Mac Curtis

Mac Curtis (* 16th January 1939 in Fort Worth , Texas as Wesley Erwin Curtis, Jr. , † 16th September 2013 in Weatherford , Texas) was an American rockabilly - and Country - singer , whose career in the early 1950s began and lasted until shortly before his death.

Life

Childhood and youth

Mac Curtis grew up with his grandparents. They had a farm in Olney, Texas, which he helped out early on. He bought his first guitar at the age of 12 and learned to play from a neighbor. Shortly thereafter, he appeared in a talent competition in which he finished second and, according to his own statements, earned $ 15.

Career

In 1954 Curtis and his grandparents moved to Weatherford, Texas. There he played in his free time with his school friends Jim and Ken Galbraith. Together they called themselves The Country Cats . In their repertoire they mainly included songs by Eddy Arnold . On Saturday evenings, they regularly listened to the Big D Jamboree , broadcast from nearby Dallas . During this time, the rhythm and blues influenced Curtis. He often listened to records by the black artist Piano Red and after a concert at school the trio began performing in public for money. From 1954 Elvis Presley was a regular guest of the Big D Jamborees. Presley quickly convinced Curtis and his two friends of his new rockabilly sound, and shortly thereafter a drummer joined Curtis' band. After a concert in Fort Worth in 1955, Curtis and his band were mediated by the black DJ Big Jim Randolph at King Records , which Curtis signed. His first session took place on April 1, 1956 in Jim Beck's studio with the Country Cats. In the same year her first single If I Had Me A Woman was released . Curtis' subsequent releases Granddaddy's Rockin ' and You Ain't Treatin' Me Right gave him the opportunity to appear at the New York Christmas Rock'n'Roll Revue alongside well-known rockabilly artists.

Meanwhile, the Galbraith brothers had left the band because they had not been included in the contract. They were replaced by Bill Hudson (guitar) and Kenny Cobb ( bass ). After Curtis graduated from school in 1957, he got his own radio show on the radio station KZEE. But then Curtis was drafted into the army and the draft interrupted his career. Curtis was deployed primarily in Seoul , Korea , during his military service . He also appeared as a musician on the American Forces Network .

After his release in 1960 he found a completely different music market; the heyday of rockabilly was long over. In the following years, however, he would have national success as a presenter of country radio stations. After a few singles with small labels, he had a recording contract with Epic Records from the late 1960s and played with country stars such as Lynn Anderson , George Morgan and Bob Luman . His style of music had now turned back towards country. In 1968 his album The Sunshine Man came to number 35 on the country album charts.

The rockabilly revival of the 1970s made Curtis also have success with rockabilly. In 1971 Curtis had moved to Los Angeles , where he met Ronnie Weiser. Together with Ray Campi he signed with Weiser's Rollin 'Rock label, which specialized in rockabilly. In 1977 Curtis went on a tour of Great Britain . Further appearances in Europe followed and Curtis became an idol of the European rockabilly fan base. During the 1980s and 1990s Curtis traveled regularly, mainly to England, to perform there. In 1988 he released the album Rockabilly Ready in Japan together with the Rimshots .

Mac Curtis performed to the last and was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame for his services to rockabilly music .

Discography

Singles

year	title	Label #	Chart placement
1956	If I Had Me A Woman / Just So You Call Me	King 45-4927
1956	Granddaddy's Rockin ' / Half Hearted Love	King 45-4949
1956	You Ain't Treatin 'Me Right / The Low Road	King 45-4965
1956	That Ain't Nothin 'But Right / Don't You Love Me	King 45-4995
1957	Say So / I'll Be Gentle	King 45-5059
1958	What You Want / You Are My Very Special Baby	King 45-5107
1958	Little Miss Linda / Missy Ann	King 45-5121
1960	Come Back Baby / No Never Alone	Felsted 45-8592-V
1962	You're The One / Dance Her By Me (One More Time)	Dot 45-16315
1962	Singing The Blues / Ballad Of Black Mountain	Shalimar S-982
1962	Doodle Doodle Do / Don't Take My Freedom	Brownfield BF 27
1963	Lie and Get By / 12th of June	Limelight 3010
1964	Come On Back / 100 Pounds Of Honey	Shalimar S-103
1964	Down The Pike / 100 Pounds Of Honey	Maridene M-111
1965	I Just Ain't Got / Lie And Get By	Le Cam 965
1967	Steppin 'Out on You / The Ties That Bind	Tower 319
1968	Too Good To Be True / Too Close To Home	Epic 5-10257
1969	Love's Been Good To Me / The Quiet Kind	Epic 5-10324	- / 64
1969	Sunshine Man / It's My Way	Epic 5-10385	54 / -
1969	The Friendly City / Almost Persuaded	Epic 10438
1969	Little Old Wine Drinker / Hapines Lives In This House	Epic 5-10468
1969	Don't Make Love / Us	Epic 10530
1970	Honey Don't / Today's Teardrops	Epic 5-10574	63 / -
1970	Early In The Morning / When The Hurt Moves In	GRT 26
1971	Gulfstream Line / I'd Run a Mile	GRT 41
1972	Ducktail / Sidetrack Mama	Rollin 'Rock 45-007
1974	You Oughta See Grandma Rock / Granddaddy's Rockin '	Rollin Rock 45-016
1974	How Come It / Slip Slip Slippin 'In	Rollin 'Rock 45-018
1975	Johnny Carroll Rock / Rockin 'Mother	Rollin 'Rock 45-026
1975	Pistol Packin 'Mama / She Knows All The Good Ways to Be Bad	Emee 002
1975	EP Asphalt Cowboy, Parking Lot Lover Pistol Packin 'Mama (long version) Pistol Packin 'Mama (short version) Pistol Packin 'Mama	Ranwood R 1017
1975	She Knows All The Good Ways to Be Bad / Keep Doin 'What You're Doin' Now	Ranwood R 1033
1975	Nine Times out of Ten / More Like I Do Now	Ranwood R 1041
1976	West Texas Women / We Made It All The Way	Ranwood R 1050
1978	Keep Doin 'What You're Doin' Now / Pistol Packin 'Mama	Rollin 'Rock 45-043
1980	Hot Rock Boogie / Half Hearted Love / The Hucklebuck	Hot Rock HR-001 (UK)
1981	Making It Right / Been Gone a Long Time	Rebel Mac 005 (Finland)
1981	For Your Love / Turn Away From Me	Rebel Mac 006 (Finland)
1981	I'm Gonna Be a Wheel Someday / Goosebumps	Hot Rock HR 010 (UK)
Unpublished titles
		What'll I do	Demo tape
	Blue Jean Heart Evil Doll Goosebumps Half Hearted Love (old. Version 5) Half Hearted Love (old version) No Say So (old version) Somebody Help Me The Squirm

Albums

• 1969: The Sunshine Man
• 1971: Early In The Morning
• 1973: Ruffabilly
• 1974: Rockabilly Kings (UK, with Charlie Feathers )
• 1975: Good Rockin 'Tomorrow
• 1977: Golden Gospel Favorites
• 1978: Rock Me!
• 1979: Rockin 'Mother
• 1981: Texas Rockabilly Legend
• 1981: Top Cat on Rockabilly Track
• 1981: Truckabilly
• 1995: The Rollin 'Rock & Rebel Singles Collection
• 1997: Rockabilly Uprising - The Best of Mac Curtis
• 1998: Rockabilly Ready (JAP, with the Rimshots)

Web links

• Entry into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame
• Mac Curtis in the All Music Guide
• Discography with audio samples
• Mac Curtis on Hillbilly-Music.com (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Obituary ( Memento of the original from September 24, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (engl.)