Mac Mc Anally

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. 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. 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, Kenny Chesney, Zac Brown Band, and Brad Paisly are just some of the artists who cut Mac's songs over the next 20 years. 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 Toby Keith, Roy Orbison, George Strait, Amy Grant 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 six (6) years in a row. And, Mac continues to own and operate his own recording studio in Muscle Shoals.