Lonnie Mack

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Lonnie Mack


Img_capt = Lonnie Mack in Rising Sun, Indiana, 2003.
Img_size =
Landscape =
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Lonnie McIntosh
Alias =
Born = birth date and age|1941|07|18
Dearborn County, Indiana, U.S.
Died =
Instrument = Electric guitar
Voice_type =
Genre = Blues-rock, blues, country, southern rock, rockabilly, bluegrass, gospel
Occupation = Musician, Songwriter
Years_active = 1954–present
Label = Alligator, Elektra, Fraternity, Capitol, Flying V Records, Jewel, King, Ace, Epic, Sage Records, Dobbs Records
Associated_acts =
URL = [http://www.lonniemack.com/ www.lonniemack.com]
Notable_instruments = 1958 Gibson Flying V guitar

Lonnie Mack (born Lonnie McIntosh, 18 July 1941, Dearborn County, Indiana) is a rock and blues guitarist.

In the early 1960s, he recorded several full-length rock guitar instrumentals strongly grounded in the blues, the best-known of which are "Memphis", "Wham!", "Chicken Pickin'" and "Suzie-Q". These instrumentals formed the leading edge of the virtuoso blues-rock guitar genre. [see, e.g., Brown & Newquist, "Legends of Rock Guitar", Hal Leonard Co., 1997, p. 25]

The first of these, 1963's "Memphis", was described by music historian Richard T. Pinnell, Ph. D., as "a milestone of early rock guitar" and was ranked by "Guitar World" magazine as the premier "landmark" rock guitar recording of all time. ["Landmark Recordings", Guitar World, July, 1980 and July, 1990, p. 97] In 1992, music critic Jimmy Guterman rated Mack's first album, 1963's "The Wham of that Memphis Man!", No. 16 in his book "The 100 Best Rock 'n' Roll Records of All Time". [Guterman, The Best Rock 'N' Roll Records of All Time, 1992, Citadel Publishing] Mack's solos influenced a generation of rock guitarists, including Duane Allman [Poe, "Skydog: The Duane Allman Story", Backbeat, 2006, pp. 10-11] and Stevie Ray Vaughan. [Potoski, "SRV: Caught in the Crossfire", Backbeat, 1993, pp. 15-16]

Lonnie Mack is also known for his "blue-eyed soul" ballads, and the diversity of his repertoire, which included country, blues, rockabilly, southern rock, R&B, roots-rock, bluegrass and gospel. In the 1960s his recordings emphasized roots-rock, blues-rock and R&B; in the 1970s, country, bluegrass and Southern rock; in the 1980s, rockabilly and blues-rock.

Mack released numerous singles and thirteen original albums as a featured artist. He also recorded with The Doors, Stevie Ray Vaughan, James Brown, Freddie King, Ronnie Hawkins, Albert Collins, Roy Buchanan, Troy Seals, Dobie Gray and the sons of blues legend Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, among others. For much of his career he performed in roadhouses and honky-tonks. However, he also toured internationally and performed at major venues, including Madison Square Garden, Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, the Fillmore East, the Fillmore West and Carnegie Hall.

Career

Lonnie Mack's music career began in the mid-1950s. It included several ground-breaking recordings and followed a path marked by critical acclaim, periods of inactivity, rediscovery and comeback.Fact|date=September 2008 Mack recorded as a featured artist from 1963 until 1990, and sporadically as a session musician from the early '60s until 2000. He performed often until 2005, and still makes occasional appearances at special events.Fact|date=September 2008

As a frontman, Mack has been described as rock’s first "virtuoso" guitarist and its first "guitar hero". While several of Mack's contemporaries, including Duane Eddy and Link Wray, have been described in similar terms, Mack's early solos were especially significant for advancing the integration of blues guitar stylism into rock, thereby laying the groundwork of the virtuoso blues-rock guitar genre of the 1960s.Fact|date=September 2008

By 1968, blues-rock had become the dominant rock guitar style, and "Rolling Stone" magazine had declared Mack to be "in a class by himself" as a rock guitarist. [Alec Dubro, Review of The Wham of that Memphis Man!, Rolling Stone, November 23, 1968] Today, critics view him as a pivotal figure in the history of rock guitar, having influenced every frontman, according to "Guitar World" magazine, "from Clapton to Allman to Vaughan" [Santoro, "Double-Whammy", Guitar World, January 1986, p. 34] and "from Nugent to Bloomfield". ["Landmark Recordings", Guitar World, July 1980 and July 1990, p. 97] His early vocal recordings also distinguish him amongst the "blue-eyed soul" singers of the 1960s.

Throughout his career, Mack's recordings reflected a unique mix of black and white musical roots, which often made his music difficult to define stylistically.Fact|date=September 2008 Music critic Alec Dubro summed it up: "Lonnie can be put into that 'Elvis Presley-Roy Orbison-early rock' bag.Fact|date=September 2008 But mostly for convenience.Fact|date=September 2008 In total sound and execution, he was an innovator". [Dubro, Rolling Stone, March 23, 1968]

At times in his career, the music industry classified him as a "rockabilly" or "southern rock" artist, for his many recordings in which he "blended" roots-rock, country, rhythm & blues ("R&B") and blues styles.Fact|date=September 2008 However, he also recorded "entirely within" single, distinct styles or genres, including country, roots-rock, classic R&B, soul, post-war urban blues and gospel music. Ultimately, the music industry coined the phrase "roadhouse rock" to describe Mack's music. [(1) Peter Watrous, "Lonnie Mack in a Melange of Guitar Styles", NY Times, September 18, 1988; (2) http://www.rockabillyhall.com/LonnieMack.html]

Childhood and musical influences

A few weeks before Mack's birth, his family moved from the Appalachians of southeastern Kentucky to the small share-cropping farm in southern Indiana where he was born and raised. They brought with them a deep appreciation of traditional country music, which they instilled in him. [Sandmel, "Lonnie Mack is Back of the Track", Guitar World, May 1984, p. 56] Several of Mack's close relatives were active country and bluegrass pickers. Although there was no electricity on the farm, his family had a primitive battery-powered radio, and they were devotees of "The Grand Ole Opry" radio show. After the rest of the family had retired for the night, Mack would log some radio time of his own, listening to early R&B and gospel music. [(See, (1) McDevitt, "Unsung Guitar Hero Lonnie Mack", September 5, 2007, http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Features/Unsung%20Guitar%20Hero%20Lonnie%20Mack/ (2) Mack bio at http://rockabillyhall.com/lonniemack1.html (3) Sandmel, "Lonnie Mack is Back of the Track", Guitar World, May, 1984, p. 56)]

Mack began playing at the age of 7, using an acoustic guitar he had traded for a bicycle. [Dan Forte, "Lonnie Mack: That Memphis Man is Back", 1978, p.20] While still a small child, he was playing guitar for tips at a hobo jungle near his home, and outside of the Nieman Hotel in nearby Aurora, Indiana. [((1)Peter Guralnick, Pickers, "Lonnie Mack: Fiery Rock Picker Goes Country", 1977, p. 16, (2) Dan Forte, "Lonnie Mack: That Memphis Man is Back", 1978, p.20]

Mack has cited his mother as his earliest country guitar and singing influence, and a blind guitarist/gospel singer from his youth, Ralph Trotto, as his earliest musical mentor/ blues guitar influence. [Bill Millar, liner notes to album, "Memphis Wham!".] In several tunes, Mack refers to the influence (or his appreciation) of The Grand Ole Opry, Jimmy Reed, Ray Charles and Bobby "Blue" Bland. Early in his career, Mack recorded tunes by Reed, Charles and Bland. He has also cited '50s R&B vocalist Hank Ballard and country vocalist George Jones as singing influences. Mack recorded tunes by each of them as well. Various sources have noted that Mack's playing shows influences of R&B guitarist Robert Ward of the Ohio Players, electric blues guitarist T-Bone Walker (one of whose tunes he recorded), country guitarist Merle Travis and jazz guitarist Les Paul. [(Sources referring to Mack's musical influences: (1)"Bill Millar, liner notes to album "Memphis Wham"!, (2) Sandmel, "Lonnie Mack is Back on the Track", Guitar World, May 1984, at p. 56 (3) Lonnie Mack bio at http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p+amg&sql+11:aifexq951d0e!T1"). ] Finally, Mack's highest-charting single, the 1963 instrumental "Memphis", was based on the melody of a Chuck Berry vocal. [Bill Millar, liner notes to album, "Memphis Wham!"]

Pre-"Memphis" career

Mack dropped out of school at the age of 13, after an altercation with a teacher. [Lonnie Mack bio at [http://www.lonniemack.com/] ] In his mid-teens he began performing in roadhouse venues in and around Cincinnati, Ohio. [ [http://www.rockabillhall.com.LonnieMack1.html Lonnie Mack bio] ]

During the same period, Mack played guitar on two recordings: "Too Late to Cry" and "Hey, Baby", with his older cousins, country-bluegrass artists Aubrey Holt, Harold Sizemore and Harley Gabbard, who performed and recorded during the '50s and '60s both as "The Logan Valley Boys" and as "The Boys From Indiana". According to one source, the Sage label released these singles in March 1959, when Mack was 17.cite web |url=http://rcs.law.emory.edu/rcs/artists/g/gabb5000.htm |title=Harley Gabbard discography |accessdate=2007-11-15 |publisher=Rockin' Country Style |author=Terry Gordon ] As a teen-aged solo artist in the late '50s, Mack recorded a cover of Clarence Poindexter's 1943 western swing hit, "Pistol-Packin' Mama" on the long-since-defunct Dobbs label. [(1) Bill Millar, liner notes, album "Memphis Wham!" (2) Lonnie Mack discography, http://koti.mbnet.fi/wdd/lonniemack.htm] These earliest, low-circulation Lonnie Mack recordings have been out-of-print for decades.

In 1958, Mack bought the seventh Gibson Flying V guitar from the first run produced by that firm,cite book | last = Meiners | first = Larry | title = Flying V: The Illustrated History of this Modernistic Guitar | origdate = 2001-03-01 | edition = | publisher = Flying Vintage Publishing | isbn = 0970827334 | pages = p12 ] which he used almost exclusively during his long career. Mack, who is of both Scottish and Native American ancestry was attracted to the arrow-shaped instrument because of pride in his Indian heritage. The 1958 Flying V model is now considered highly collectible, only 81 of them having been shipped during that first year of its production.

By the late 1950s, Mack had assembled a competent R&B band, and they were soon in great demand as performers throughout Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio, playing R&B-influenced rock & roll. In the early 1960s, Mack shortened his name from "McIntosh" to "Mack" and named his band "The Twilighters", after the Hamilton, Ohio club where they had a steady engagement.

About the same time, Mack started working as a session artist for Fraternity, a small record label in Cincinnati. [See, album entitled From Nashville to Memphis, Ace, 2001, and liner notes thereto] There, he played guitar on a number of singles by local recording artists, including Max Falcon, Beau Dollar and the Coins, Denzil Rice and Cincinnati's premier female R&B trio, The Charmaines. [See, albums entitled From Nashville to Memphis (Ace, 2001) and Gigi and the Charmaines (Ace, 2006) and liner notes thereto] The Ace (UK) label included several of these recordings on compilation CDs entitled "Lonnie Mack: From Nashville to Memphis" (2004) and "Gigi and the Charmaines" (2006). [http://koti.mbnet.fi/wdd/lonniemack.htm Mack Discography] ]

"Memphis", "Wham!" and the birth of blues-rock guitar

On March 12, 1963, [1963 Stewart Colman, liner notes to album "From Nashville to Memphis", March 2001] at the end of a recording session with The Charmaines, Mack was invited to use the remaining twenty minutes of studio rental time. He immediately recorded a bluesy, largely improvised, rockabilly guitar instrumental based on Chuck Berry's 1959 UK vocal hit, "Memphis, Tennessee".

By the time "Memphis" was first broadcast in the Spring of 1963, Mack had already forgotten recording it and was engaged in a nation-wide performing tour with singer-songwriter Troy Seals. He did not know "Memphis" had been released until a friend located him in Minneapolis, and told him to listen for it on the radio. In a 1977 interview, Mack recalled: "I was completely taken by surprise. I never listened to the radio. I had no idea what was happening". [(1) Bill Millar, liner notes, album "Memphis Wham!", (2) March, 1977 Capitol publicity release entitled "Lonnie Mack"]

By late June, "Memphis" had risen to No. 4 on Billboard's R&B chart and No. 5 on Billboard's Pop chart. Up to that point in time, only two other rock guitar instrumentals had penetrated Billboard's "Top 5". [The Ventures' "Walk, Don't Run" (1960) and Duane Eddy's "Because They're Young" (1960).]

Still in 1963, Mack released "Wham!", a gospel-inspired guitar instrumental, which reached No. 24 on Billboard's Pop chart in September. He soon recorded [Russ Miller, liner notes to album For Collectors Only, Elektra EKS-74077, 1970 and "From Nashville to Memphis" Ace CDCHD807] several more full-length rock guitar instrumentals, including "Suzie Q" and "Down in the Dumps", "Nashville", "Tension" and "Lonnie On The Move" in 1963 and "Chicken Pickin'" and "Coastin'" in 1964. Mack used a Bigsby tremolo arm on "Wham!" and several other tunes to achieve sound effects so distinctive for the time that the tremolo arm became better-known as the "whammy bar". To enhance the vibrato on these tunes, he employed a variant of Robert Ward's distortion technique, using both a Leslie organ speaker and a 1950s-era tube-fired Magnatone amplifier, to produce a "rotating, fluttery sound".Bill Millar, liner notes to album "Memphis Wham!"]

Paraphrasing the assessment of "Memphis" by music historian and guitar professor Richard T. Pinnell, Ph. D., Mack's expression of "blues stylism" in this instrumental was "unique" in the history of rock guitar to that point, producing a tune that was both "rhythmically and melodically full of fire" and "one of the milestones of early rock and roll guitar".Citation | last = Pinnell | first = Richard T. | title = Lonnie Mack's 'Memphis': An Analysis of an Historic Rock Guitar Instrumental | newspaper = Guitar Player | pages =p40 | date =May 1979 | url = ]

Although the term "blues-rock" had not yet come into common usage in 1963, "Memphis" is now widely regarded as the first genuine hit recording of the blues-rock guitar genre. Only weeks after "Memphis" was released, "Wham!" became the second. [Bill Millar, liner notes to album Memphis Wham, Ace, 1999]

Various prominent rock and country guitarists were influenced by these songs early in their careers. In 1963, 17-year-old Duane Allman played "Memphis" repeatedly in his military academy dorm-room, stopping it, starting it, and slowing it down to play along, until he had finally mastered it. As a teenager, Stevie Ray Vaughan did the same with "Wham!". Vaughan later recorded covers of both "Wham!" and "Chicken-Pickin'". Western-swing instrumentalist Ray Benson, frontman for eight-time Grammy-winning Asleep at the Wheel, said: "Lonnie Mack was my guitar idol. When I picked up the guitar, the first thing I learned was "Memphis". I've always thought he was the greatest. He "still" is." [Ray Benson interview, "Further on Down the Road", VHS, Flying V, 1985)]

"Blue-Eyed Soul" ballads

Mack's first recording successes were instrumentals. However, his roadhouse performances typically included both vocals and instrumentals. Accordingly, in 1963, Fraternity granted Mack's request to record a number of tunes featuring his singing talents.

Although Mack ultimately became better known for his guitar recordings, his early "blue-eyed soul" vocal recordings were critically acclaimed. [Alec Dubrow, Rolling Stone, November 23, 1968) Quote: The guitar, always high and uptight, is backed by and pitted against either the chorus, the saxes, or both. But it is truly the "voice" of Lonnie Mack that sets him apart. He is primarily a gospel singer, and in a way not too different from, say, Elvis, whose gospel works are both great and largely unnoticed. But where Elvis' singing has always had an impersonal quality, Lonnie's songs have a sincerity and intensity that's hard to find anywhere.]

According to one critic:

R&B radio stations throughout the South played Mack's gospel-inspired version of the soul ballad "Where There's a Will" in 1963, until he was invited to appear for a live radio interview with a prominent R&B disc jockey in racially-polarized [Alabama Department of Archives and History: "Birmingham 1963", at http://www.archives.state.al.us/teacher/rights/rights3/html] Birmingham, Alabama. There, according to Mack, he was initially mistaken for Lonnie Mack's white manager, after which it became apparent that he was not the manager, but the singer. As depicted in "Ray", the 2004 film biography Ray Charles, the use of black gospel music in secular recordings was still considered controversial at that time, even for black artists. Mack recalls being told, "Baby, you're the wrong color", and the interview was scuttled on the spot.Citation | last =Sandmel | first = | title =Lonnie Mack is Back on the Track | newspaper = Guitar World | pages = p59 | date =May 1984 | url = ]

After that, Mack recalls, there was a precipitous drop in the airplay time devoted to his vocal recordings on R&B radio stations.cite | author = Sandmel | title = Lonnie Mack is Back on the Track | date = May 1984 | edition = | publisher = Guitar World | pages = p59 ] A consequence of this experience was that Fraternity delayed release of one of his signature soul ballads, "Why?" (recorded in 1963), as a single, until 1968, and then only as the "B" side of a re-release of "Memphis". As recently as 2001, one music critic characterized "Why?" as one of the "Lost Rock & Roll Masterpieces".Curtis: Lost Rock & Roll Masterpieces Fortune 2001-04-30 Quote: "Why?", Mack wails, transforming it into a word of three syllables. "Why-y-y?" It's sweaty slow-dance stuff, with an organ intro, a stinging guitar solo, and, after the last emotional chorus, four simple notes on the guitar as a coda. There's no sadder, dustier, beerier song in all of Rock".]

Despite the "de facto" blacklisting of Mack's vocal recordings on R&B radio stations, his 1963 cover version of Jimmy Reed's "Baby, What's Wrong," became a modest crossover pop hit (Billboard Pop, No. 93), particularly in the Midwest, Fraternity's traditional distribution market.cite web |url=http://www.musicianguide.com/biographies/1608003281/Lonnie-Mack.html |title=Lonnie Mack Biography |accessdate=2007-11-19 |publisher=MusicianGuide.com ]

After the 1960s, Mack recorded fewer "pure" blues and soul ballads, and more country and rockabilly vocals. Over time, he developed a singing style described by "New York Times" reviewer Peter Watrous as a "country-esque blues voice", [Watrous, "Lonnie Mack in a Melange of Guitar Styles", NY Times, September 18, 1988] and by blues historian Francis Davis as the "impassioned vocal style of...a white Hoosier with a touch of Memphis soul". [Francis Davis, History of the Blues, Da Capo, 1995, p. 246] 1983's "Live at Coco's" contains several bluesy vocals in this style, including a version of T-Bone Walker's "Stormy Monday". Other examples include Mack's own soul ballad, "Stop", on 1985's "Strike Like Lightning", and a gospel-drenched version of Wilson Pickett's "I Found a Love" on 1990's "Live: Attack of the Killer V".

"The Wham of that Memphis Man!"

During 1963, Mack returned to the studio several times to cut additional recordings, including instrumentals, vocal recordings and ensemble tunes. [Russ Miller, liner notes to album "For Collectors Only", Elektra EKS-74077; Stuart Colman, 2001 liner notes to "From Nashville to Memphis", with accompanying Fraternity discography] Fraternity packaged several of these, along with his 1963 singles, into an album entitled "The Wham of that Memphis Man!".

The album was unique for its time. The instrumentals featured Mack playing the guitar in a rapid, seamless and precise style previously unheard in rock, including both aggressive use of the whammy bar and the aforementioned Magnatone/Leslie vibrato enhancement. The vocals on the album were strongly influenced by Black gospel music. [Alec Dubrow, Rolling Stone, November, 23, 1968] All of the tunes were backed by bass guitar and drums, and many also featured keyboards and a Stax/Volt-style horn section. Several cuts included an R&B backup chorus, provided by The Charmaines.

In his book, "The 100 Best Rock 'n' Roll Records of All Time", Jimmy Guterman ranked the album No. 16, saying:

Mack went on tour to promote the album, augmenting his popularity and professional reputation in the process. However, he soon found that his career faced a potent combination of commercial challenges entirely beyond his control. First, by mid-1964, the initial, "pop" phase of the "British Invasion" had wrought a massive change in the musical tastes of the rock audience. Second, Mack's on-stage persona did not fit the popular image of an R&B performer. In 1984, critic John Morthland wrote, "It was the era of satin pants and histrionic stage shows, and all the superior chops in the world couldn't hide the fact that [Mack] probably had more in common with Kentucky truck drivers than he did with the new rock audience". [John Morthland, "Lonnie Mack", Output, March 1984)]

Most of Mack's Fraternity recordings are not found on "The Wham of That Memphis Man"!. Fraternity sporadically released additional Mack singles during the 1960s, but never issued another album. Some of his Fraternity sides (including some alternate takes of tunes released in the '60s) were first released three or four decades after they were recorded, on a series of Mack compilation albums issued from 1992 through 2006 by the Ace (UK) and Flying V (US) labels.

Historical significance of Mack's guitar solos

In July, 1980, seventeen years after "Memphis" was first released, the editors of "Guitar World" magazine ranked it the premier "landmark" rock guitar recording of all time, immediately ahead of full albums featuring blues-rock guitarists Mike Bloomfield, Elvin Bishop, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. ["Landmark Recordings", Guitar World, July, 1980 and July 1990, p. 97]

Mack's guitar style was a significant early influence on blues-rock guitarists Duane AllmanCitation | last = Poe | first = | title = Skydog: The Duane Allman Story | newspaper = Backbeat | pages = pp 10-11 | year = | date = 2006 | url = ] and Stevie Ray Vaughan,Citation | last = Patoski | first = | title = SRV: Caught in the Crossfire | newspaper = Backbeat | pages = pp 15-16 | year = | date = 1993 | url = ] among others. It is also said to have had a profound influence upon the history and development of rock guitar, generally: [Guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan "Guitar World", Nov., 1985, p28 Quote: [T] he way I look at it, we're just giving back to him what he did for all of us. [A] lot of producing is just being there, and with Lonnie, reminding him of his influence on myself and other guitar players. Most of us got a lot from him.] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zORRZ8934wU Dickie Betts interview on YouTube] Quote:God bless the Beach Boys, but I was really gettin' tired of "Little Deuce Coupe" and all the beach songs, and "Louie, Louie" — which are all great songs, but I'm talkin' about "guitar-playin"'. And then, "here come Lonnie Mack right down the middle of it all". God, what a breath of fresh air that was for me.|Allman Brothers guitarist Dickie Betts]

Transition period

In the mid-1960s, the public's musical tastes shifted radically due to the initial, "pop" phase of the "British Invasion". However, during the same period, the "folk music" movement in the US and the popularity of Black musical forms in both the US and the UK expanded the appeal of classic rural and urban blues among young whites of the baby boom generation.

Soon, a handful of predominantly white blues bands rose to prominence, including John Mayall's Bluesbreakers in the UK and The Paul Butterfield Blues Band in the US. During the mid-through-late 1960s, a new generation of electric blues guitarists emerged, including Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page, most of whom were, or soon became, frontmen for blues-based rock bands. The late 1960s witnessed the appearance of many such bands, most of which showcased the virtuosity of their lead guitarists. These included the enormously successful "power trios": Cream and The Jimi Hendrix Experience. By that point, blues-rock was recognized as a distinct and powerful force within rock music on both sides of the Atlantic. In 1968, these developments led to the rediscovery of Lonnie Mack's seminal blues-rock guitar recordings of the early 1960s. [Alec Dubrow, Review of "The Wham of that Memphis Man!, Rolling Stone, November 23, 1968;] [Bill Millar, liner notes to album Memphis Wham!]

While these developments were still unfolding, Fraternity loaned Mack to Cincinnati's premier record label, King Records, where he worked for a time as a recording-session artist. In 1965, he played second guitar on at least four recordings by "The Bluesmaster", singer-guitarist Freddie King. In 1967, he played lead guitar on several recordings by "The Godfather of Soul", James Brown, including "Kansas City" and "Stone Fox". Brown's band can be heard accompanying Mack on 1967's "Stone Fox"; beyond that, however, it was a Lonnie Mack R&B guitar instrumental.cite web |url=http://mog.com/Spike/blog_post/65881 |title=Stone Fox, an anomaly |accessdate=2007-11-19 |date= 2007-04-20 |publisher=MOG.com: Spike ] Some of Mack's session work for King during the '60s remains available on numerous Freddie King and James Brown compilation recordings.

During this same period, he also played guitar on a number of Fraternity recordings by R&B vocalist Albert Washington. In most of these cuts, Mack's guitar serves only in a backup role. However, in "I'm Gonna Pour Me a Drink", "Hold Me Baby" and "Turn On The Bright Lights", Washington's vocal and Mack's guitar share the lead. [album "Albert Washington, Blues and Soul Man" (Ace, 1999) and liner notes thereto by Steven C. Tracy, Ph. D]

Re-discovery

In 1968, with the blues-rock movement approaching full force, Mack landed a multi-record contract with Los Angeles' Elektra Records, and relocated to the West Coast. The November 1968 edition of the "Rolling Stone" contained a major feature article on him, including a highly complimentary review of his 5-year old Fraternity album, which called upon Elektra to reissue it.

In 1970, Elektra reissued "The Wham of that Memphis Man!", renaming it "For Collectors Only". In October of 1970, a follow-up review in "Rolling Stone" compared Mack's guitar work on the album to "the best of [Eric] Clapton".

"The Wham of that Memphis Man!" remains Mack's most significant early album. When it was reissued in 1987, Gregory Himes of "The Washington Post" wrote: "With so many roots-rock guitarists trying to imitate this same style, this album sounds surprisingly modern. Not many have done it this well, though."cite news |title=Lonnie Mack | author = Gregory Himes | work = column | publisher = The Washington Post | page = | date = 1987-02-20 | quote = With so many roots-rock guitarists trying to imitate this same style, this album sounds surprisingly modern. Not many have done it this well, though ]

"The Wham of that Memphis Man!" has been reissued at least nine times. [See, Mack Discography at http://koti.mbnet.fi/wdd/lonniemack.htm; as to a 1987 reissue, without reference to label, see: Gregory Himes, "Lonnie Mack" (column), The Washington Post, 1987-02-20; The Wham of that Memphis Man!, Ace, CD, 2006; references To Alligator reissue at http://www.cincinnati.com/freetime/weekend/031398_weekend.html and http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Features/Unsung%20Guitar%20Hero%20Lonnie%20Mack/] Three reissues remain available: "The Wham of that Memphis Man!" (Ace) and two expanded editions, "Memphis Wham!" (Ace) and "Direct Hits and Close Calls" (Flying V).

The Elektra years

Mack recorded three new albums with Elektra, including "Glad I'm in the Band" and "Whatever's Right", both released in 1969. These were eclectic collections country and soul ballads, blues tunes, and updated versions of earlier recordings. In contrast to "The Wham of that Memphis Man", both 1969 albums emphasized Mack's vocals and de-emphasized his guitar work. Indeed, only two instrumentals appear on these albums, a full-length blues guitar piece on "Glad" entitled "Mt. Healthy Blues", and a re-make of "Memphis". Despite the shift in musical emphasis, both albums were critically well-received. This, from a contemporary assessment of "Glad":

Representative of these two albums were two consecutive vocals on "Whatever's Right". Mack sings Willie Dixon's "My Babe" in a soul style typical of that era. Within seconds of the closing measure on that tune, he begins his vocal on "Things Have Gone To Pieces", a country tune previously recorded by George Jones. He repeated the pattern in "Glad" by performing a country tune, "Old House", and the soul tune, "Too Much Trouble" in sequence. Mack continued to record in these and other genres throughout his career.

While still under a contract with Elektra, Mack was invited to participate in the recording of The Doors' 1970 album, "Morrison Hotel". The original album's liner notes only credited him with having played electric bass on "Roadhouse Blues" and "Maggie M'Gill". However, in the ensuing years, some have questioned whether his contribution to the album stopped there.

Most of the speculation involves the tune "Roadhouse Blues". In an out-take from the first day of the two-day recording session, the album's producer, Paul Rothchild, is heard bemoaning guitarist Robbie Krieger's efforts on the tune. [2006 re-issue of "Morrison Hotel" on CD, Elektra/Rhino No. R2 101173] Mack appeared the next morning, and the recording session resumed. What happened next is not entirely clear, but in the final version of the tune found on the 1970 album, band-leader Jim Morrison is heard exhorting "Do it, Lonnie, do it!" at the outset of a bluesy guitar break. Twenty years later, the band's drummer, John Densmore, recalled the recording session:

Despite inferences which might be drawn from the foregoing, there appears to be no definitive answer to the question of whether Mack's work on the album went beyond playing bass on two tunes.

Mack's final Elektra album, "The Hills of Indiana", was released in 1971. Foreshadowing the next decade of Mack's career, "The Hills of Indiana" represented a dramatic shift of focus away from R&B and blues-rock, towards the country end of the musical spectrum.

Flying "under the radar"

As the '70s began, Mack shelved his career as a featured artist, and briefly assumed a "Chet Atkins-Eric Clapton role at Elektra, doing studio dates, producing and A&R." [Rolling Stone, "Random Notes", February 7, 1970, p. 4 ]

In this capacity, he was assigned to the career of gospel singer Dorothy Combs Morrison, formerly lead vocalist for the Edwin Hawkins Singers of "Oh Happy Day" fame. Mack recorded Morrison singing a gospel version of "Let It Be" before The Beatles released their own version, and urged Elektra to release it immediately. However, corporate red-tape at Elektra delayed the release, and The Beatles were first-to-market. Undeterred, he urged Elektra to capitalize on The Beatles' success by releasing Morrison's version next. When further delays at Elektra allowed the next release to be Aretha Franklin's own gospel version, Mack resigned his corporate job in protest. [Sandmel, "Lonnie Mack is Back on the Track", Guitar World, may 1984, pp. 59-60]

Instead of resuming his own music career, Mack returned to Indiana, where he spent several years in near-seclusion. Much later, he explained his decision to leave the music business at the age of 30, accolades in hand, but short of scoring the major commercial stardom of some of his peers. According to the lyrics of a tune from the mid-'70s, Mack yearned for the simple, anonymous, country life of his youth. [Lonnie Mack Quote: "I don't care what you think of me, I'm a-gonna live my life bein' country. Had a fancy job out in Hollywood, everybody said I was doin' good. Had lots of money and opportunities, but I'm a-gonna live my life bein' country."] In a 1977 interview, Mack added:

In 1973, Mack teamed up with Rusty York on a traditional bluegrass LP, "Dueling Banjos" (QCA No. 304). This album is out-of-print.

In 1974, Mack played lead guitar in Dobie Gray's band. Gray is best-known for his hit tunes, "The 'In' Crowd" (later covered by many artists, most famously by The Ramsey Lewis Trio), "Drift Away" and "Loving Arms". As a Nashville-based black artist who wrote and performed both country and R&B material, his career can be seen as a mirror-image of Mack's.

Mack's guitar work from this period can be found on Gray's 1974 album "Hey, Dixie". Mack wrote or co-wrote four tunes on the album, including the title track. [see, "Hey, Dixie" track listing at http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:wzfrxq85ldke] The entire album is included in the compilation, "Drift Away: A Decade of Dobie, 1969-1979". In March 1974, Mack performed as a member of Gray's band at the last broadcast of The Grand Ole Opry from Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, right before Johnny Cash, whose own performance closed out that historic show. Gray's website still displays a photo of Mack playing guitar in Gray's band at a Nashville performance.

During a 1975 visit to Cincinnati, Mack was injured in a shooting incident. According to the lyrics of Mack's "Cincinnati Jail", Mack was crossing the street, mid-day, guitar in hand, when a car sped towards him, passing close enough for Mack to reach out and slap the rear fender as he yelled "Better slow it down!". The motorist (an off-duty policeman) stopped abruptly, jumped from his car, and shot Mack in the leg. The policeman then took Mack before a judge, who threw him in jail, where Mack suffered without adequate medical attention for several days. Apart from the lyrics of his song, Mack has said little about this incident.

Mack eventually recovered from his wounds, but once again virtually disappeared from the music scene. During the next two years he neither recorded nor toured, but founded the "Friendship Music Park" in rural southern Indiana, which featured local bluegrass and traditional country artists. [Peter Guralnick, Pickers, "Lonnie Mack: Fiery Picker Goes Country", 1977, p. 18]

In 1977, Mack signed with Capitol Records. There, he recorded "Home at Last", his first album as a featured artist in six years. "Home" was a showpiece for Mack's country and bluegrass-inflected ballads, which he performed in a considerably more laid-back style than his better-known recordings from the '60s. In 1978, he recorded another Capitol LP, "Lonnie Mack with Pismo". A faster-paced album, "Pismo" featured country, southern rock and rockabilly tunes.

In 1979, Mack began working on an independent recording project with a friend, producer-songwriter Ed Labunski. The intended result was a country-pop album to be entitled "South". However, Labunski died in an auto accident before the project was completed, and the unfinished album was not released for almost 20 years. Labunski's death also derailed Mack's and Labunski's plans to produce a young Texas blues-guitar prodigy named Stevie Ray Vaughan, who nonetheless was soon to become a key player in Mack's blues-rock comeback. [http://rockabillyhall.com.LonnieMack1.html Mack bio] ]

Shortly after Labunski's death, Mack traveled to Canada, where he entered into a six-month collaboration with rockabilly artist Ronnie Hawkins, founder of The Hawks, which, after splitting with Hawkins, renamed themselves The Band. Mack's guitar work from this period can be heard on Hawkins' 1981 album, "Legend In His Spare Time".

Comeback, SRV and "Strike Like Lightning"

By the early 1980s, Mack had been largely absent from the blues-rock music scene for over a decade and his visibility as a recording artist had waned considerably. He chose this low point in his career to resume performing and touring, adopting a hard-driving blues-rock/rockabilly fusion style that became the cornerstone of his sound for the next two decades.

His first album from this period was 1983's "Live at Coco's". It is Mack's only mid-career roadhouse performance preserved on disc. On "Coco's", Mack and his band can be heard playing familiar tunes from the Fraternity era, lesser-known tunes from the '70s, tunes which appear on no other album (e.g., "Stormy Monday", "The Things I Used To Do" and "Man From Bowling Green") and tunes which did not appear on his studio albums until several years later (e.g., "Falling Back In Love With You", "Ridin' the Blinds", "Cocaine Blues" and "High Blood Pressure").

Still in 1983, Mack relocated to Texas, where he played regularly at venues in Dallas and Austin. A photo from this period of Eric Clapton jamming with Mack at one of the latter's Dallas engagements is displayed on Mack's website. At that point, Clapton had already waxed a virtual duplicate [Guterman, The 100 Best Rock 'n' Roll records of All Time, Citadel, 1992, p.34: "Eric Clapton's later take on ...'Further On Down The Road', outright swipes [Mack's 1963] version"] of Mack's 1963 recording, "Further On Down The Road", and had scored a top-40 hit with Mack's 1974 southern rocker, "Watch Out For Lucy". [album: Backless, Eric Clapton, Polydor, 1978, track 2]

Early in this period, Mack entered into a performing collaboration with the late Stevie Ray Vaughan. Little known outside of Texas in 1980, Vaughan's own career took off during this period, and by 1985 he was an international blues-rock sensation. Mack and Vaughan had first met in 1979, [http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Features/Unsung%20Guitar%20Hero%20Lonnie%20Mack/ McDevitt] , "Unsung Guitar Hero Lonnie Mack", Gibson Lifestyle, 2007,] when Mack, acting on a tip from Vaughan's older brother, guitarist Jimmie Vaughan, went to hear him play at a local bar. Vaughan recalled the meeting in a 1985 interview:

Mack and Vaughan became close friends after that first meeting. Despite the generation gap between them, Mack said that he and Vaughan "were always on the same level", describing Vaughan as "an old spirit...in a young man's body". [1990 Lonnie Mack interview by Rikki Dee Hall.] Mack regarded Vaughan as his "little brother" and Vaughan regarded Mack as "something between a daddy and a brother". [Michael Smith, "Gritz Speaks With Guitar Hero Lonnie Mack", June 2000, posted at http://swampland.com/articles/view/all/501] [SRV interview, "Guitar World", Nov. 1985, p. 30] When Mack was stricken with a lengthy illness in Texas, Vaughan put on a benefit concert to help pay his bills; during Mack's recuperation, Vaughan and his bass-player, Tommy Shannon, personally installed an air-conditioner in his house. [Michael Smith, "Gritz Speaks With Guitar Hero Lonnie Mack", June, 2000, posted at http://swampland.com/articles/view/all/501)]

In the purely musical sense, the relationship between Mack and Vaughan began long before they met. Vaughan had idolized Mack since his teen years, and often said that "Wham!" was "the first record I ever owned".DVD, "SRV Live at the Mocambo", track 13, Sony, 1991] An intuitive guitar-player who, like Mack, had never learned to read music, Vaughan said that " [Lonnie] taught me to play guitar "from the heart" cite book | last = Davis | first = Francis | title = History of the Blues | publisher = Da Capo Press | date = 2003-09-02 | pages = p246 | isbn = 0306812967 ] instead. Vaughan recorded three different versions of "Wham!" during the 1980s. [ Video: Live at the Mocambo; Albums: The Sky is Crying and Strike like Lightning (with Lonnie Mack)) ] He also recorded Mack's "If You Have To Know", [Album: SRV and Double Trouble: Box Set, Disc 2] and "Chicken-Pickin" in his own distinctive style, calling it "Scuttle-Buttin'". [Albums: SRV and Double Trouble: Box Set, Disc 2 and Live at Carnegie Hall]

Mack signed with Alligator Records in 1984, and, upon recovering from his illness, began working on his blues-rock comeback album, "Strike Like Lightning", released in 1985. Mack and Vaughan co-produced the album. It was a major hit for an indie recording. Mack himself composed most of the tunes. Consistent with his live performance style, most of the cuts featured his vocals and driving guitar equally. Vaughan played second guitar on most of the album, and traded leads with Mack on "Double Whammy", and "Satisfy Susie". Both played acoustic guitar on Mack's "Oreo Cookie Blues".

"Strike" propelled Mack back into the spotlight at age 44. Much of 1985 found him occupied with a promotional concert tour for "Strike" which included guest appearances by Vaughan, Ry Cooder and both Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones, among others. Concert film footage of Mack and Vaughan playing cuts from "Strike" is now accessible on YouTube and similar websites. Other tunes can be heard on Mack's MySpace page. In 2007, Sony's Legacy label released a 1987 "live" performance of Mack's "Oreo Cookie Blues" featuring Mack and Vaughan trading leads on electric guitar.CD, "SRV: Solos, Sessions and Encores", track 7, Epic/Legacy, 2007]

The "Strike Like Lightning" tour culminated in a Carnegie Hall concert billed as "Further On Down the Road", a tip of the hat to Mack's 1964 recording by the same title. There, he shared the stage with blues guitar stylist Albert Collins and blues-rock guitarist Roy Buchanan. The concert was marketed on home video and remains available from Flying V Records on Mack's website.

Late career: "Attack of the Killer V"

In 1986, Mack recorded another Alligator album, "Second Sight", which featured both introspective and up-tempo tunes as well as an instrumental blues jam. In 1988, he moved to Epic Records, where he recorded the album, "Roadhouses and Dance Halls".In 1989, at age 49, Mack returned to Alligator. There he lobbied for a "concert" album, contending that his best work was inspired by playing before a live audience. The result was 1990's "Lonnie Mack Live! Attack of the Killer V". Popular among blues-rock and rockabilly aficionados, "Attack" displays a high level of audience involvement and captured the excitement of Mack's live performances. [Music Review, "Lonnie Mack Live/Attack of the Killer V", 1997, posted at http://members.tripod.com/~djd3/mack.html] In addition to two extended guitar solos, it features expanded renditions of some of his better-known mid-career tunes, including "Stop", "Satisfy Suzie", "Riding the Blinds" and "Cincinnati Jail", as well as a gospel-imbued version of "I Found a Love".

Although "Attack" remains Mack's most recent recording as a featured artist, he continued to tour and perform regularly for another fifteen years. His most recent work as a session player can be found on the album "Franktown Blues", recorded in 2000 by the sons of blues legend Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup. Mack played electric blues guitar two cuts, "She's Got The Key" and "Jammim' For James". [(Bill Massey, May 31, 2000 Review of Franktown Blues, http://www.warehousecreek.com/frank/reviews.htm).]

Today

Despite reports of his demise,cite book | last = Cooper | first = B. Lee | coauthors = Wayne S. Haney | title = Rock Music in American Popular Culture | origdate = March 1997 | edition = | publisher = Haworth Press | isbn = 1560238771 | pages = p2 ] Lonnie Mack lives in a log house in the hills of Tennessee, where he occupies himself writing songs as well as collaborating with writer Mike Vinson on a memoir of his experiences during the "golden age" of rock & roll. [See, article entitled "Lonnie Mack Comes Back To Life", at http://rockabillyhall.com/NewsArch02.html] Now 67, Mack no longer tours, but still occasionally performs at roadhouses, benefit concerts and special events. Most recently he performed "Lonely Man" and "Cincinnati Jail" at a benefit concert in Nashville, the latter as a duet with veteran R&B vocalist Bonnie Bramlett. [ [http://poconut.com/index.php?&content=community&com=board&brd=topic_150383__20 Poconut.com] ]

Guitar style and technique

In the context of early '60s rock, Mack's extended guitar solos displayed exceptional speed, dexterity and improvisational skill. In "Skydog: The Duane Allman Story", guitarist Mike Johnstone recalled the impact of Mack's playing upon rock guitarists in 1963: "Now, at that time, there was a popular song on the radio called 'Memphis'--an instrumental by Lonnie Mack. It was the best guitar-playing I'd ever heard. All the guitar-players were [saying] 'How could anyone ever play that good? That's the new bar. That's how good you have to be now'." [Poe, "Skydog: The Duane Allman Story", Backbeat, 2006, p. 10]

Mack's early blues-rock guitar style was distinguished by "fingerstyle", "chicken picking" and other picking techniques traditionally found in country, folk and bluegrass music, as well as machine-gunned, whammy-fired climaxes pioneered by Mack himself. [(1) Pinnell, "Lonnie Mack's Version of Chuck Berry's 'Memphis': An Analysis of an Historic Rock Guitar Instrumental", Guitar Player magazine, May, 1979, at p. 41] [(2) Sandmel, "Lonnie Mack is Back on the Track", Guitar World, May 1984, at p.56] [ Lonnie Mack Bio at [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p+amg&sql+11:aifexq951d0e~T1 Lonnie Mack Bio] ] He manipulated the whammy bar with the little finger of his right hand, while picking at a 45-degree angle with the remaining fingers of the same hand, and bending the strings on the fret-board with his left. [Gene Santoro, "Double Whammy", Guitar World, January 1986, p. 34] Stevie Ray Vaughan was quoted as saying that "Nobody else can play with a whammy bar like [Lonnie] ---he holds it "while he plays" and the sound sends chills up your spine". [ Nixon, "It's Star Time! Stevie Ray Vaughan", Guitar World, November 1985, p. 82] Mack fused these technical elements with powerful phrasing, "blues stylism" and "driving, complicated rhythms"Citation | last = Pinnell PhD | first = Richard T. | title = | newspaper = Guitar Player | pages = pp 40-41 | year = | date = May 1979 | url = ] , to produce a radical new guitar style "now known...as blues-rock".

Discography

*1963: "The Wham of that Memphis Man!"
*1969: "Glad I'm in the Band"
*1969: "Whatever's Right"
*1971: "The Hills of Indiana"
*1973: "Dueling Banjos: Rusty York and Lonnie Mack"
*1977: "Home At Last"
*1978: "Lonnie Mack With Pismo"
*1985: "Strike Like Lightning"
*1986: "Second Sight"
*1988: "Roadhouses and Dance Halls"
*1999: "South"

Career recognition and awards

ee also

*Rockabilly Hall of Fame
*Cincinnati Blues Festival
*Long Beach Blues Festival

References

External links

* [http://www.lonniemack.com/ Lonnie Mack's official site]
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:aifexq95ld0e~T1 Lonnie Mack biography] at Allmusic website
* [http://www.rockabillyhall.com/LonnieMack1.html Rockabilly Hall of Fame website article on Mack]

Persondata
NAME = Mack, Lonnie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
SHORT DESCRIPTION = Blues-rock guitarist and vocalist.
DATE OF BIRTH = 18 July 1941
PLACE OF BIRTH = Harrison County, Indiana, USA
DATE OF DEATH =
PLACE OF DEATH =