Before There was Stevie Ray - There was Lonnie Mack

Before There was Stevie Ray
There was Lonnie Mack

If you're wild on the road, you'll end up on the wheel. Hey everybody, this is Chad once again here on the Vinyl to Viral Show from the Trout Show Experience and thanks for stopping by and listening because today we have an exciting show because we have a great guest today and I think you're going to enjoy listening to her talk about her father. More importantly, let's talk about the song here in the background.

If you know what that song is, there's probably three reasons you recognize that song. Number one, if you're like me, you heard it on the radio growing up. Number two, you're a classic rock fan and say, I love that song.

Or number three, you actually saw the movie that was based on that. But there's something interesting in this song that I never knew before and it's coming up right now. When Jim Morrison says, do it Lonnie, I had no idea he was talking about the late, great, fantastic, talented musician Lonnie Mack.

I can't tell you how many times I've heard that song, but when I was doing my research about Lonnie, I came across that fact and then I was informed that Lonnie was involved with producing that record. He was involved with so many different things that people don't really know much about Lonnie, unless you're people like me that grew up hearing his music. This is a guy that started out living on a sharecropper's farm in Kentucky and made his music career so good because he was so talented that he shared the stage with people like Jimi Hendrix, the Everly Brothers, Chuck Berry, and so many others that he had a huge influence on our music that we heard and if you're listening to classic rock, he had a lot of influence on it.

Now, if you're old enough like me, you probably remember his famous song Memphis, but that is just scratching the surface about the history of Lonnie Mack. And on today's episode, you're going to hear from the source that knew Lonnie very well, his daughter, Holly Mack. She talks about his history as a musician, his influence on other artists, and what's happening now with all the music that was left behind when he passed.

So buckle up, people, and get ready, because we're going to take you to the Roadhouse in real time with Holly Mack and the story of the great Lonnie Mack. That is next on the Trout Show. Hey, before I get started with today's show, I just wanted to give you an update on something that's important to me, and that is the guy that's been sponsoring this show for years.

His name is David Smith with Edward Jones. Now, David's located in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, but he can help anybody in the 48 continuous states of the United States. I talk about him and support him, but not because he supported the show, but he's helped my wife and I financially for years, and he's done a fantastic job.

And if you're thinking about retiring anytime soon and not sure what you want to do, pick up the phone, call David at 469-372-1587, 469-372-1587. Talk to him what your needs are, and I guarantee you he can probably help you reach what you're looking for in your financial future. I don't say this lightly, folks, but your future with your finances is important.

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I guarantee you will not be disappointed. David Smith, Edward Jones, 469-372-1587. Thank you so much for coming on.

I appreciate it very much, because I was a fan of your dad's, and you've been busy doing stuff. I learned something today that I never did know about your dad. Well, no, no, it's good.

So I always do a deep dive. I work with a lot of different PR people all the time, and sometimes they send me some stuff, but then I always deep dive. I was always looking for something unique that people don't ask all the time.

I'm actually having lunch, and I'm going, okay, let me tell you, okay, I went to Memphis, okay, I went to Wayne, Memphis, okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. And then I started going, and I had no idea that he played on the Doors Roadhouse song. Had no idea.

He produced that album, too, if you look at that. And it was so funny, because it said, hey, listen for Jim Morrison to say, get it, or whatever he says, I'm like, go get it, Lonnie, or something. So I'm sitting there, I'm going, I know the song by heart, and I'm going like, oh, my God, I never heard that before.

I never heard that your dad was playing the lead part in it, so I learned something.

[Speaker 1]

He played bass on Maggie McGill and Roadhouse Blues, and I can hear Seven. I know the sound of my father's guitar. He did a little bit of lead on that, too, with Roadhouse, in the original recording, but didn't get no credit for it.

There's a lot of arguments about that, but we all know the real truth on this side of the story. And he produced that album, too. He was one of the producers.

He worked for Elektra Records at the time.

[Speaker 2]

What was the name of the album? I don't remember. Do you remember what it was called?

[Speaker 1]

Morrison Hotel. It was Morrison Hotel.

[Speaker 2]

Okay. Yeah, because the funny thing about your dad is a lot of famous people, they're not famous famous, but people, if they listen to their music, it's like, I had no idea that was him. Or did you know they work with this guy?

A lot of people that I really enjoy, like Ry Cooter, obviously Stevie Ray, another Texas young man, a lot of people had no idea, because I think, and you can correct me, but I don't think your dad was a flashy type guy. Before he passed away, were you working with him in the music industry, or did you have something to do with him before that?

[Speaker 1]

I've been, I'm the owner of his publishing company since 2000, and we were in business together back in 89, when Dadgummit first went to Max Fly and Beat Music. I've been in the music realm for a long time, unannounced, helping my dad, man. I mean, it's what we, you know, we're a family situation, and half the people in my family are either musical, or inclined, or in this business, and, you know, I'm the one that's most qualified, let's put it that way.

Right.

[Speaker 2]

Did you play an instrument? I think you told me once you played a little piano, or something, I don't remember.

[Speaker 1]

I played a little piano, and I started playing guitar when I was younger, and I kind of gave that whole scene up, went in a different direction in my life, been running businesses too long to be involved that way. I've been on stage with Dad before, and stuff like that, and sing, and whatnot, and do backup for him, and you know, like I said, it's kind of a family thing. I'm thinking about picking up the guitar, if Harry doesn't get out and do something.

My younger brother is a real good picker and songwriter, and he's just got too much in his life to really take this situation on, as one of the problems we're having there. And I'm handling the label, cleaning up the messes from all the different labels, and getting everything into the helm, so to speak, in one area, so that it can be basically protected in a trust, and things along those lines. We basically did that, but he didn't have time, he was so young, to really sit down with anybody and make that happen.

So, I'm going to have to follow through, and clean up the mess, and go ahead and make that happen, before something happens to me. You know?

[Speaker 2]

Yeah, well, you know, the thing about it is, too, the industry has changed so dramatically, just, you know, in the last few decades, that, just like you said earlier, I think a lot of people would come on records, and they didn't really care about, okay, I'll be on the royalty page, and they just wanted to play. And now...

[Speaker 1]

Yeah, that was a...

[Speaker 2]

Yeah. Go ahead. Yeah, so, I mean, so a lot, they just want to perform.

And now, I mean, now you've got so many people involved in stuff, and I've done so many of these, talked to people about, you know, especially in pop music, where you have 10 people write a song, and it's like, all these producers, and all this stuff, and they have to sell, well, they don't sell records anymore, but they have to do something to make a lot of money, because they got all these people involved in it. Whereas, when, you know, when I was a kid, you know, it was the same old thing.

You'd learn how to, you got a band together, you got big, local, excuse me, got locally, then bigger, and local, and regional, and state, and then maybe an A&R person would come by and go, oh, we think you're good. It's not like that anyway. But so, all the, do you own the rights now to all the music that he did?

[Speaker 1]

Well, we, I'm the next of kin, I do own his music, and his trademarks, and stuff like that, but I mean, there's still labels involved. There's still labels involved that have, you know, rights in there as well. For now, that may change.

I'm looking to put all his music in there. Well, you know, they'll all work in my favor on that. I'm looking to put his music in one area.

It's too scattered about, and I'm holding, I'm holding a ton of music that's never been heard here. Yeah. And I do mean a ton of it.

Yeah.

[Speaker 2]

Was this from the early, well, is it from the early days, or from late? When was the, or you just got different? I mean, that's stuff from the earlier days too, but mainly the later days.

When he, yeah, because it was funny when I listened to Memphis again, because I was just, oh my God, I was only 10 years old, I think, when that song came out. And I listened to it because that style was so popular back then. All the music had that same, you know, feel to it.

And as he got...

[Speaker 1]

It was the beginning of rock and roll. You know, I mean, they were experimenting with something new. They had it good because they were, you know, my father, Albert King, all those guys, everybody, B.B., everybody was on the front running for a whole new sound. And Dad really helped cross that bridge and doesn't get enough credit for it. Him and James Burton, you know what I mean? And that type of thing for blues rock and into southern rock even.

I kind of agree. And those guys all loved that.

[Speaker 2]

Yeah. I kind of compare your dad a little bit to Les Paul because... Oh, Les Paul.

And I mean, because if you talk to younger artists or anybody, they may know who Les Paul is because they got one of those, you know, or they don't know the influence that Les Paul and your dad had on the industry so much.

[Speaker 1]

Right. That's some of the stuff that I want to make very clear. And I'm trying to get as much information, factual information out for, you know, the youth right now and the young kids.

So they have a clue where music really came from as opposed to where they think it came from. And, you know, there's so many untold stories. That's one of the things I'm working on.

I've got my father's story on tape and we're going to transfer it over to print.

[Speaker 2]

That's a good idea. That's a great idea. Because the fact is, this is one of those things that the one thing I learned about the younger generation, they don't, a lot of them, if they're blues artists, they tend to delve into the history of blues.

But if they're not, and they're more commercial and maybe pop related, they don't get into a lot of the, where did it all come from? You know, you know. Boy, I used to get in a lot of trouble for playing this guitar.

[Speaker 1]

This one got me in a world of shit. I got, got, got hurt a few times. My little booty didn't like that too much.

But, you know, dad always tried to give me his other guitar. That was his first electric, which is a Kalamazoo. It's a Jimmy Reed Thin Twin K Kalamazoo.

It's a pretty cool guitar. Back then, I didn't want that. I was into heavy metal.

I needed to have that. And so whenever he would go and leave and stuff, and I was always like, Holly, watch my guitars and stuff like that. I always got it out.

He showed me all those tunings. I know his amp configurations. I know all that.

I'm going to have to make sure Harry knows that because he's 10 years younger than me. And that's some of the stuff I don't want lost in history. You know, guitar players hide a lot of them secrets.

I know the secrets and I'm going to expose them. I'm going to expose them because they need to know that sound in case they'd like to have it.

[Speaker 2]

Yeah.

[Speaker 1]

You know, he's not here anymore. So I think it would be to his honor to let the secrets go, so to speak.

[Speaker 2]

Yeah, I mean, people want to sound like the performers, but, you know, you can, as the saying goes, it's true. I can set up a Fender Twin with a Strat, set it just like Eric Clapton, but it doesn't sound like Eric Clapton until Eric Clapton starts playing.

[Speaker 1]

Eric Clapton. I mean, these guys, you have to, they feel that music that they play and it comes through them as an extension of what's in their mind. So you can pick it up and play it note for note, but the feel is going to be different, which affects the sound.

Obviously, it's great to play after your heroes, but remember that you need to set your own sound and your own path. Like I'm telling a new kid right now that's on the block that came here, him and his mother, good friends of mine at this point. Reese, I'm sure, you know, Reese Johns for golf and over there in London.

And they'll be back over here in Austin. I think October 31st doing a show.

[Speaker 2]

I think he's down there already.

[Speaker 1]

I think he's already got down there by now.

[Speaker 2]

I think he was doing some recording down there.

[Speaker 1]

Yeah, they're trying to get him in the studios and stuff. Kid's brilliant, but he's got to find his own sound. And, you know, he's working on that.

And we're kind of talking to him about seeing if he's got the ability to write his own music and stuff. So that's something that comes out of you. You know, it's important to have not just your own sound, but to have your own music too.

And you can beat a dead horse to death with doing all them old songs. And that's all fun and dandy to a point. But we all want to hear what you sound like.

You know what I mean? We want to hear what you produce. And we all want some new sound and some new music because it is getting a little ridiculous with the repetitive songs getting done over and over again.

I have to admit, I can hear in Nashville the same sound. It's time for a new sound here. They're trying to help you to grow.

We all go through different phases growing up. And so do our ears. And so we hear things means we sound different when we're producing our sounds.

And they will grow over time. But consistency has a lot to do with it, too. You know, some kids get frustrated these days.

I see them give up pretty quick. You can't give up. If you really want to do it and you really love it, it will happen.

You just got to put the time in. It's that simple. So even if you don't have it, it doesn't mean you won't make it.

You will make it if you really want to. It's like anything. If you really want it bad enough, you'll get it.

You'll get it.

[Speaker 2]

Yeah, I agree. And that's it. You have to want it bad enough to do it.

And I think I told you on the phone when Reese came down while he was meeting me here in Dallas and we were talking to Joanna Connor. And he walked up to her and says, I introduced him. And I said, it's Joanna and Reese.

And he said, what can you tell me that I should know? And that's when she said, get an attorney.

[Speaker 1]

The kid's looking for all kinds of advice. He's looking for advice. And he's a kid.

It's great to hang with him because it takes you back to them old times, man. There ain't nothing like the beginning. You can only have that once.

So he's living his dream. And that means a lot right there. Whether he goes any further or not isn't even the point.

The point is he's happy and he's living his dream and he's giving it what he's got. That means a lot. And that holds a lot of weight.

And the kid shows up. You got to be on time and you got to show up in this business. I mean, Tim Drummond and B.B. King got their careers because they were available. And every one of them, if they were still standing here would tell you, I made my living off of three chords. And so it's simple. But being available and in the right place at the right time, you know, you got to know when you're standing in a situation and grab that.

You got to grab that moment, you know.

[Speaker 2]

Well, so let me go back to what you said. You had his music still available. Is it on tape?

I mean, what do you have that you can. You know, I have that.

[Speaker 1]

I have tapes. I have got tapes. Ain't even the word for it.

I've got hundreds of thousands of tapes, reels. I mean, I'm holding the South album live at Cocos. I'm holding another live at Fitzgerald's album.

That's got it all the way ready to go. I'm holding quite a bit, actually.

[Speaker 2]

And I'm holding everything. Well, what I was going to say, and you're in a town where you can find the right people to put it together. I mean, I would say the right people.

[Speaker 1]

Honestly, I got people all over the place. I am considering going in the studio because some of this is acoustical, only written at the house, more like demo type stuff. But dad, nothing's a demo.

I mean, it sounds like it's ready to go. All of it does. He was too professional about his sound.

And I'm thinking about putting a band behind some of these songs because I'm pretty sure I'm holding some hits here. And he did some of the best music he ever did at the end of his life. It's phenomenal.

And there's a couple of them I want out immediately. I'm playing with a company right now, The Last Music Company by Malcolm Mills owns that company. And we put out live from Louisville.

It's coming out this month. And that was kind of a test run to me to see how they operate. I'm pretty satisfied with this company.

Lisa Best, Bucky Lindsey's girl. And we lost him in the middle of this. So we dedicated that album to him because he and they found the what they're calling a lost session that was part of a series that we're not allowed to mention.

But they've come real close to mentioning all over the Internet anyways. You know how that stuff always comes out. So just because we signed something and said we wouldn't mention it don't mean it ain't coming out.

I hate it. That's how the Internet is these days. But we're talking about doing another album that's going to be out this next year off of the last recordings of Dad's.

And we will have a confirm on that probably by next week as to whether or not I'm going to make that happen or not this soon. I'm dealing with a personal situation. I have cancer right now.

Even now, you probably can't tell it by looking at me. But you know, I've already beat one down and it was stage four. And it's massive size.

So we'll see how that rolls. Ain't no bug going to kill me. I'm a little tough.

And so that parasite is going to have its hands full trying to take me out. But I do start immunotherapy next week. So it depends on what I can do as far as getting this next one out in April.

But it will come out one way or the other. So hopefully, we'll be able to reach an agreement. And it'll come out through The Last Music Company.

Lisa Best is working on that. And she's a good close personal. I consider her a family friend.

And Malcolm Mills and his daughter, Alice Mills, they all feel like family to me. And that means an awful lot because I want somebody that cares about this music to put it out and not just exploit it to death and make it be something it's not. I mean, there's some incredible songs in this music.

There's a whole Bluegrass album that I did just messing around one day. That's unbelievable. He got a voice modulator and was bored and sat down and cut a Bluegrass album and wrote all these songs when he was born.

And it's ready to go. And then these other songs, these rock blues songs are just wow. Some of the best music that I ever did.

So I can't keep that from everybody. I've got to release that stuff.

[Speaker 2]

Yeah, I mean, and the thing about it is another way social media is you can just have the right people to push stuff out for you. Because, you know, it's just it's so weird now to get music out. And of course, everybody I know that I talk to, they all are on tour because you don't make any money on that.

[Speaker 1]

That's all I make any money is to be on tour. And if you're not here to do it, it's hard to sell it. But it's not just about the money.

You know, I've gone broke saving my dad's music and it's fine. Money isn't everything. Some things are more important.

The historical getting the facts out, keeping the truth out, things like that, preserving legacies, not just mine, but Tim Drummond's legacy, Wayne Perkins, several people around us, George Cummings, so many people, Yvonne Helm, everybody and their mother that's been around us. We're doing everything we can to preserve their legacies and the music that has created all this other wonderful music.

[Speaker 2]

So your next goal is to have something out in the spring, right?

[Speaker 1]

The next goal, and I am going to have to do something with Seven. I had originally got it into the Smithsonian while dad was alive. And then when he died, there was a big uproar.

And dad sold his publishing company and his gear to myself and my siblings in 2000. And a couple of siblings wasn't sure about the sale and sold their ends to me. And they got a little crazy there when dad died.

So I had to take possession of certain things that wouldn't come up. Gone and Seven was one of them. And that guitar represents rock and roll.

It's not just Lonnie Mack's guitar. He was the hotshot guitarist of the day. And there's that flying V.

It's something different and radical. Gibson was having a hard time. And because the hotshot got a flying V, everybody else followed suit.

And if they were still alive to tell you that they would, because they have said that publicly before. But it's getting lost in the shuffle. So dad's guitar represents rock and roll, man, and American music, as well as an American built guitar by Gibson.

And it saved Gibson. Those guitars did back in the day when they were having trouble. And so it's got more history.

Boy, you want to talk about a story. It's got all kinds of stories behind it. And it needs to be out there where everybody can see it and maybe play it.

It's still playable and stuff like that. It can't be staying in my closet or whatever. It can't be in someone else's closet.

This is something that needs to be available for the world. And it needs to stay right here in America. I would like to see it stay in this country because it was built here.

Built here. Stay here. American made.

There it is. It represents rock and roll and blues and music that America created. And everybody else jumped on board.

And that's some facts that are getting lost, too, that don't need to be lost, really, in that shuffle. So because of that, I'm not 100% sure what's going to happen here. Everybody else wants to sell it.

I don't really want to sell it. But I will if I have to. But I'm trying to make it where I can sell it and get it in the museum where it's supposed to be.

[Speaker 2]

Yeah, and I think, yeah, I understand that. Because why would you want to sell it? I mean, obviously, you could probably make a lot of money off of it if you auctioned it off.

But you don't want it to end up in somebody's house and nobody ever sees it again.

[Speaker 1]

No, no, because we don't want it to get lost in shuffle. There's too many guitars in the world. But this one is an icon.

And it's the one, man. You know, it represents rock and roll at the end. And so it needs to be available for everyone to be able to go through a museum.

Maybe even a working museum where they can sit down and play it for a minute. And I put this guitar in strangers' hands all the time. People think I'm nuts.

I take this guitar all over the place and do exactly that with it when I can. It's that simple. And that's how I'm going to do it until it gets placed somewhere.

[Speaker 2]

Well, it's like picking up the magic, you know.

[Speaker 1]

I mean, I've had so many teardroppers. It's not funny. And they don't know what to do.

Boy, if they only knew how we manhandled this guitar in the past. Oh, my goodness.

[Speaker 2]

Back then, it was a working. It's like having a hammer. It was the working thing that you had to have to play all the time.

Oh, dad beat his gear up. As much as he traveled and covered everything. I mean, they didn't have cases and all that fancy stuff now for the amps and all that stuff.

We went hardcore, you know. It was hardcore. And it's so much more sophisticated now.

I just love the fact when we had all the snakes down in the land and down to the mine and all that stuff. And now they sit back in a little iPad and do their thing, which is nice because I can tell them something instead of going like, run over and turn that knob up and all that stuff. That changed a lot.

Oh, yeah.

[Speaker 1]

You know, they had to be tricky. Dad be tuning down in the middle of playing a song and taking a shot of beer over there doing a number on the amp and everything else. I mean, he was hustling up there on that stage.

They were working overtime trying to just play a song, you know. It was so cool. I mean, there ain't nothing being brought up in those days.

I'm real fortunate.

[Speaker 2]

Yeah, I just I wish you all the luck. I don't want to keep any more because I know you got things to do.

[Speaker 1]

It's all good. I appreciate you having me on here.

[Speaker 2]

Well, that's it for this episode of the Child Show. Thanks so much for stopping by. And a very, very big special thanks to Miss Holly Mack for coming on and talking about her father.

Hope you enjoyed it. What a great legacy he left behind. And I know she's doing her best to make sure everybody gets to hear more of his music in the future.

And also a big shout out to the guy that continues to support our show. That's Mr. David Smith with Edward Jones. Thank you, David, once again.

For more information about the Trout Show, just visit my website at thetroutshow.com. Everything there, all the podcasts, all the interviews, all the socials, anything you need to know. And by the way, just FYI, my newest album will be coming out in January, and I hope you listen to it.

So until next time, people, you know what I always say. It's only rock and roll, but you know what? I love it.

See ya!