Mac McAnally

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Mac McAnally bigraphy, stories - American country musician

Mac McAnally : biography

15 July 1957 –

Lyman Corbitt "Mac" McAnally, Jr. ( born July 15, 1957 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". 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.

Awards and Nominations

Year Award Category Result
2007 Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame www.nashvillesongwritersfoundation.com/l-o/mac-mcanally.aspx green| Inducted}}
2008 Country Music Association Awards Musician of the Year
2009
Musical Event of the Year — "Down the Road"
2010 52nd Grammy Awards Best Country Collaboration with Vocals — "Down the Road"
Country Music Association Awards Musician of the Year
2011
2012

Biography

McAnally was born July 15, 1957 in Red Bay, Alabama. 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. 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. A second album, No Problem Here, was issued a year later, 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".

McAnally continued to record even while writing for Buffett. Mac became the first artist to sign with Geffen Records during this period 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".

1990s and 2000s

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." 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.