Albert Phillip McKay (born February 2, 1948) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. He is a former member of The Watts 103rd Rhythm Street Band and

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (abbreviated as EW&F or EWF) is an American band formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1969. Their music spans multiple genres, including jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling ba ...

. As a member of EW&F, during 2000, he was inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

. He has also worked with artists such as

Gene Harris Gene Harris (born Eugene Haire, September 1, 1933 – January 16, 2000) was an American jazz pianist known for his warm sound and blues and gospel infused style that is known as soul jazz. From 1956 to 1970, he played in The Three Sounds tri ...

Patrice Rushen Patrice Louise Rushen (born September 30, 1954) is an American jazz pianist, R&B singer, record producer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and music director. At the 25th Annual Grammy Awards, her 1982 single, "Forget Me Nots", received a no ...

The Temptations The Temptations is an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1961 as The Elgins, known for their string of successful singles and albums with Motown from the 1960s to the mid-1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield ...

and

Ramsey Lewis Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis Jr. (May 27, 1935 – September 12, 2022) was an American jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and radio personality. Lewis recorded over 80 albums and received five RIAA certification, gold records and three Grammy Awards ...

. McKay also leads his own band called the Al McKay All Stars.

Biography

Born and raised in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, United States, McKay's first professional gig was as a guitarist for the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. He then went on to become a member of The Watts 103rd Rhythm Street Band. McKay later joined up with the band

in 1973. He eventually left the group in 1981. McKay now performs with his band, The Al McKay Allstars, performing a show called The Earth, Wind & Fire Experience. During 2001, the group released a studio album entitled ''Al Dente''. A live album called ''Live at Mt. Fuji'' was also issued in 2003.

Solo work

McKay performed on

's 1976 album ''

In a Special Way ''In a Special Way'' is the third studio album by American R&B group DeBarge, released by Gordy Records on September 23, 1983. It was recorded at Kendun Records in Burbank and Westlake Audio in West Hollywood; written and produced by lead voca ...

'' and his 1977 release '' Tone Tantrum.'' Along with Eddie Henderson's 1977 LP '' Comin' Through'' and

Harvey Mason Harvey William Mason (born February 22, 1947) is an American jazz drummer, record producer, and member of the band Fourplay. He was the original drummer for Herbie Hancock's band The Headhunters. Life and career Mason was born and grew ...

's 1977 album

Funk in a Mason Jar ''Funk in a Mason Jar'' is the third studio album by jazz artist Harvey Mason, released in 1977 by Eleni. The album peaked at No. 9 on the US ''Billboard'' Top Jazz LPs chart and No. 37 on the US ''Billboard'' Top Soul Albums chart Guest artis ...

. He also played upon

's 1977 LP '' Shout It Out'', 1978's '' Patrice'', 1979's ''

Pizzazz ''Pizzazz'' is the fifth album by American singer Patrice Rushen, released in 1979 on Elektra Records. Critical reception ''The Boston Globe'' called ''Pizzazz'' a "really a good disco album, with a few non-disco numbers to break the monotony. ...

'' and her 1980 studio album, ''

Posh Posh is today an informal adjective for "upper class". It may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Posh'' (album), a 1980 album by Patrice Rushen *" Posh!", a 1968 song from the musical ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' * ''Posh'' (2006 TV series), a 2006 ...

''. As well, McKay performed on

' 1980 LP Routes,

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...

's 1981 album '' Magic Windows'' and A Taste of Honey's 1982 LP Ladies of the Eighties. He later produced Finis Henderson III's single, "

Skip to My Lou "Skip to My (The) Lou" (Roud Folk Song Index, Roud 3433 and 3593) is a popular American folk song and partner-stealing dance from the 1840s. Carl Sandburg, poet and biographer of President Abraham Lincoln, writes that "Skip-to-my-Lou" was a ...

", as well as his 1983 album '' Finis''. McKay also co-produced

on their 1984 studio LP '' Truly for You'', and produced

Shirley Jones Shirley Mae Jones (born March 31, 1934) is an American actress and singer. In her six decades in show business, she has starred as wholesome characters in a number of musical films, such as ''Oklahoma! (film), Oklahoma!'' (1955), ''Carousel (fi ...

on her 1986 album, Always In the Mood. He then played on Norman Brown's 1992 album '' Just Between Us'' and Ramsey Lewis' 1993 LP '' Sky Islands''. McKay later appeared on Wild Orchid's 1997 self titled debut album,

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...

's 1997 LP

Let's Talk About Love ''Let's Talk About Love'' is the fifteenth studio album and fifth English-language album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released on 14 November 1997 by Sony Music. The follow-up to the commercially successful '' Falling into You'' (1996), ''Le ...

CeCe Winans Priscilla Marie Love, known professionally by her stage name as CeCe Winans, (born October 8, 1964) is an American gospel singer who has garnered 17 Grammy Awards, the most for any female gospel singer; 33 GMA Dove Awards, 19 Stellar Awards, ...

1998 album His Gift,

Dave Koz David Stephen Koz (born March 27, 1963) is an American saxophonist, composer, record producer, and radio personality based in Los Angeles, California. Early life Dave Koz was born in Encino, California, to Jewish parents: Norman, a dermatologis ...

's 1999 LP The Dance and

Incognito Incognito is an English adjective meaning "in disguise", "having taken steps to conceal one's identity". Incognito may also refer to: Film and television Film * ''Incognito'', a 1915 film featuring Rae Berger * ''Incognito'' (1937 film), a Dan ...

's 2010 album Transatlantic R.P.M.

Songwriting

McKay is a prolific songwriter, mostly as a collaborator with

Maurice White Maurice White (December 19, 1941 – February 4, 2016) was an American musician, best known as the founder, leader, main songwriter and chief producer of the band Earth, Wind & Fire, also serving as the band's co-lead singer with Philip Bailey. ...

and other members of Earth, Wind & Fire, but is best known for two

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

-topping songs, " Sing a Song" in 1975 for Earth, Wind & Fire, and " Best of My Love" in 1977 for

The Emotions The Emotions are an American soul/ R&B vocal group from Chicago. The group started out in gospel music but transitioned into R&B and disco music. The Emotions were named by VH1 as one of the 18 most influential girl groups of all time. Hist ...

, the latter also reaching #1 on the

pop chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

Legacy

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

placed McKay in their list of the 30 most famous left-handed guitarists of all time.

Guitar Player ''Guitar Player'' was an American magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francis ...

also ranked McKay at No. 25 on their list of the 50 greatest rhythm guitarists of all time. As well guitarists such as

Lenny Kravitz Leonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, and actor. His debut album ''Let Love Rule (Lenny Kravitz album), Let Love Rule'' (1989) was characterized by a blend of Rock music, rock ...

have claimed McKay as a major influence.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKay, Al 1948 births Living people Rhythm and blues musicians from New Orleans African-American guitarists African-American record producers Record producers from Louisiana African-American songwriters Songwriters from Louisiana American session musicians Earth, Wind & Fire members Songs written by Al McKay Kings of Rhythm members Ike & Tina Turner members Guitarists from Louisiana American male guitarists 20th-century American guitarists