Tracy McCleary (1914-2003) began musical studies at Frederick Douglass School in Oklahoma City and toured the Oklahoma oil fields during the 1920s. He was educated at Talladega College and Alabama State College. McCleary toured with Erskine Hawkins and performed with Benny Carter in New York. Arriving in Baltimore in the early 1930s, he was hired to play at the Plantation on Pennsylvania Avenue. He went on to lead Ike Dixon's band at the Comedy Club and then established his own band, Tracy's Kentuckians, which played the weekly dances at the Strand Ballroom and New Albert Auditorium. In 1949 he organized the Royal Men of Rhythm, which was the house band at the Royal Theatre until 1966, when the theater closed. In 1965 he enrolled at the University of Maryland, where he earned a bachelor's in psychology, and later recieved a master's from Johns Hopkins University.

In this interview transcript, McCleary and interviewer Elizabeth Schaaf discuss McCleary's experience with the 'Bama State Collegians, the oil field tours, his time on WBAL, and his musical arrangements. The recording of this interview is missing.