Lonnie Mack — “Live in Louisville 1992” — Last Music Co.
The first time I heard a Lonnie Mack recording, he was playing the whimsical “Oreo Cookie Blues.” Another time was in a video of Mack, Albert Collins and Roy Buchanan in a Carnegie Hall concert. A great performance.
He was a captivating, innovative guitar player and impressive singer — a musical force that was hard to ignore. He was also the guitar hero for a generation of young players who followed.
This album is from a recording made when Mack filled in as a last-minute replacement in the summer concert series at Louisville’s Kentucky Center for the Arts. Tapes of that show were recently discovered and restored. The result is this live album — the first commercial release of Mack’s music since his death in 2016.
The album is fill with a sort of greatest hits, songs that he showcased. The sound is just a little muffled, but that’s okay. Mack’s essence comes through just fine.
I could ramble on about each song, but instead I’m going to copy the liner notes here — an excellent summary of his career. There are also some links below to videos of several of his performances.
If you’re a Lonnie Mack fan, this is fine look back at some of his work. If not, you’re in for a treat! Enjoy it either way!
Liner notes:
It’s a great honor to be able to [inspire other artists]. What you do in this business, your whole thing is givin’ stuff away. But that makes you feel good, makes you feel like you’ve really done something.” ~ Lonnie Mack
Years from now, when the history of electric guitar-driven music is finally written, Lonnie Mack will be remembered as its first hero. He was never a household name, but his tone, technique, and fearless fusion of styles laid the groundwork for many, including some of his more famous friends. Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Duane Allman, Dicky Betts, Neil Young, and Danny Gatton are among the many that have said as much. The thing is, Lonnie didn’t just play the guitar, he redefined what it could do.
Born in 1941 in West Harrison, Indiana, Lonnie was the son of sharecroppers. He grew up on the banks of the Ohio River and began playing guitar at the age of seven, after his mother taught him a few chords. It wasn’t long before he was playing bluegrass in the family band. At home, they would listen to The Grand Ol’ Opry in the evening, and then Lonnie would spin the dial to the rhythm and blues of WLAC when the rest of the family went to bed. He became a fan of rhythm and blues and gospel music, and at the age of ten, began learning how to play Robert Johnson style guitar. He soon merged that with country style fingerpicking to create his own sound. As he grew into his teens, his singing and playing had developed so much that by the age of fourteen, he had dropped out of school, and armed with a fake ID, was playing regularly in nightclubs and roadhouses. When he was seventeen, he bought the seventh Gibson Flying V off the first-year production line, because he loved the arrow-like shape of the guitar. Lonnie would play “Number 7” throughout the rest of his career.
By the early 1960s, Lonnie was playing on recording sessions for the Cincinnatti-based Fraternity label, behind Hank Ballard, James Brown, Freddie King and others. At the end of one of those sessions, he was offered the remaining twenty minutes of recording time. He used it to record an instrumental version of Chuck Berry’s “Memphis,” which he later realized had been released when he heard it on the radio. “Memphis” hit the Top 5 nationally and sold over a million copies. That record, along with its follow-up “Wham!”, and 1964’s “Chicken Pickin’” established Lonnie’s signature style. By that time, he had added a Bigsby vibrato bar (thereafter called a “Whammy bar”) to his “Flying V” guitar. Lonnie’s lightning fast flatpicking, tremolo bar effects, and melodic solos raised the stakes and galvanized guitar players all over the world. Today, his debut album, The Wham of That Memphis Man! is considered one of The 100 Best Rock ’n’ Roll Records of All Time.
While best known for his instrumental prowess, Lonnie was also a powerful singer. He had a singular ability to alternate between soaring gospel-tinged vocals and red-hot guitar work. In 1968, a Rolling Stone feature revived interest in Lonnie, and with Fraternity out of the picture, he signed to Elektra, for whom he recorded three albums—Glad I’m in the Band (1969), Whatever’s Right (1969) and The Hills of Indiana (1971)—all of which centered on his vocals instead of his guitar work. Despite modest success, Lonnie grew disenchanted, and eventually withdrew from national attention, spending much of the 1970s playing in local clubs, fishing, and living in rural Indiana.
Lonnie’s major comeback came in the mid 1980s after moving to Texas at Stevie Ray Vaughan’s urging. In 1985, he released Strike Like Lightning on Alligator Records, co produced by, and featuring Vaughan on several tracks. The album reignited his career, and he toured widely with guest appearances by Keith Richards, Ron Wood, Ry Cooder, and Vaughan, culminating in a performance at Carnegie Hall alongside Albert Collins and Roy Buchanan later that year.
Second Sight (1986), Roadhouses & Dance Halls(1988), and Live! Attack of the Killer V (1990) followed, and then after more than a decade on the road, Lonnie mostly retired from touring, although he continued to write. All in all, Lonnie recorded a total of 11 solo albums. He was inducted into the International Guitar Hall of Fame in 2001, and The Rockabilly Hall of Fame in 2005.
Live From Louisville is Lonnie’s first commercial release since 1990. It was performed over the airwaves in front of an enthusiastic audience in July of 1992, on the back of the Live! Attack of the Killer V album. The performance features four songs from that album in expanded, unfettered form: “Camp Washington Chili/If You Have To Know,” “Satisfy Suzie,” “Stop,” and the autobiographical self-penned “Cincinnatti Jail.” He also performs a medley of his classic 1963 hits “Memphis” and “Wham,” and stripped-down guitar/vocal performances of “Oreo Cookie Blues,” and “Tough On Me, Tough On You” are part of this session.
The set runs a little under an hour and is a rare snapshot of the raw intensity of one of the many gobsmacking performances that Lonnie gave on a regular basis on the road in those days, and what it felt like to be in the audience. As was typical during that time, live on-air recording did not use many microphones, but the recording has been recovered and restored as best it can, and stands as a part of this rich history.
Lonnie is joined on this set by Louisville’s own Jeff McAllister on drums, who played on and off with Lonnie for many years. Denzil “Dumpy” Rice appears here on piano and keyboards. Dumpy had played with Lonnie since 1957, well before his time at Fraternity Records. A hit songwriter in his own right, he was a world class pianist, as this recording will attest. He passed away in 2003.
Bucky Lindsey appears here on bass and vocals. Lonnie first met Bucky in Nashville in the early 1980s. The story as Bucky would later tell it, was that Lonnie’s bus was parked outside of what was once known as Quadrafonic Studios, when they met. Lonnie invited him in and offered him a choice of homemade wine—“Strawberry Asskicker or Blueberry Motherfucker.” The two became fast and close friends, and remained so for the rest of their lives. They wrote many songs together, along with Dumpy and others, some of which are spread across several of Lonnie’s albums. Bucky played bass on the road with Lonnie many times over the years. In the early 90s, he joined Lonnie for his European tour. They also did a lot of fishing.
When Lonnie first came to Nashville, Bucky helped open the door for him by introducing him to his friends—many of the top songwriters and musicians in town. This re-ignited Lonnie’s passion for writing, and the songs on his recordings, more and more, were comprised almost exclusively of his own material, as time went on. Shortly after Lonnie’s death in 2016, his daughter Holly found an audio tape. On it, Lonnie had a message for Bucky. It simply said, “I couldn’t have done it without you.” Bucky passed away in June 2025. Lonnie’s estate has dedicated this album to his memory.
“Oreo Cookie Blues” from Carnegie Hall:
Tracklist and credits:
Camp Washington Chili
Writers: Lonnie Mack/Tim Drummond, Pub: Mack’s Flying V Music, (BMI)
If You Have To Know
Writers: Lonnie Mack/Tim Drummond/Will Jennings, Pub: Mack’s Flying V Music (BMI), My Dragon Heart (ASCAP) Blue Sky Rider Songs (BMI)
Satisfy Suzie
Writers: Lonnie Mack / Tim Drummond, Pub: Mack’s Flying V Music (BMI), My Dragon Heart (ASCAP)
Stop
Writer: Lonnie Mack, Pub: Mack’s Flying V Music (BMI)
Memphis
Writer: Chuck Berry. Pub: Isalee Music Publishing Company c/o Drive Music Publishing (BMI)
Wham
Writer: Lonnie Mack, Pub: Flying V Music (BMI)
Oreo Cookie Blues
Writers: Lonnie Mack / Mike Wilkerson, Pub: Mack’s Flying V Music (BMI), Milky Way Music (BMI)
Tough On Me, Tough On You
Writers: Lonnie Mack/Hoy Lindsey, Pub: Mack’s Flying V Music (BMI), Hoy Lindsey Music (BMI)
Cincinnatti Jail
Writer: Lonnie Mack, Pub: Mack’s Flying V Music (BMI)
Videos:
Official Video: “Too Rock for Country, Too Country for Rock and Roll” from Roadhouses and Dancehalls
https://youtu.be/Dwpd_f4t8U8?si=OA-L7H5pVlRtCdze
Written by Lonnie, Dan Penn, Bucky Lindsey and Dumpy Rice
Lonnie at Carnegie Hall
“Satifsy Suzie”
https://youtu.be/xhX1lfWZaNw?si=ywl8GchG1FtfYwzV
Lonnie with Albert Collins and Roy Buchanan at Carnegie Hall
“Further on Down the Road”
https://youtu.be/yIeZSUevSuc?si=gxV4mLqaPby_n9Ge
Lonnie and Stevie, American Caravan taping Memphis 1986
“Double Whammy” and “Oreo Cookie Blues”
https://youtu.be/IkBqTWBIkKw?si=nqQW_On9nOcQv5oj
and “Oreo Cookie Blues” w/Stevie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cs6Mpq_iufA
Bootsy Collins on meeting Lonnie Mack for Grammy Museum
https://youtu.be/US1658nBJow?si=sGUEaduQKcAGxy4d
Lonnie Mack Audio Interview 2000
https://youtu.be/BLhZIMw99go?si=wrvoXiwrFotJmGeO
Blues Roadhouse 