pick), and United Artists Records. In 1977 the family recorded the Emmy Award nominated Early In The Morning from 1977’s Minstrel Man, starring Glynn Turman. They made guest appearances on several local and national TV shows, including The Lou Rawls Parade of Stars and Burt Sugarman's world-famous TV show, The Midnight Special. Introduced by the legendary Wolfman Jack himself, their segment (in the video above) begins at approximately 50:50 with performances of  “I Got the Music in Me” and “I Need Your Lovin’ Every Day”. They were also featured in several teen magazines, most notably Tiger Beat and Right On!

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The Whitney Family performed together for 20 years, until the “kids” began raising families of their own and/or began their own solo careers. Cookie toured with Latin superstar Álvaro Torres and performed in concert with Montell Jordan. Glynn continued to perform solo for many years after the group disbanded.

 

Louise relocated to Las Vegas, NV in 2009, and continued to sing in casinos and nightclubs for many years until she retired in 2024 to Albuquerque, NM where she now lives with Tracey, who continues the family tradition. Her post-Whitney Family career has included touring with "The Genius of Soul" Ray Charles, joining his sorority of world-renowned singers, The Raelettes. She also spent five years performing solo in Japan, and later launched an independent  record label, Babydoll Entertainment & Records, releasing Love… A Fable In 9 Acts (2007), I Am Singing… Songs I Love (2012), and Live At The Outpost Performance Space in 2016 (a New Mexico Music Award nominee for Best Vocal Performance). She’s had a thriving career in her adopted hometown and was routinely called upon to open concerts when the stars come to town, performing with smooth jazz elites Will Donato, Marc Antoine, Euge Groove, Darren Rahn, Julian Vaughn, and Shalimar's Howard Hewett. In 2026 Tracey fulfilled a lifelong dream of opening her own nightclub, Babydoll's House of Jazz & Blues, where (unsurprisingly) Louise has become a crowd favorite, often sitting in with Tracey’s band. For more on Tracey, visit www.babydollentertainment.com.

 

Known for his unmistakable velvety-smooth voice, the children's father, Ellis Ray “Ray Boone” Leary (1937-1985), was also a local star in his hometown of Portland, OR. In addition to a solo career, he was the lead vocalist for the 1960’s Portland-based singing group, The Classics, and had once even been invited to join the famed band, The Isley Brothers, but family obligations prevented it since, at the time, he had a wife and eight small children at home. With two such talented parents, is it any wonder all the kids came out singing? (Louise and her children relocated to Los Angeles, CA in 1967 following the couple's divorce.) His grandfather / the children’s great-grandfather, is the 1995 Cleveland Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and world-renowned blues drummer, S.P. Leary. Mr. Leary played and recorded with James Cotton, T-Bone Walker, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, and more.

 

It was a hell of a ride!

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Thanks for stopping by, and we invite you to "like" The Whitney Family Music page on Facebook. As the song says: "Get Closer To My Music / Get Closer To My Song / If You Feel The Rhythms Got Ya / Come And Sing Along." God bless...