Mac Arnold Explained

Mac Arnold
Birth Date:June 30, 1942
Birth Place:Ware Place, South Carolina, United States[1]
Genre:Blues
Occupation:Musician
Instrument:Bass guitar, gas-can guitar
Years Active:1965–1990s, 2006-today
Label:Plantation One Productions
Associated Acts:Plate Full O' Blues, Muddy Waters, A.C. Reed, John Lee Hooker, Otis Spann
Current Members:

Mac Arnold
Max Hightower
Austin Brashier

Mac Arnold (born June 30, 1942), is an American blues musician from South Carolina.

Early years

Mac Arnold was born in Ware Place, South Carolina, one of 13 children born and raised on his father's farm.[2]

Arnold's musical journey began in the 1950s when he and his brother Leroy fashioned a guitar from a steel gas can, broomsticks, wood, nails, and screen wire:

Arnold has since become famous for the gas-can guitar and has taught many other people how to make them.[3] [4]

His early career included working with a young James Brown in the band, J. Floyd & the Shamrocks.[5] [6] Arnold moved to Chicago in 1965, where he worked with A.C. Reed prior to joining Muddy Waters' band in 1966.[7] Arnold appears on the November 1966 live recording released in 2009 as Muddy Waters - Authorized Bootleg.[8] [9] He formed the Soul Invaders in 1967,[10] finding work backing up B.B. King, The Temptations, Little Milton and many others.

Mac's studio work in the 1960s includes playing bass on several notable blues albums, including Otis Spann's The Blues Is Where It's At[11] and John Lee Hooker's Live At Cafe Au Go Go.[12] He performed in various session work after moving to California in the 1970s.

His TV work also included a four-year gig as part of the set band on Soul Train.[13]

Later years

By the 1990s, Arnold had grown weary of the road life and returned home to Pelzer, South Carolina and virtual retirement from the spotlight [14] until 2006, when he was convinced to front his own band, Plate Full O' Blues. Arnold's return to the stage was the subject of a 2-part musical-history documentary, Stan Woodward's final film, Nothing to Prove: Mac Arnold's Return to the Blues.[15] [16] [17] [18]

In 2013, Arnold opened his own restaurant in Greenville, South Carolina's historic West End,[19] where he hosted his popular yearly music event, The Cornbread and Collard Greens Blues Festival.[20] [21] [22] Despite much local success in the food business, he decided to close the restaurant in August 2017[23] to once again concentrate on music, especially after his nomination into the Alabama Blues Hall of Fame.[24] [25]

On September 23, 2017, Mac Arnold was inducted into the Alabama Blues Hall of Fame at the historic Dr. John R. Drish House in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.[26] [27]

Awards and recognition

Music in schools

Arnold and the band support the preservation of music education in public schools through the, "I Can Do Anything Foundation", an organization that was started following the release of a song by the same name, written by Mac Arnold and Max Hightower and performed by Plate full O' Blues.[36]

Discography

With Otis Spann

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Mac Arnold . Swampland . Michael Buffalo Smith. July 2006.
  2. Web site: The Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Awards. Under the Dome, University of South Carolina -- McKissick Museum. 2. University of South Carolina. Fall 2006.
  3. Web site: Mac Arnold and the Gas Can Guitar - An interview by Steve Arvey . CigarBoxGuitar.com. 23 June 2017 . 2017-06-23.
  4. Web site: Mac Arnold's Gas Can Guitar Heading to USC Museum. WSPA. 2015-06-29.
  5. Web site: Musician Mac Arnold can help chase away the blues. Armonaitis, Dan. GoUpstate.com. 2 March 2017.
  6. Web site: Michael Martin Presents: "NIGHT OF THE BLUES" w/Mac Arnold & Blonde Blues. Brown Paper Tickets. 20 January 2018.
  7. Web site: Hedin, Mark. Flash From Past Comes Back To Honor Bluesman . SFGate . 2005-11-13 . 2014-07-12.
  8. Web site: Muddy Waters – Live/Fillmore Auditorium - San Francisco 11/04-06/1966. Discogs. 2009.
  9. Web site: Muddy Waters Blues Band - Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, NOV 4, 1966. Concert Vault.
  10. Web site: Honoree: Mac Arnold. SCAfricanAmerican.com. 13 August 2021. South Carolina African American History Calendar 2021.
  11. Web site: Otis Spann – The Blues Is Where It's At. Discogs. 1966.
  12. Web site: John Lee Hooker – Live At Cafe Au-Go-Go. Discogs. 1989.
  13. Web site: The Blues/R&B legend Mac Arnold talks about Muddy, John Lee Hooker, Otis Span, A.C Reed and his homemade gas-can guitar. blues.gr. Limnios, Michalis. 2012-01-26.
  14. Web site: Life after retirement for music legends Sidney Barnes and Mac Arnold. Kopp, Bill. Mountain Xpress. Mountain Xpress. 12 July 2017 . 12 July 2017.
  15. Web site: Nothing to prove : Mac Arnold's return to the blues, a film by Stan Woodward. James Madison University Libraries : Stan Woodward Southern culture and folklife lifeworks collection.
  16. Web site: Nothing to prove : Mac Arnold's return to the blues. South Carolina Humanities.
  17. Web site: Documentary traces life, career of famed musician Mac Arnold. GoUpstate.com. Wilson, Christina. 2009-12-09.
  18. Web site: Stan Woodward Remembers Mac Arnold and Nothing to Prove. Folkstreams.net. Folkstreams. 13 September 2019.
  19. Web site: Dr. Mac Arnold's Blues is new mecca for keeping the blues tradition and music alive. Blues Festival Guide. 16 March 2017 . 16 March 2017.
  20. Web site: Mac Arnold still has the fuel for the blues, food and farming . Go Knoxville. Bledsoe, Wayne. 2016-03-18.
  21. Web site: Mac Arnold blues fest opens Thursday. USA TODAY. Donna Isbell Walker. 2017-04-26.
  22. Web site: Cornbread and Collard Greens Blues Festival . WSPA-TV. 2017-04-24.
  23. Web site: Tipsy Taco owners taking over Mac Arnold's space, plan new kind of music venue, restaurant and bar. Callum-Penso, Lillia. Greenville News. 24 August 2017.
  24. Web site: Dr. Mac Arnold Says Goodbye to Restaurant Business. WSPA-TV. 2017-08-30.
  25. News: Greenville music icon to close restaurant; new owners plan music venue. WYFF. 25 August 2017 . 2017-08-25. Field . Carla .
  26. Web site: Alabama Blues Hall of Fame 2017 Inductees. Alabama Blues Hall of Fame. 23 September 2017.
  27. Induction ceremony at Blues Hall of Fame : 360 Mac Arnold - Blues Hall of Fame : Don't burn my Cornbread
  28. Web site: Blues Foundation Award. Blues Music Awards. The Blues Foundation. 19 February 2012.
  29. Web site: 2012 Blues Music Award Winners. American Blues Scene. 10 May 2012 . 2012-05-10.
  30. Web site: 2011 Blues Music Award Nominees Announced. American Blues Scene. 16 December 2010 . 2010-12-16.
  31. Web site: 2010 Blues Music Award winners. CommunityVoices.post-gazette.com. 2010-05-07.
  32. Web site: Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Awards. South Carolina Arts Commission.
  33. Web site: Vice President Joe Biden to deliver UofSC commencement address. University of South Carolina. 2014-04-09.
  34. Web site: Three Upstate entertainers named 2023 SC Entertainment & Music Hall of Fame inductees. Putnam, Jeannie. GreenvilleJournal.com. Greenville Journal. 28 March 2023.
  35. Web site: Enjoy cornbread, collard greens at bluesman Mac Arnold's Fountain Inn blues festival. Rose, Travis. The Greenville News. GreenvilleOnline.com. 12 April 2024.
  36. Web site: I Can Do Anything Foundation. Home Page. The I Can Do Anything Foundation. 19 February 2012.

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