Warner Mack born 2 April 1938

Warner H McPherson, ( 2 April 1935 – March 1, 2022) known professionally as Warner Mack, was an American country music singer-songwriter. Mack had 19 number 1 hits on the country charts from the late 1950s to the early 1980s. 

Warner Mack was one of the better singer-songwriters of the 1950s and 1960s. He had his greatest success as a country singer during the 1965-71 period. However, fans of 1950s music will probably remember him best for his first two releases, both from 1957. Mack wrote and recorded two classic songs of the rock and roll era : “Is It Wrong” and “Roc-A-Chicka”. His embrace of rock & roll was short-lived, though. 

Unlike most country singers, Warner MacPherson was actually born in Nashville, the son of a minister. His family moved to Vicksburg, Mississippi in 1942. He was a top-class sportsman in his youth, being offered scholarships for both football and baseball. However, his real ambition was to become a singer. Initially his idols were Hank Williams and Eddy Arnold, but when Elvis appeared on the scene, Warner started dreaming of a career as a rockabilly singer.  

 

                                

Around January 1957 he cut five demos at the Delta Recording Studio in Jackson, Mississippi, including early versions of “Roc-A-Chicka” and “Is It Wrong”. When Decca A&R man Paul Cohen heard the demos, he immediately signed Warner to a contract. Four songs were recorded on February 24, 1957 (with the Nashville A-Team), which resulted in Warner’s first single release, “Is It Wrong”/“Baby Squeeze Me”. Decca also decided to cut his name (Warner McPherson) down to more marketable proportions. That’s how he became Warner Mack. 

 “Is It Wrong” was a song he had already written at the age of thirteen. It started as a country hit, reaching # 9 and staying on the country charts for no less than 36 weeks. Then, in July 1957, it also entered the pop charts and peaked at # 61 on the Hot 100. Later, it was also a country hit for Webb Pierce (# 11, 1960) and for Sonny James (# 1, 1974). Mickey Gilley also did a good version. 

The next single, “Roc-A-Chicka”, was aimed squarely at the teenage market and made # 74 on the Billboard pop charts, possibly proving something of a disappointment to Decca. Warner gained some extra songwriter’s royalties when the song was covered by Jim Lowe on Dot. Mack began to tour on the country circuit, but Decca saw his pop potential and pressed him to write more teen-oriented material, since country music sold poorly in the late 1950s. This resulted in some formulaic pop songs and Warner scored no further hits during his first tenure at Decca.

He left the company in 1959, feeling that they were not promoting him as they could have done. There were releases on Scarlet (late 1959) and Top Rank (1960) before Mack returned to Decca and its associated label Kapp in 1961, this time as a straight country artist. By then his lyrics had become more grown up than the teen songs of a couple of years before.

Warner returned to the country charts in January 1964 with the ballad “Surely” (# 34). On November 29, 1964, he was involved in a major car accident, which left him hospi- talized for many days. The real impact of his injuries would not come for several years. The year 1965 was the beginning of his most successful period, with two major country hits : “Sittin’ In An All Nite Cafe” (# 4) and “The Bridge Washed Out” (# 1). Until 1973 Mack was a regular visitor of the country charts, with a total of eleven Top 10 hits (but no pop success). He was also successful as a songwriter, chalking up hits for Brenda Lee, Lynn Anderson, Loretta Lynn, Kitty Wells, Jean Shepard, Pat Boone and Charlie Louvin. 

In 1972 Warner started to suffer seriously from the effects of the 1964 car wreck. His failing health caused another rift with Decca. After the company released him from his 20-year contract, Mack formed his own label (with the help of Nashville businessman Jim McLean), Pageboy Records, and his own publishing company, Pageboy Music, both in 1973. He didn’t record for his own label until 1977, after a stint with MCA. By the 1980s he was out of the mainstream of the business. He toured England in 1982 and 1984. In 1991, he was inducted into the American Academy of Country Music Hall of Fame after which he stopped singing. Since 2010 he has lived in Smyrna, Tennessee, suffering from various illnesses and failing eyesight.  On April 27, 2020, Mack was interviewed by Scott Wikle for the My Kind Of Country show. At age 85, Mack announced the release of a new album entitled Better Than Ever, but sadly Mack died the following year on March 1, 2022, in Nashville, at the age of 86.

(Info mainly from BlackCat Rockabilly Europe) 

Warner Mack born 2 April 1938

 

Warner MacPherson (born April 2, 1938), known professionally as Warner Mack, is an American country music singer-songwriter. Mack had many hits on the country charts from the late 1950s to the early 1970s, some of which crossed over to the pop charts.

 

Warner Mack was a popular performer for Decca Records during the 1960s. He was born Warner MacPherson, the son of a Presbyterian minister, and raised in Vicksburg, Mississippi, where he taught himself to play guitar as a youth. A talented athlete, he had offers to play both college baseball and football; he was also offered a spot on the St. Louis Cardinals, but Mack really wanted to be a musician. He got his start on the KWKH Louisiana Hayride and then appeared on Red Foley's Ozark Jamboree, gaining an even greater following. He still kept a day job at a tire company and also worked as an announcer on a Vicksburg radio station.  

 

 

Mack moved to Nashville in the late '50s; in 1957, he began his profitable association with Decca, becoming "Mack" thanks to an inattentive secretary. He wrote his debut single, "Is It Wrong (For Loving You)," and scored a Top Ten hit that remained on the country charts for over nine months and crossed over to become a minor pop hit. He later signed with Kapp Records and produced several albums for them. After performing on The Grand Ole Opry, he re-signed to Decca, where "Sittin' in an All Nite Cafe" made it to the Top Five. Unfortunately, he had a serious auto accident in 1964 and spent several months recovering.

 

DECCA/MCA Producer Owen Bradley advised him that he would have to record or be dropped. He did not have the strength at the time to go on recording. It would be another 15 years before he returned to the studio and went back on the road. Warner says, "I know first hand life's direction can change in the blink of an eye." He still suffers bouts of pain, to this day, from the 13 surgeries he had to undergo as a result of the accident.

 

He performed more radio shows for the U.S. Air Force than any other Country Blues artist. In 1965 he was the first Country artist to record Coca Cola commercials worldwide. A leading music industry magazine ranked him 6th among all Country singers. He has received numerous awards for his recording accomplishments and song writing.

 

In 1965, he scored the biggest hit of his career with "The Bridge Washed Out," which topped the charts for months. This was followed by a series of hits that stretched until 1973; among his most popular songs were "Sittin' on a Rock (Crying in a Creek)," "Talkin' to the Wall," and "Leave My Dreams Alone." Mack left Decca in 1973. Four years later he signed to Pageboy Records and had one minor hit, "These Crazy Thoughts (Run Through My Mind)," his final chart entry.

 

In 1991 he was inducted into the American Academy of Country Music Hall of Fame. Many have copied his sound, but none have been able to duplicate his unique style. As a music row executive once stated, "There's only one Warner Mack." Country Music legend Mel Tillis says of Warner, "He just doesn't hit bad notes; he's a natural when it comes to singing."

 

 Warner, a true "Son of the South," still resides in Tennessee, but looks forward to returning to his beloved Mississippi.  (Info edited from All Music Guide & warnermac.com bio)