Lonnie Mack

Lonnie Mack (born Lonnie McIntosh, 18 July 1941, Dearborn County, Indiana) is a rock and blues guitarist/vocalist. In the early 1960s, he recorded several full-length rock guitar instrumentals strongly grounded in the blues, the best-known of which are «Memphis», «Wham!», «Chicken Pickin’» and «Suzie-Q». Mack’s instrumentals from this period formed the leading edge of the virtuoso «blues-rock» guitar genre.

The first of these, 1963’s «Memphis», was described by music historian Richard T. Pinnell, Ph. D., as «a milestone of early rock guitar»and, in 1980, was ranked by Guitar World magazine as the premier «landmark» rock guitar recording to date. In 1992, music critic Jimmy Guterman rated Mack’s first album, 1963’s The Wham of that Memphis Man!, No. 16 in his book The 100 Best Rock ‘n’ Roll Records of All Time. Mack’s solos influenced a generation of rock guitarists.

Lonnie Mack is also known for his «blue-eyed soul» ballads, and the diversity of his repertoire, which, at various times, emphasized country, blues, rockabilly, southern rock, R&B, roots-rock, bluegrass and gospel.

Mack released numerous singles and thirteen original albums from 1963 to 1990. He enjoyed commercial and critical success as a blues-rock recording artist during the 1960s and the latter half of the 1980s. However, an aversion to fame and its trappings led him to switch styles and even idle his career for lengthy periods. This may explain his simultaneous appearance, years later, in both «100 Greatest Rock Guitarists» and «Forgotten Greats and Unsung Heroes» lists. Today he is widely regarded as a ground-breaking rock guitarist, whose artistic impact far outreaches his commercial accomplishments.

Beyond his career as a solo artist, Mack recorded with The Doors, Stevie Ray Vaughan, James Brown, Freddie King, Joe Simon, Ronnie Hawkins, Albert Collins, Roy Buchanan, Dobie Gray and the sons of blues legend Arthur «Big Boy» Crudup, among others.