Born in1941 into a Kentucky farming family who enjoyed music, the young Lonnie Mack’s experiences were decidedly non-electric. Getting his first acoustic guitar at age seven meant he could join in family music making, soaking up a mixture of country and blues influences. By the late 50s he had cut a couple of singles for the small Sage label, and in 1958 he bought one of the first Gibson Flying V guitars. He worked playing sessions for Fraternity Records in Cincinnati, where he was allowed an end-of-session slot to record his band. The resultant ‘Memphis’ became a Top 5 hit in 1963, closely followed by ‘Wham’, essentially kick-starting what would become known as blues rock. Also respected as a fine blue-eyed soul singer, he went on to record for Elektra between 1968 and 1971 and for many other labels from then on.
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