Alabama native Mac McAnally started his career in the rock/pop field, working as a session player in the Muscle Shoals studio system, which is where he recorded his first few albums. It wasn't until many years later that he really established himself as a country artist, working as a Nashville session player, producer and perhaps most important, as an elite-level songwriter, penning chart-toppers for vocal harmony groups such as Shenandoah, Sawyer Brown and Alabama, along with numerous smaller, Top Ten hits for dozens of other artists. In the early 1990s he enjoyed modest success as a solo country artist, but it was really as an industry insider that he made his mark. Here's a quick look at his work...
Mac McAnally "Mac McAnally" (Ariola Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Clayton Ivey & Terry Woodford)
An odd mix of bluesy, funky rock and soft, cloying pop, with country-flavored threads of southern rock and rural rock woven in. Though it wasn't until many years later that he really established himself as a country artist, country fans may enjoy these early albums, which have some country-sounding stuff packed in, even though it wasn't seen that way at the time. One single, "It's a Crazy World" hit the pop Top 40, and the album itself generated a fair amount of buzz.
Mac McAnally "No Problem Here" (Ariola Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Clayton Ivey, David McKinley & Terry Woodford)
The second album of songwriter/producer Mac McAnally, who started out as a session player in the Muscle Shoals roots/R&B scene and moved into the upper strata of Nashville country. This disc is a mix of gooey, late '70s Top Forty AOR and folk-ish countrypolitan ballads...
Mac McAnally "Cuttin' Corners" (RCA Records, 1980)
Mac McAnally "Nothin' But The Truth" (Geffen Records, 1983)
Mac McAnally "Finish Lines" (Geffen Records, 1988)
Mac McAnally "Simple Life" (Warner Brothers, 1990)
Mac McAnally "Live And Learn" (MCA Records, 1992)
Mac McAnally "Knots" (MCA Records, 1994)
Mac McAnally "Word Of Mouth" (DreamWorks Records, 1999)
Mac McAnally "Semi-True Stories" (Mailboat Records, 2004)
Mac McAnally "Down By The River" (Show Dog Records, 2009)
Mac McAnally "Live: In Muscle Shoals" (Mailboat Records, 2011)
