Harry Kirby McClintock (October 8, 1884 – April 24, 1957), also known as "Haywire Mac", was an American railroad man, radio personality, actor, singer, songwriter, and poet, best known for his song " The Big Rock Candy Mountains".

Life

McClintock was born on October 8, 1884, in Uhrichsville,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. Both his parents were from nearby Tippecanoe, Ohio; however, his family moved to

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

soon after his birth. In his youth, McClintock ran away from home to join the circus and drifted from place to place throughout his life. He railroaded in Africa, worked as a seaman, supplied food and ammunition to American soldiers while working as a civilian mule train packer in the Philippines, and in 1899 worked as an aide to newsmen in China covering the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious F ...

. In America, Mac traveled as a railroader and minstrel. He worked for numerous railroads during his life. On October 8, 1917, McClintock married Bessie K. Johnson in Farmington,

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

. They had one daughter.

Radio and music

In 1925, McClintock participated in a KFRC Radio talent contest. His performance of his song " The Big Rock Candy Mountains" won him spots on two new KFRC radio shows: a children's program titled ''Mac and His Gang'' where he sang popular cowboy songs with his "Haywire Orchestry", and a variety program titled ''

Blue Monday Jamboree Blue Monday Jamboree is an old-time radio variety program in the United States. It was broadcast initially (beginning January 24, 1927) on KFRC in San Francisco, California, then was distributed on the West Coast by the Don Lee Network and was ...

'', which he hosted with

Meredith Willson Robert Reiniger Meredith Willson (May 18, 1902 – June 15, 1984) was an American flautist, composer, conductor, musical arranger, bandleader, playwright, and writer. He is perhaps best known for writing the book, music, and lyrics for the 1 ...

Bea Benaderet Beatrice Benaderet ( ; April 4, 1906 – October 13, 1968) was an American actress and comedienne. Born in New York City and raised in San Francisco, she began performing in Bay Area theatre and radio before embarking on a Hollywood career that s ...

, Edna Fischer, and future ''

I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes spanning six seasons. The series starred Lucille Ball and her husband Desi Arnaz, along with Vivian ...

'' producer

Jess Oppenheimer Jessurun James Oppenheimer (November 11, 1913 – December 27, 1988) was an American radio and television writer, producer, and director. He was the producer and head writer of the CBS sitcom ''I Love Lucy''. Lucille Ball called Oppenheimer � ...

. McClintock was also a member of Al Pearce's ''The Happy Go Lucky Hour'', a KFRC

spin-off Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media *Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work *''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine * ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...

of ''Blue Monday Jamboree'', alongside Edna Fischer and Tommy Harris. "The Big Rock Candy Mountain" reached No. 1 on

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

's "Hillbilly Hits" chart in 1939. The song was featured in the 2000

Coen brothers Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, together known as the Coen brothers (), are an American filmmaking duo. Their films span many genres and styles, which they frequently subvert or parody. Among their most acclaimed works are '' Blood Simple'' (198 ...

' film ''

O Brother, Where Art Thou? ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' is a 2000 satirical comedy-drama musical film written, produced, co-edited, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. It stars George Clooney, John Turturro, and Tim Blake Nelson, with Charles Durning, Michael Bad ...

'' McClintock's song " The Old Chisholm Trail" was featured in the end credits of "The Grandest Enterprise Under God" (episode 5) of the TV documentary miniseries ''

The West West is a cardinal direction or compass point. West or The West may also refer to: Geography and locations Global context * The Western world * Western culture and Western civilization in general * The Western Bloc, countries allied with NAT ...

''. He was included in

Robert Crumb Robert Dennis Crumb (; born August 30, 1943) is an American artist who often signs his work R. Crumb. His work displays a nostalgia for American folk culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contemporary American c ...

's series of "Heroes of Blues, Jazz and Country" trading cards.

Politics

McClintock was active in the

Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), whose members are nicknamed "Wobblies", is an international labor union founded in Chicago, United States in 1905. The nickname's origin is uncertain. Its ideology combines general unionism with indu ...

(IWW). He served with Frank Little in the Fresno Free Speech Fight from January 12 to March 4, 1911, and participated in the Tucker strike in Utah on June 14, 1913, with Joe Hill. McClintock wrote the marching song of the IWW, " Hallelujah, I'm a Bum", and he is credited with being the first person to sing Hill's song "

The Preacher and the Slave "The Preacher and the Slave" is a song written by Joe Hill (activist), Joe Hill in 1911. It was written as a parody of the Hymn, Christian hymn "In the Sweet By-and-By". Copying or using the musical style of the hymn was also a way to capture the ...

" in public. In the early 1920s, McClintock worked and organized union men in the oil fields of West Texas, where he met and recruited author Jim Thompson, who later incorporated him into several short stories using the name Strawlegs Martin.

Memberships

* Initiated by W.F. Little into IWW Union No. 66 on March 4, 1911 * Deputy sheriff, San Francisco, California, deputized on February 7, 1930 *

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

, inducted as a member on May 5, 1939 *

American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

(ASCAP), inducted as a member on September 30, 1940

Selected discography

78s

LPs

Compilations

Bibliography

Stories

*"Railroaders are Tough" (''Railroad Magazine'', April, 1943) *"Boomer and Their Women" (''Railroad Magazine'', December, 1957)

Articles

*"New Publications – ''Railroad Songs of Yesteryear''" (''Railroad Magazine'', August 1943) Short biography is part of review.

Notes

References

External links

Harry McClintock biographyHarry McClintock
at AllMusic. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McClintock, Harry 1882 births 1957 deaths American country singer-songwriters American country guitarists American male guitarists American male composers 20th-century American composers Industrial Workers of the World members Musicians from Knoxville, Tennessee Singer-songwriters from Tennessee Guitarists from Tennessee 20th-century American singer-songwriters Country musicians from Tennessee 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians