The Wham of that Memphis Man
Encyclopedia
The Wham of That Memphis Man is a 1963 album
by Lonnie Mack
.
The album is the first collection of hits from Mack, recorded between March and November, 1963. Critic Jimmy Guterman ranked this album No. 16 in his 1992 book, The 100 Best Rock & Roll Recordings of All Time.
Mack is considered by many to be the founder of the blues-rock
guitar genre, for his recordings of "Memphis", "Wham!", "Chicken-Pickin'" and "Susie-Q". The first of these, "Memphis", released as a single in early 1963, was considered unique for its incorporation of "blues stylism" into a full-length rock guitar instrumental. (See, Pinnell, "Lonnie Mack's 'Memphis': An Analysis of an Historic Rock Guitar Instrumental", Guitar Player Magazine, May 1979, p. 40).
In 1976, Eric Clapton
re-recorded "Further on Up the Road" in Mack's style. The tune also appeared on a 1980 Clapton album. Stevie Ray Vaughan
, a life-long Mack fan, recorded "Wham!" three times during the 1980s. He also covered "Chicken-Pickin'" under the title "Scuttle-Buttin'".
Mack was one of the earliest of the "blue-eyed soul
" singers. His 1963 soul ballads, "Where There's a Will", "Satisfied" and "Why?" still rank among the all-time best of the genre. Although "Why?" was never promoted as a single, over the years it became something of a cult classic for the quality of Mack's "soul screams".
The album has been re-released at least nine times, most recently on the Ace label in 2006. It is also currently available (along with 23 other Mack recordings from the early 1960s) on the Flying V record label as the two-volume set "Direct Hits and Close Calls".
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by Lonnie Mack
Lonnie Mack
Lonnie Mack is an American rock, blues and country guitarist and vocalist....
.
The album is the first collection of hits from Mack, recorded between March and November, 1963. Critic Jimmy Guterman ranked this album No. 16 in his 1992 book, The 100 Best Rock & Roll Recordings of All Time.
Mack is considered by many to be the founder of the blues-rock
Blues-rock
Blues rock is a hybrid musical genre combining bluesy improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended boogie jams with rock and roll styles. The core of the blues rock sound is created by the electric guitar, piano, bass guitar and drum kit, with the electric guitar usually amplified through a...
guitar genre, for his recordings of "Memphis", "Wham!", "Chicken-Pickin'" and "Susie-Q". The first of these, "Memphis", released as a single in early 1963, was considered unique for its incorporation of "blues stylism" into a full-length rock guitar instrumental. (See, Pinnell, "Lonnie Mack's 'Memphis': An Analysis of an Historic Rock Guitar Instrumental", Guitar Player Magazine, May 1979, p. 40).
In 1976, Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
re-recorded "Further on Up the Road" in Mack's style. The tune also appeared on a 1980 Clapton album. Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stephen Ray "Stevie Ray" Vaughan was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan and frontman for Double Trouble, a band that included bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. Born in Dallas, Vaughan moved to Austin at the age of 17 and...
, a life-long Mack fan, recorded "Wham!" three times during the 1980s. He also covered "Chicken-Pickin'" under the title "Scuttle-Buttin'".
Mack was one of the earliest of the "blue-eyed soul
Blue-eyed soul
Blue-eyed soul is a media term that was used to describe rhythm and blues and soul music performed by white artists, with a strong pop music influence. The term was first used in the mid-1960s to describe white artists who performed soul and R&B that was similar to the music of the Motown and...
" singers. His 1963 soul ballads, "Where There's a Will", "Satisfied" and "Why?" still rank among the all-time best of the genre. Although "Why?" was never promoted as a single, over the years it became something of a cult classic for the quality of Mack's "soul screams".
The album has been re-released at least nine times, most recently on the Ace label in 2006. It is also currently available (along with 23 other Mack recordings from the early 1960s) on the Flying V record label as the two-volume set "Direct Hits and Close Calls".
Track listing
All tracks composed by Lonnie Mack; except where indicated- "Wham!"
- "I'll Keep You Happy" (Hank BallardHank BallardHank Ballard , born John Henry Kendricks, was a rhythm and blues singer and songwriter, the lead vocalist of Hank Ballard and The Midnighters and one of the first proto-rock 'n' roll artists to emerge in the early 1950s...
) - "Susie-QSusie Q (song)"Susie Q" is a song by Louisiana-born singer and guitarist Dale Hawkins . He wrote the song himself, but when it was released, Stan Lewis, the owner of Jewel/Paula Records, and Eleanor Broadwater, the wife of Nashville DJ Gene Nobles, were also credited as co-writers to give them shares of the...
" (Dale HawkinsDale HawkinsDelmar Allen "Dale" Hawkins was a pioneer American rock singer, songwriter, and rhythm guitarist who was often called the architect of swamp rock boogie...
, Stan Lewis, Eleanor Broadwater) - "Further on Up the Road" (Don RobeyDon RobeyDon Robey was an American record label executive, songwriter and record producer, who used criminal means as part of his business model...
, Joe Veasey) - "Bounce" (Charles Fizer, Walter Ward, Eddie Lewis)
- "Where There's a Will There's a Way" (L. Williams)
- "Chicken Pickin'"
- "Baby What's Wrong" (Jimmy ReedJimmy ReedMathis James "Jimmy" Reed was an American blues musician and songwriter, notable for bringing his distinctive style of blues to mainstream audiences. Reed was a major player in the field of electric blues, as opposed to the more acoustic-based sound of many of his contemporaries...
) - "Down in the Dumps"
- "Down and Out"
- "Satisfied" (Martha CarsonMartha CarsonMartha Carson , born Irene Amburgey, was an American gospel-country music singer most popular during the 1950s.-Early life and rise to fame:Ambergay was born in Neon, Kentucky...
) - "MemphisMemphis, Tennessee (song)"Memphis, Tennessee" is a song by rock & roll singer-songwriter Chuck Berry. It is sometimes shortened to "Memphis". In the UK, the song charted at #6 in 1963, at the same time Decca Records issued a cover version in the UK by Dave Berry and the Cruisers, who came from Sheffield, Yorkshire...
" (Chuck BerryChuck BerryCharles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
) - "Why"
Personnel
- Lonnie Mack - guitar, vocals
- Wayne Bullock - bass, keyboards
- David Byrd - keyboards
- Truman Fields - keyboards
- Ron Grayson - drums
- Don Henry - saxophone
- Marv Lieberman - saxophone
- Irv Russotto - saxophone
- Bill Jones - bass