Mack Magaha (August 1, 1929 – August 15, 2003) was an American
bluegrass fiddle
A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...
r best known as a member of
Porter Wagoner's band and a long-time backup player in the pioneering bluegrass band
Reno and Smiley.
Music career
In 1955, Magaha joined Reno and Smiley as a member of the Tennessee Cutups.
[Tribe 2006, p. 245.] Together with
Don Reno, he wrote the popular song "''I know You're Married But I Love You Still''", which was recorded by Reno & Smiley. It was later covered by artists such as
Bill Anderson,
Rodney Crowell,
Jan Howard,
Patty Loveless,
Jimmy Martin
James Henry Martin (August 10, 1927 – May 14, 2005) was an American bluegrass singer and musician, known as the "King of Bluegrass".
Early years
Martin was born in Sneedville, Tennessee, United States, and was raised in the hard farming l ...
,
Red Sovine, and
Travis Tritt.
[Black 2005, p. 171.] In 1964, he joined Porter Wagoner's Wagonmasters.
[cmt.com - Retrieved on October 22, 2009](_blank)
/ref> During the 1960s, he worked as an old-time fiddler on The Porter Wagoner Show[Malone 2002, p. 271.] and later worked with the aspiring female star on the show, Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...
.[ Among the later songs Magaha wrote, "We'll Get Ahead Someday" provided a top-ten country single for Wagoner and Parton in 1968, one of their first duet hits.
He became a regular performer at the theme park ]Opryland USA
Opryland USA (later called Opryland Themepark and colloquially known as Opryland) was a amusement park, theme park in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The park was located between the Cumberland River and Tennessee State Route 155, Briley Pa ...
in the 1970s. He died at age 74 at Nashville's Veterans Hospital.[ Like Curly Ray Cline, Magaha had a fiery stage presence, doing his dancelike movements while he was fiddling.][Ledgin 2004, p. 59.]
Notes
References
* Black, Bob (2005), ''Come Hither To Go Yonder: Playing Bluegrass With Bill Monroe'', University of Illinois Press
* Ledgin, Stephanie P. (2004), ''Homegrown Music: Discovering Bluegrass'', Greenwood Publishing Group
* Malone, Bill C. (2002), ''Country Music U.S.A.'', University of Texas Press
* Tribe, Ivan M. (2006), ''Country: A Regional Exploration'', Greenwood Publishing Group
External links
* http://www.cmt.com/news/news-in-brief/1476968/funeral-services-held-for-fiddler-mack-magaha.jhtml
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magaha, Mack
1929 births
2003 deaths
American bluegrass fiddlers
20th-century American musicians