Biography

McAnally was born July 15, 1957 in Red Bay, Alabama. He began playing piano and singing in church at the Belmont First Baptist Church in Belmont, Mississippi as a child, and by age fifteen, he had composed his first song. From there, he went on to become a session musician in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. During a session break, McAnally began to perform original material. The producers there encouraged him, and by 1977 he was signed to Ariola Records. His self-titled debut album produced the single "It's a Crazy World" which reached No. 37 on the Billboard Hot 100. A second album, No Problem Here, was issued a year later, followed in 1980 by Cuttin' Corners on RCA Records. These latter two albums produced no chart singles. However, he found success as a songwriter for Jimmy Buffett, in addition to co-writing Alabama's Number One hit "Old Flame".

McAnally continued to record even while writing for Buffett. Mac eventually signed with Geffen Records with two albums (Nothin' but the Truth, which included the single "Minimum Love" which reached No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100, and Finish Lines) being issued in 1983 and 1988, respectively. He and Walt Aldridge co-wrote Ricky Van Shelton's 1987 single "Crime of Passion".

1990s and 2000s

In 1990, McAnally signed to Warner Bros. Records, releasing Simple Life that year. This album produced his first Top 40 country hit in the No. 14 "Back Where I Come From." Kenny Chesney would also record McAnally's "Back Where I Come From" for his 1996 album Me and You. Also in 1990, Steve Wariner released a McAnally co-write, the Top Ten hit "Precious Thing." The only other single from Simple Life was the No. 70 "Down the Road", and by year's end, he exited Warner Bros.' roster.

McAnally's seventh studio album, Live and Learn, followed in 1992, producing three low-charting singles. Also that year, he produced Sawyer Brown's album The Dirt Road, and continued to produce almost all of their subsequent albums, in addition to co-writing several of the band's singles between then and the late 1990s, including the Number One "Thank God for You", as well as the Top Five hits "All These Years", "Cafe on the Corner", "The Boys and Me", and "This Time". His second and final release for MCA, 1994's Knots, failed to produce any chart singles, although Linda Davis charted that year with "Company Time", which he wrote. Throughout the 1990s, McAnally also found work as a session musician, playing guitar on several artists' albums, in addition to joining Buffett's road band.

It was not until 1999, when he signed to DreamWorks Records Nashville, that McAnally released his next album. This album, Word of Mouth, also failed to produce any singles. Another album, Semi-True Stories, followed in 2004 on Mailboat Records, the same label to which Buffett is signed. Also in 2004, McAnally and Kyle Lehning produced Restless Heart's reunion album Still Restless, which included covers of three McAnally songs. In 2008, McAnally was awarded Musician of the Year by the Country Music Association. Also in 2008, he participated in the production of the album Psalngs, the debut release of Canadian musician John Lefebvre.

Kenny Chesney covered McAnally's 1990 single "Down the Road" on his 2008 album Lucky Old Sun, as a duet with McAnally. This rendition, released in late 2008 as its second single, became McAnally's first Top 40 country hit since "Back Where I Come From" in 1990. In February 2009, it became his first Number One as a singer. One month later, McAnally signed to Show Dog Nashville, a label owned by Toby Keith. His first single release for the label is "You First". His first album for the label, Down by the River, debuted at No. 56 on the Top Country Albums chart, becoming his first chart entry on that chart since 1990.

In 2011, Mac McAnally released the new album Live in Muscle Shoals on Mailboat Records, recorded in July 2010 at the W. C. Handy Music Festival in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Appearing with him were the Coral Reefer Band, bassist Jim Mayer and drummer Roger Guth.

Awards and Nominations

Year	Award	Category	Result
2007	Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame		Inducted
2008	Country Music Association Awards	Musician of the Year	Won
2009			Won
		Musical Event of the Year — "Down the Road"	Nominated
2010	52nd Grammy Awards	Best Country Collaboration with Vocals — "Down the Road"	Nominated
	Country Music Association Awards	Musician of the Year	Won
2011			Won
2012			Won
2013			Won
2014			Won
2015			Won

Discography

Albums

Year	Album		Label
1977	Mac McAnally	—	Ariola
1978	No Problem Here	—
1980	Cuttin' Corners	—	RCA
1983	Nothin' But the Truth	—	Geffen
1988	Finish Lines	—
1990	Simple Life	63	Warner Bros.
1992	Live and Learn	—	MCA
1994	Knots	—
1999	Word of Mouth	—	DreamWorks Nashville
	No Problem Here	—
2004	Semi-True Stories	—	Mailboat
2006	Cuttin' Corners	—	Magic
2009	Down by the River	56	Show Dog
2011	Live: In Muscle Shoals	72	Mailboat
2015	A.K.A. Nobody	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Singles

Year	Single	Chart Positions						Album
		US Country	US	US AC	CAN Country	CAN	CAN AC
1977	"It's a Crazy World"	—	37	10	—	64	—	Mac McAnally
1978	"Opinion on Love"	—	—	47	—	—	—
1983	"Minimum Love"	—	41	7	—	—	5	Nothin' But The Truth
1990	"Back Where I Come From"	14	—	—	18	—	—	Simple Life
	"Down the Road"	70	—	—	73	—	—
1992	"Live and Learn"	62	—	—	98	—	—	Live and Learn
	"The Trouble with Diamonds"	72	—	—	—	—	—
1993	"Junk Cars"	72	—	—	87	—	—
	"Not That Long Ago"	—	—	—	—	—	—
2009	"You First"	—	—	—	—	—	—	Down by the River
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Guest singles

Year	Single	Artist	Chart Positions			Album
			US Country	US	CAN
2008	"Down the Road"	Kenny Chesney	1	47	57	Lucky Old Sun

Music videos

Year	Video	Director
1990	"Back Where I Come From"
1992	"The Trouble with Diamonds"	Michael Salomon
1993	"Not That Long Ago"	John Lloyd Miller
1994	"Down the Road"

Songs written or co-written by Mac McAnally

Title	Co-writer	Cover Artist	Peak Chart Position
All These Years	Not Applicable	Sawyer Brown	#3 Billboard Country Singles Chart
Back Where I Come From	Not Applicable	Kenny Chesney	#14 Billboard Country Singles Chart
The Boys and Me	Mark Miller	Sawyer Brown	#3 Billboard Country Singles Chart
Cafe on the Corner	Not Applicable	Sawyer Brown	#5 Billboard Country Singles Chart
Crime of Passion	Walt Aldridge	Ricky Van Shelton	#7 Billboard Country Singles Chart
Down the Road	Not Applicable	Kenny Chesney	#1 Billboard Country Singles Chart
I'm Gonna Hurt Her on the Radio	Tom Brasfield	David Allan Coe	#52 Billboard Country Singles Chart
I'm Gonna Love Her on the Radio	Tom Brasfield	Charley Pride	#13 Billboard Country Singles Chart
It's My Job	Not Applicable	Jimmy Buffett	#57 Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart
It's a Crazy World	Not Applicable	Self-Recorded	#37 Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart
Minimum Love	Jerry Wexler	Self-Recorded	#7 Billboard Adult Contemporary Singles Chart
Old Flame	Donny Lowry	Alabama	#1 Billboard Country Singles Chart
One Owner Heart	Walt Aldridge & Tom Brasfield	T.G. Sheppard	#4 Billboard Country Singles Chart
Opinion on Love	Not Applicable	Self-Recorded	#47 Billboard Adult Contemporary Singles Chart
Precious Thing	Steve Wariner	Steve Wariner	#8 Billboard Country Singles Chart
She Put the Sad in All His Songs	Robert Byrne	Ronnie Dunn	#59 Billboard Country Singles Chart
Southbound	Not Applicable	Sammy Kershaw	#27 Billboard Country Singles Chart
Thank God for You	Mark Miller	Sawyer Brown	#1 Billboard Country Singles Chart
This Time	Mark Miller	Sawyer Brown	#2 Billboard Country Singles Chart
Two Dozen Roses	Robert Byrne	Shenandoah	#1 Billboard Country Singles Chart
You're My First Lady	Not Applicable	T.G. Sheppard	#2 Billboard Country Singles Chart

[ Source: Wikipedia ]