Lonnie Mack - Lonnie Mack & Pismo (1977)

Lonnie Mack is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.

Signed to Capitol Records in the late 70s, Lonnie Mack made a brief return to recording with two albums both released in the same year. After the country-flavored Home At Last, Lonnie Mack & Pismo was something of a return to blues-rock. Indeed his flashy electric guitar playing featured prominently for the first time since the 60s. The band Pismo consisted of keyboard player Stan Szelest, bassist Tim Drummond and drummer Ian Wallace. Guitarist David Lindley also made a guest appearance.

The album was no doubt welcomed by those who missed Mack in his role as an electric guitar slinger, but it lacked any truly memorable songs. 1977 turned out not to be quite the comeback it could have been - that would have to wait until the 80s.

Home At Last (1977) <|> Strikes Like Lightning (1985)
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Lonnie Mack - Home At Last (1977)

Lonnie Mack is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.

After parting ways with Elektra Records, Lonnie Mack left L.A. and returned home to Indiana, quickly passing into anonymity. For most of the 1970s he was heard of little, his most notable activities being an obscure bluegrass album recorded with Rusty York in 1973, and serving as lead guitarist for Dobie Gray throughout 1974.

In 1977 he was given a new record contract with Capitol Records, and released his first solo album in six years - Home At Last. Like its predecessor back in 1971, the brilliant The Hills Of Indiana, it was a laid-back rootsy affair, eschewing electric guitar flash for more mellow acoustic textures and a heavy dose of country (with pedal steel, mandolin, banjo, and fiddle). It remains one of his most obscure albums today, only because he is best known as a rock guitarist, but Home At Last showed him to be capable of producing some brilliant, soulful country-rock.

The Hills Of Indiana (1971) <|> Lonnie Mack & Pismo (1977)
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Lonnie Mack - The Hills Of Indiana (1971)

Lonnie Mack is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.

After releasing a couple of excellent albums for Elektra records in 1969, Lonnie Mack moved into production and A&R work. He signed a number of southern blues and country musicians to Elektra, and worked as a session musician. As the 70s began, his days as one of rock & roll's most innovative electric guitarists were a distant memory.

He released a third album for Elektra in 1971. The Hills Of Indiana must have come as quite a shock to those who remembered his blues-rock work of the early 60s, as it saw him move towards a rootsy country-rock sound. It shouldn't have been that unexpected, as both his 1969 albums had featured country material. It certainly was a different sound though, having much in common with the singer-songwriter movement of the time.

It turned out to be a brilliant album. It was produced with Russ Miller, and recorded both at Quadrofonic Sound Studios in Nashville and at Muscle Shoals Sound studios in Alabama. The Muscle Shoals recordings saw him backed the studio team of Roger Hawkins, Barry Beckett, David Hood and Wayne Perkins, and the Nashville recordings featured drummer Kenny Buttrey, pianist David Briggs, bassists Tim Drummond and Norbert Putnam, steel guitarist Lloyd Greene and fiddler Buddy Spicher. Putnam was also responsible for some really lovely string and horn arrangements (it was he and Briggs who owned the studio). Four of the songs were written by his label-mate Don Nix, who he also let sing lead on one of these. There were also covers of songs by Mickey Newbury, Bob Dylan, Carole King, Bill Monroe and others.

This album saw Mack pretty much abandon his role as an flashy lead guitarist. Only three songs featured electric guitar of any note, and for the rest of the album he played some fine acoustic, sharing the spotlight with the other musicians. The focus now was fully on his soulful vocals, which along with the masterful production really brought the material to life, the rootsy instrumentation and the orchestral arrangements combining to give it a unique sense of pastoral grandeur. It was probably never that popular with the fans of Lonnie Mack the guitar hero, and for that reason remains a true obscurity today. It is one of those great albums which has unfortunately fallen through the cracks.

Later in 1971 Elektra Records organised a tour to be led by Mack, featuring many of the musicians he had brought to the label. However days before it was to begin he dropped out, reportedly citing a nightmare he had experienced as the reason. Don Nix took up the role of bandleader, and The Alabama State Troupers went on the road without him. Mack then left L.A., returning to his home in Indiana, and quickly faded into obscurity.

Whatever's Right (1969) <|> Home At Last (1977)
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Lonnie Mack - Whatever's Right (1969)

Lonnie Mack is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.

Whatever's Right was Lonnie Mack's second album of 1969, and like its predecessor (Glad I'm In The Band) it exhibited his blend of rock & roll, blues, soul and country, highlighted by fantastic vocals, excellent band arrangements, and of course superb guitar playing. The songs included covers of The Falcons' "I Found A Love", Jimmy Reed's "Baby What You Want Me To Do", Bobby Bland's "Share Your Love With Me" and Willie Dixon's "My Babe", along with a couple of very strong originals which bookended the album. 

It was another hit with the critics, but sales were disappointing. Mack then moved away from recording and into a producing / session work / A&R role for Elektra Records. He recruited many southern blues and country artists to the label, and his most well-know studio session saw him playing bass (and according to rumours, some lead guitar as well) on The Doors' Morrison Hotel album.

Glad I'm In The Band (1969) <|> The Hills Of Indiana (1971)
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Lonnie Mack - Glad I'm In The Band (1969)

Lonnie Mack is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.

After getting to the upper reaches of the charts with his guitar instrumentals “Memphis” and “Wham!” in the early 60s, Lonnie Mack lay low for the rest of the decade, disappearing from the public eye to focus on session work (playing on records by Freddie King, James Brown, Joe Simon and Albert Washington, among others). It wasn’t until 1968 that he started recording his own material again, signing with Elektra Records. His first new album was Glad I’m In The Band, released in 1969. It was a departure of sorts from his earlier work, as the focus moved towards his vocals. This turned out to be a truly welcome development, as he was always an excellent singer. Stylistically, the album was a mix of blues, soul, and little bit of country. Even though he was singing more (and there was only one instrumental, a new version of “Memphis”), there was still plenty of room for his fiery guitar playing, set to a brassy Stax-style R&B backing. It also featured some excellent original material, most notably a new version of “Why?” (which had been the closing track of The Wham Of That Memphis Man!) and the slow-burning soul of “She Don’t Come Here No More”. The album didn’t chart, but was well received by the critics, who praised his guitar playing, his voice and his good musical taste.

The Wham Of That Memphis Man! (1964) <|> Whatever's Right (1969)
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Lonnie Mack - The Wham Of That Memphis Man! (1964)

Lonnie Mack is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.

Lonnie Mack grew up in Indiana. He first took up the guitar at age 7, playing bluegrass and country music with his family, and soon became a fan of black R&B through his late-night radio listening. He dropped out of school aged 13, deciding to pursue music as a career, and by the late 50s (still in his teens) he had formed his own band and released a few singles.
During the early 60s he found plenty of session work around Cincinnati. It was 1963 when he used some left-over studio time to record the instrumental "Memphis" (based on Chuck Berry's "Memphis, Tennessee") with his band. Unknown to him, it was released as a single by the Fraternity label, and became a surprise hit, getting to #4 on the R&B chart and #5 on the pop chart. It turned out to be a pivotal recording in the history of rock guitar, Mack's fast-paced, bluesy guitar solo paving the way for much of what was to come in the 60s. He quickly followed its success with a second instrumental, "Wham!", which was a #24 pop hit. His use of the guitar's vibrato tailpiece was so distinctive that other guitarists started referring to it as the 'whammy bar', a term still in use today.
However he proved to not only be a pioneering guitarist, but also a very talented singer. He unfortunately never achieved much recognition in this capacity - apprently, his songs had a de facto ban imposed on them by most R&B stations due to him being white. A great shame, as his early vocal recordings are some truly excellent 60s soul in the Stax/Volt style.
Fraternity released his first album in 1964, featuring both "Memphis" and "Wham!", alongside other similar instrumentals and some vocal songs (including his brilliant, gospel-flavoured "Why?"). Its a fantastic album, mixing rock & roll, blues and soul, and retrospectively many of the roots of the blues-rock genre can be traced back here. Sadly he never saw much more commercial success after his first two instrumental hits, and the album remains something of an obscurity. He wouldn't record its follow-up until 1969.

|> Glad I'm In The Band (1969)
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