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.
Kayleigh McEnany has been serving as the White House press secretary since April 2020. She is the fourth person to take on this job since President Donald Trump took office in early 2017. McAnally, usually called Mac, is the owner of McAnally's Pub. He first appears in Storm Front. 1 Description 2 In the series 2.1 Storm Front 2.2 Fool Moon 2.3 Death Masks 2.4 Dead Beat 2.5 Proven Guilty 2.6 White Night 2.7 'Heorot' 2.8 Small Favor 2.9 'Last Call' 2.10 Changes 2.11 Aftermath 2.12 Cold Days 2.13 Skin Game 3 Word of Jim 4 References A man of many talents and few syllables is Mac. Mac McAnally is an American country music singer-songwriter, session musician and record producer. In his career, he has recorded ten studio albums and eight singles. Two of his singles were hits on the Billboard Hot 100, and six more on the Hot Country Songs charts. His ninth chart entry came in late 2008-early 2009 as a guest vocalist on Kenny Chesney's Number One cover of his 1990 single.
- 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
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
- The official Mac McAnally home page
- McAnally performs benefit concert at Mississippi State in 2017
Bibliography
- “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
McAnally (left) with Jimmy Buffett in June 2009 | |
Background information | |
---|---|
Birth name | Lyman Corbitt McAnally Jr.[1] |
Born | July 15, 1957 (age 63)[2] Red Bay, Alabama, U.S. |
Origin | Belmont, Mississippi, U.S. |
Genres | Country |
Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, record producer |
Instruments | Vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, mandola, piano, keyboards, harmonica, ukulele, percussion |
Years active | 1977–present |
Labels | Ariola, Geffen, RCA, Warner Bros., MCA, DreamWorks Nashville, Mailboat, Show Dog Nashville |
Associated acts | Jimmy Buffett, Sawyer Brown, Kenny Chesney |
Lyman Corbitt McAnally Jr. (/ˈmækənæliː/; born July 15, 1957), known professionally as Mac McAnally, is an American country music singer-songwriter, session musician and record producer. In his career, he has recorded ten studio albums and eight singles. Two of his singles were hits on the Billboard Hot 100, and six more on the Hot Country Songs charts.
His ninth chart entry came in late 2008-early 2009 as a guest vocalist on Kenny Chesney's Number One cover of his 1990 single 'Down the Road'; it is McAnally's only chart-topper as an artist. He has also produced for Sawyer Brown and Restless Heart, written several singles for other artists, and is a member of Jimmy Buffett's backing band, The Coral Reefer Band.
Biography[edit]
Early life and career[edit]
McAnally was born in Red Bay, AL. He began playing piano and singing in church at the Belmont First Baptist Church in Belmont, Mississippi as a child, and by age fifteen, he had composed his first song.[2] From there, he went on to become a session musician in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. During a session break, McAnally began to perform original material. The producers there encouraged him, and by 1977 he was signed to Ariola Records. His self-titled debut album produced the single 'It's a Crazy World' which reached No. 37 on the Billboard Hot 100.[2] Reviewing it in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau said, 'although it does often sound pat, as folk stoicism will in a post-folk context, the first side comes across pretty outspoken for a Mississippi singer-songwriter with royalties in the bank—the heroine of one song is a rape victim who murders both assailant and judge after the latter lets off the former. Side two is Joe South.'[3]
A second album, No Problem Here, was issued in 1978, followed in 1980 by Cuttin' Corners on RCA Records. These latter two albums produced no chart singles. However, he found success as a songwriter for Jimmy Buffett, in addition to co-writing Alabama's Number One hit 'Old Flame'.[2]
McAnally continued to record even while writing for Buffett. Mac eventually signed with Geffen Records with two albums (Nothin' but the Truth, which included the single 'Minimum Love' which reached No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100, and Finish Lines) being issued in 1983 and 1988, respectively. He and Walt Aldridge co-wrote Ricky Van Shelton's 1987 single 'Crime of Passion'.[2]
1990s and 2000s[edit]
In 1990, McAnally signed to Warner Bros. Records, releasing Simple Life that year. This album produced his first Top 40 country hit in the No. 14 'Back Where I Come From.' Kenny Chesney would also record McAnally's 'Back Where I Come From' for his 1996 album Me and You. Also in 1990, Steve Wariner released a McAnally co-write, the Top Ten hit 'Precious Thing.'[2] The only other single from Simple Life was the No. 70 'Down the Road', and by year's end, he exited Warner Bros.' roster.
McAnally's seventh studio album, Live and Learn, followed in 1992, producing three low-charting singles. Also that year, he produced Sawyer Brown's album The Dirt Road, and continued to produce almost all of their subsequent albums, in addition to co-writing several of the band's singles between then and the late 1990s, including the Number One 'Thank God for You', as well as the Top Five hits 'All These Years', 'Cafe on the Corner', 'The Boys and Me', and 'This Time'. His second and final release for MCA, 1994's Knots, failed to produce any chart singles, although Linda Davis charted that year with 'Company Time', which he wrote. Throughout the 1990s, McAnally also found work as a session musician, playing guitar on several artists' albums, in addition to joining Buffett's road band.
It was not until 1999, when he signed to DreamWorks Records Nashville, that McAnally released his next album.[2] This album, Word of Mouth, also failed to produce any singles. Another album, Semi-True Stories, followed in 2004 on Mailboat Records, the same label to which Buffett is signed. Also in 2004, McAnally and Kyle Lehning produced Restless Heart's reunion album Still Restless, which included covers of three McAnally songs. In 2008, McAnally was awarded Musician of the Year by the Country Music Association. Also in 2008, he participated in the production of the album Psalngs,[4] the debut release of Canadian musician John Lefebvre.
Kenny Chesney covered McAnally's 1990 single 'Down the Road' on his 2008 album Lucky Old Sun, as a duet with McAnally. This rendition, released in late 2008 as its second single, became McAnally's first Top 40 country hit since 'Back Where I Come From' in 1990. In February 2009, it became his first Number One as a singer. One month later, McAnally signed to Show Dog Nashville, a label owned by Toby Keith.[5] His first single release for the label is 'You First'. His first album for the label, Down by the River, debuted at No. 56 on the Top Country Albums chart, becoming his first chart entry on that chart since 1990.
Mac Mcanally Family
In 2011, Mac McAnally released the new album Live in Muscle Shoals on Mailboat Records, recorded in July 2010 at the W. C. Handy Music Festival in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Appearing with him were the Coral Reefer Band, bassist Jim Mayer and drummer Roger Guth.[6]
Mac Mcanally Kids
Awards and nominations[edit]
Year | Award | Category | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2007 | Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame | Inducted to Hall of Fame[7] | Inducted |
2008 | Country Music Association Awards | Musician of the Year | Won |
2009 | Won | ||
Musical Event of the Year — 'Down the Road' | Nominated | ||
2010 | 52nd Grammy Awards | Best Country Collaboration with Vocals — 'Down the Road' | Nominated |
Country Music Association Awards | Musician of the Year | Won | |
2011 | Won | ||
2012 | Won | ||
2013 | Won | ||
2014 | Won | ||
2015 | Won | ||
2017 | Won | ||
2018 | Won |
Discography[edit]
Albums[edit]
Year | Album | US Country | Label |
---|---|---|---|
1977 | Mac McAnally | — | Ariola |
1978 | No Problem Here | — | |
1980 | Cuttin' Corners | — | RCA |
1983 | Nothing But the Truth | — | Geffen |
1988 | Finish Lines | — | |
1990 | Simple Life | 63 | Warner Bros. |
1992 | Live and Learn | — | MCA |
1994 | Knots | — | |
1999 | Word of Mouth | — | DreamWorks Nashville |
No Problem Here(re-release) | — | ||
2004 | Semi-True Stories | — | Mailboat |
2006 | Cuttin' Corners(re-release) | — | Magic |
2009 | Down by the River | 56 | Show Dog |
2011 | Live: In Muscle Shoals | 72 | Mailboat |
2015 | A.K.A. Nobody | — | |
2017 | Southbound: The Orchestra Project | — | |
2020 | Once in a Lifetime | — | |
'—' denotes releases that did not chart |
Singles[edit]
Mac Mcanally Children
Year | Single | Chart Positions | Album | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US Country | US | US AC[8] | CAN Country | CAN | CAN AC | |||
1977 | 'It's a Crazy World' | — | 37 | 10 | — | 64 | — | Mac McAnally |
1978 | 'Opinion on Love' | — | — | 47 | — | — | — | No Problem Here |
1983 | 'Minimum Love' | — | 41 | 7 | — | — | 5 | Nothin' But The Truth |
1990 | 'Back Where I Come From' | 14 | — | — | 18 | — | — | Simple Life |
'Down the Road' | 70 | — | — | 73 | — | — | ||
1992 | 'Live and Learn' | 62 | — | — | 98 | — | — | Live and Learn |
'The Trouble with Diamonds' | 72 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1993 | 'Junk Cars' | 72 | — | — | 87 | — | — | |
'Not That Long Ago'[9] | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2009 | 'You First' | — | — | — | — | — | — | Down by the River |
'—' denotes releases that did not chart |
Guest singles[edit]
Year | Single | Artist | Chart Positions | Album | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US Country | US | CAN | ||||
2008 | 'Down the Road' (re-recording) | Kenny Chesney | 1 | 47 | 57 | Lucky Old Sun |
Music videos[edit]
Year | Video | Director |
---|---|---|
1990 | 'Back Where I Come From' | |
1992 | 'The Trouble with Diamonds' | Michael Salomon |
1993 | 'Not That Long Ago'[10] | John Lloyd Miller |
1994 | 'Down the Road' |
Songs written or co-written by Mac McAnally[edit]
Title | Co-writer | Cover Artist | Peak Chart Position[11] |
---|---|---|---|
'All These Years' | Not Applicable | Sawyer Brown | No. 3 Billboard Country Singles Chart |
'Back Where I Come From' | Not Applicable | Kenny Chesney | No. 14 Billboard Country Singles Chart |
'The Boys and Me' | Mark Miller | Sawyer Brown | No. 3 Billboard Country Singles Chart |
'Cafe on the Corner' | Not Applicable | Sawyer Brown | No. 5 Billboard Country Singles Chart |
'Crime of Passion' | Walt Aldridge | Ricky Van Shelton | No. 7 Billboard Country Singles Chart |
'Down the Road' | Not Applicable | Kenny Chesney | No. 1 Billboard Country Singles Chart |
'I'm Gonna Hurt Her on the Radio' | Tom Brasfield | David Allan Coe | No. 52 Billboard Country Singles Chart |
'I'm Gonna Love Her on the Radio' | Tom Brasfield | Charley Pride | No. 13 Billboard Country Singles Chart |
'It's My Job' | Not Applicable | Jimmy Buffett | No. 57 Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart |
'It's a Crazy World' | Not Applicable | Self-Recorded | No. 37 Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart |
'Minimum Love' | Jerry Wexler | Self-Recorded | No. 7 Billboard Adult Contemporary Singles Chart |
'Old Flame' | Donny Lowery | Alabama | No. 1 Billboard Country Singles Chart |
'One Owner Heart' | Walt Aldridge & Tom Brasfield | T.G. Sheppard | No. 4 Billboard Country Singles Chart |
'Opinion on Love' | Not Applicable | Self-Recorded | No. 47 Billboard Adult Contemporary Singles Chart |
'Precious Thing' | Steve Wariner | Steve Wariner | No. 8 Billboard Country Singles Chart |
'She Put the Sad in All His Songs' | Robert Byrne | Ronnie Dunn | No. 59 Billboard Country Singles Chart |
'Southbound' | Not Applicable | Sammy Kershaw | No. 27 Billboard Country Singles Chart |
'Thank God for You' | Mark Miller | Sawyer Brown | No. 1 Billboard Country Singles Chart |
'This Time' | Mark Miller | Sawyer Brown | No. 2 Billboard Country Singles Chart |
'Two Dozen Roses' | Robert Byrne | Shenandoah | No. 1 Billboard Country Singles Chart |
'You're My First Lady' | Not Applicable | T.G. Sheppard | No. 2 Billboard Country Singles Chart |
References[edit]
- ^Ammerman, Josh. 'Mac McAnally: A Biography'. The Mississippi Writers and Musicians Project of Starkville High School. Archived from the original on January 18, 2000. Retrieved February 8, 2008.
- ^ abcdefgAnkeny, Jason. 'Mac McAnally biography'. Allmusic. Retrieved February 8, 2008.
- ^Christgau, Robert (1981). 'Consumer Guide '70s: M'. Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN089919026X. Retrieved March 7, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- ^'Press for Psalngs.com'. Press.Psalngs.com. Archived from Press.Psalngs.com the original Check
|url=
value (help) on August 25, 2011. Retrieved August 28, 2009. - ^Bjorke, Matt (March 1, 2009). 'Mac McAnally Signs with Show Dog Records'. Roughstock. Archived from the original on March 18, 2009. Retrieved March 27, 2009.
- ^'CMT : News : Mac McAnally Reprises Career in Live in Muscle Shoals'. Country Music Television. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
- ^'Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame'. nashvillesongwritersfoundation.com. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
- ^Whitburn, Joel (2007). Joel Whitburn Presents Billboard Top Adult Songs, 1961–2006. p. 181. ISBN9780898201697. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
- ^'Single Reviews'(PDF). Billboard. May 1, 1993.
- ^'CMT : Videos : Mac McAnally : Not That Long Ago'. Country Music Television. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
- ^Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame