Guitar/Vocals
If Mac McAnally never sang or played another note of music, his place in music history is more than assured. Writer, producer, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and all around musical sage, Mac has seen and done it all. Now he is back once again with a new and energizing album – Live in Muscle Shoals. Recorded live from the Norton Auditorium at the University of North Alabama during the W.C. Handy Music Festival, Mac put together an incredible band of musicians consisting of fellow Coral Reefers and Muscle Shoals/Nashville session friends in which they captivated the audience. “Last summer the fine folks in charge of the W.C. Handy Music Festival asked me to play a show that ran the gamut of everything I’ve done,” Mac said. “In live performance you don’t have to look far for imperfections. I look at the imperfections as blessings too,” he added. “W.C. Handy made a career out of mixing influences from his surroundings and expressing them musically. I share that aspiration and hope to merit having shared the bill with his legacy on July 31, 2010 in his hometown of Florence, Alabama.” A master storyteller, Mac introduces each song with anecdotes, describing how the songs came to be and how they have impacted his life. Mac’s wit and love for life and music shine throughout. Live in Muscle Shoals includes his hits “Back Where I Come From”, “All These Years”, and “Down the Road”, as well as a cover of the ‘60s hit “I Heard It through the Grapevine”. The album serves as the perfect compliment to an incomparable career. Music was the most obvious road for Lyman 'Mac' McAnally to take from his Red Bay, Alabama birthplace and Belmont, Mississippi hometown. He was a guitar and piano prodigy who performed in clubs at 13, wrote his first song at 15 and landed as a Muscle Shoals studio musician at 18. Mac signed his first record deal, with Ariola, at 20 and launched two singles to moderate success on the Billboard Hot 100. 'It's A Crazy World' peaked at No. 37 and 'Minimum Love' topped out at No. 41. His songwriting drew the attention of Jimmy Buffett and Hank Williams, Jr., both of whom cut McAnally songs. Alabama took his 'Old Flame' to No. 1 in 1981. The song cemented his status as a hit maker, a reputation that has never waned. Reba McEntire, T.G. Sheppard, David Allan Coe, Shenandoah, Ricky Van Shelton, Charley Pride, Randy Travis and Steve Wariner are just some of the artists who cut Mac's songs over the next 20 years. In the late '80s and '90s, McAnally became an in-demand producer, along the way working with Ricky Skaggs, Restless Heart, Chris LeDoux and Little Feat, among others. He produced the band Sawyer Brown through their biggest successes and penned their signature hits including 'The Cafe On The Corner,' 'The Boys And Me' and 'Thank God For You.' Meanwhile, Mac's skills as a musician continued to bring calls that carried him into the studio. Over the course of his career he's built an enviable registry of credits that includes Roy Orbison, Hank Williams, Jr., Amy Grant, Jimmy Buffett, Travis Tritt, Linda Ronstadt, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Dolly Parton and many more. And his guitar and vocal skills weren't confined to the studio as he joined Buffett's touring Coral Reefer band, an association that continues to this day. McAnally has also produced several of Buffett's albums and written many of his songs. And even in the midst of creating a prodigious body of behind-the-scenes work, McAnally continued to make his own music. All told, he has recorded 11 albums, all for major labels. In fact, he was the first artist signed to David Geffen's legendary rock label Geffen Records. His accomplishments are now beginning to be fully recognized. In 2007, McAnally was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. The following year, the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame followed suit, while the Country Music Association named him Musician of the Year for the last 3 years in a row. And, Mac continues to own and operate his own recording studio in Muscle Shoals. So the question remains: Why? Why now? Why is his biggest success and notoriety as an artist happening after he's already achieved so much? McAnally is more than confirmed as one of the most accomplished and revered creative forces in the music business. He has nothing left to prove. Maybe this time, however, the music business has something to prove to Mac McAnally. Official WebsiteMac Mcanally Children
Sep 01, 2020 Mac McAnally can certainly vouch for that. “It’s not like anybody else’s hot dog,” he says. “It’s the reddest hot dog in the world - you can’t make it any redder than that.
Mac McAnally Reviewed by Henry L. Surely, the title of Mac MacAnally's new album drips with irony; if there's anyone who's never been a nobody, it's this brilliant songwriter, singer and guitarist. Mac McAnally: Official website of Mississippi singer/songwriter Mac McAnally. (Buffett, Mac McAnally, C. Off to See the Lizard (Buffett, Jay Oliver) 122. Ballad of Skip Wiley (Buffett, Roger Guth, Russ Kunkel, Peter Mayer, and Jay Oliver. Shane McAnally (born October 12, 1974) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer. Originally a solo artist for Curb Records in 1999, McAnally charted three singles on Hot Country Songs, including the No. 31 'Are Your Eyes Still Blue', before becoming a songwriter and record producer.
Major Works
Musician Mac McAnally with friends at MSU in 2017. Photo by Zach Rolland. Left to right: Kathy Steen, Mac McAnally, Lynne Philli[ps-Gaines, and Jack Haynes. Used by permission.
- Mac McAnally
- No Problem Here
- Cuttin’ Corners
- Nothin’ but the Truth
- Finish Lines
- Simple Life
- Live and Learn
- Knots
- Word of Mouth (June ’99) and many others
Mac Mcanally Family
Collaboration CD’s
- One Voice
- The Prince of Egypt
- The Stars Come Out For Christmas
- Friends for Life
Biography of Mac McAnally
By Josh Ammerman (SHS) (1999) Updated below.
On July 15, 1957 in Red Bay, Alabama, a man named Lyman “Mac” Corbitt McAnally, Jr., was born. Mac McAnally has contributed much to the world of music, not only as a songwriter but also as a singer. McAnally grew up in Belmont, Mississippi, where his father was one of his high school administrators. This outstanding musician began his musical career at the early age of three, singing while his mother played the piano. After that, his mother had him take piano lessons to extend his apparent musical talents. Mac got a job playing the piano for a state line club in southern Tennessee. Soon thereafter, he started to play the guitar for fun. At the age of fifteen, Mac began his song writing career when wrote the song, “People Call Me Jesus.”
While in the eleventh grade at his high school in Belmont, Mississippi, McAnally convinced his father to let him have a “premature graduation.” Since his father was the assistant principal of his high school this was a hard task. However, he was soon able to wear his father down. His father finally allowed him to quit school. He then began playing night clubs around the state (Trammel). When Mac was seventeen, he moved to Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and started working in the music recording industry. He signed with Wishbone Production and Publishing Company as a songwriter and artist (Alabama hall.).
Mac had very few influences as a child; but his first record was “Let it Be” by the Beatles. Mac’s music career didn’t pick up until producers Terry Woodford and Clayton Ivey heard some of his material. They encouraged him to record some of his music. Mac released the cut “I Need You Tonight, ” which appeared on a Hank Williams recording. He then released his first solo album, Mac McAnally on Ariola Records in 1977. One of Mac’s most famous songs came from that album. The song “Its a Crazy World” became a hit on the radio and became number two on the adult contemporary charts and made it into the pop top forty chart. It was apparent that Mac was good at music (Trammel).
Mac was a hit and was compared to literary figures like William Faulkner and Flannery O’ Conner. His songs were what he called “short stories mashed into a popular song format.” (union county historical…) After the release of his first album, Mac began to tour. He played gigs in Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York City. A year after the release of his first album, Mac released, “No Problem Here, ” which was also a superb expression of Mac’s talent. Mac was under a lot of pressure to put this album out, so it was kind of rushed. Mac then released, “Cutting Corners” in 1980. For this album Mac made the big leap from Ariola to MCA records because Ariola was “going disco”. Mac has released five albums since then, and a new solo album was to be released during the summer of 1999.
Mac has also worked with other artists on several albums, including the Prince of Egypt soundtrack (Mac.McAnally.com). He has more than just his solo singing career under his belt. He has also been a songwriter for many famous people, having written Shenendoah’s “Two Dozen Roses” and Alabama’s Old Flame (Highland Vill…). He also works a lot with Jimmy Buffet, and he is currently on tour with him. In fact, Mac will be touring with Jimmy all summer long (’99). He will playing smaller gigs on his nights off. Mac has had a strong musical career so far. With the release of his new album in the summer he shows us that he is not done yet.
In the spring of 1999, McAnally was presented with an award given to him by the Mississippi Arts and Letters Commission.
UPDATE:
McAnally was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and named Country Music Association’s Musician of the Year in recent years. In 2010, he was the winner of one of four Mississippi Governor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts. In 2015 and 2016, the internationally- recognized musician has given a concert at Bettersworth Auditorium at Mississippi State to benefit MSU’s Department of Music. Mac McAnally, has been named Country Music Association Musician of the Year for eight years in a row.
Timeline
- 1957 – Lyman Corbitt McAnally is born on July 15
- 1960 – Began musical career singing for mom
- 1960? Began taking piano lessons
- 1970 – Got first job playing piano for night club
- 1971 – Bought first record, “Let it Be” (the Beatles)
- 1972 – Began song writing career writing “People call me Jesus”
- 1973 or 74 –Quits school in the eleventh grade
- 1976 – Moves to Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and begins working in the music industry
- 1977 – Released “Mac McAnally” on Ariola Records
- 1978 – Released “No Problem Here” on Ariola Records
- 1980 – Released “Cuttin’ Corners” on RCA records
- 1983 – Released “Noting But the Truth” on Geffen
- 1988 – Released “Finishing Lines” on Geffen
- 1989 – Released “Simple Life” on WB/Geffen
- 1992 – Released “Live And Learn” on MCA
- 1994 – Released “Knots” on MCA
- 1996 – Released the song “Its everything” on the CD “One Voice” on MCA
– Released the song “Just one night” on the CD “The Stars Come Out For Christmas” on Steve Vaus Productions
– released the song ” Only Passing Through” on the cd “Friends for Life (recorded at the Bluebird Cafe)” on Alive Hospice Inc. - 1998 – released the song “The Moving of the Mountain”on the “Prince of Egypt”soundtrack on Dreamworks
- 1999 – released the CD “Word of Mouth”
- 2004 Semi-True Stories
- 2006 Cuttin’ Corners (re-release)
- 2009 Down by the River
- 2010 Winner of Mississippi Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts
Related Websites
Mac Mcanally Kids
- The official Mac McAnally home page
- McAnally performs benefit concert at Mississippi State in 2017
Bibliography
Mac Mcanally Kids
- “Alabama Hall of Fame”[online]www.alamhof.org/mcanally.htm
- Dilworth, Andrea Wright. “Highland Village hosts state sons”. The Clarion-Ledger 7. May, 1998: 8F
- “Mac.McAnally.com” [online]www.mac.mcanally.com.March ’99
- Trammel Mike.”Its a Crazy World, the unofficial Mac McAnally homepage.[online]www.noproblemhere.com.March ’99
- Union County Historical Society. Mac McAnally . P.O. Box 657 New Albany, Ms 38652