Michael "Bass" McCary (born December 16, 1971) is an American musician known for being the former bass singer of the R&B group Boyz II Men, in which he was sometimes known as Mike Bass. He started struggling with back spasms and was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis during his time with the group. He continued singing with the group despite his illness until his departure in 2003. The group has stated they fired McCary because he missed shows. Since 2024, McCary has occasionally joined the group onstage. McCary is also a producer and songwriter, having worked on songs for artists such as Johnny Gill and Keith Martin.
Early life
Raised by a single mother, McCary hailed from Logan, Philadelphia, and attended the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts with Boyz II Men members Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris, and Shawn Stockman.
Boyz II Men
thumb|left|Boyz II Men in 1995.
At one point, McCary encountered Morris (Nathan), Morris (Wanya), Stockman, and former member Marc Nelson singing in the school bathroom, and harmonized with them. McCary became the group's bass singer afterwards, nicknamed Bass.
McCary suffered from back spasms, which later went "full scale" when he was 22 years old. Reviews of the group's shows in 1998 describe McCary as having a "back injury" (Daily Bruin), and state that he "sat most of the time with a sore back" (Deseret News). In 2004, Morris (Nathan) stated that during the album campaign for Full Circle, the group did shows without McCary because his back would not let him perform. At age 28, The diagnosis also stated that a nerve around the sciatica was "locked in place" that could sever, risking paralysis. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society thanked McCary for disclosing his diagnosis and bringing awareness to the disease.