Wesley Erwin "Mac" Curtis, Jr. (January 16, 1939 – September 16, 2013) was an American

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

musician.

Biography

Born in

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, Curtis began playing guitar at the age of 12, entering local talent competitions. In 1954, his family moved to Weatherford, Texas, and while there he formed a band with two classmates, Jim and Ken Galbraith. They played at school events, but during one of the events, their show was shut down due to sexually suggestive on-stage movements. Mac Curtisat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Instead, the group played locally, and in 1955 they were offered a deal with King Records, who released their debut single, "If I Had Me a Woman". Soon afterwards,

Alan Freed Albert James "Alan" Freed (December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965) was an American disc jockey. He also produced and promoted large traveling concerts with various acts, helping to spread the importance of rock and roll music throughout Nor ...

heard the group and invited them to play on his

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

radio special in 1956. Curtis returned to Weatherford to finish school in 1957, and then became a

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

after joining the military. Upon his return in 1960, he continued work as a DJ in the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

, and released a few albums; his 1968 release, ''The Sunshine Man'', hit No. 35 on the U.S. Country albums chart. As rockabilly grew in popularity in the 1970s, he began recording with

Ray Campi Raymond Charles Campi (April 20, 1934 – March 11, 2021) was an American singer and musician, nicknamed "The King of Rockabilly". He first recorded in the mid-1950s. Campi's trademark was his white double bass, which he often jumped on top of an ...

and signed to Ronnie Weiser's

Rollin' Rock Records Rollin' Rock is an American rockabilly record label founded by producer Ronny Weiser. Initially created as music magazine Rollin' Rock in 1969, the magazine became a full-fledged record label in 1970. Rollin' Rock got its start reissuing 50's recor ...

. In 1970, Mac Curtis had two hits 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 advertise ...

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart, "Early In The Morning" (#35) and "Honey, Don't" (#43). As a singer he was still active in the 1980s and 1990s. He was later elected to the

Rockabilly Hall of Fame The Rockabilly Hall of Fame is an organization and website launched on March 21, 1997, to present early rock and roll history and information relating to the artists and personalities involved in rockabilly. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennesse ...

. He died on September 16, 2013 at age 74, following injuries received in a car accident a month earlier, after which he had undergone rehabilitation at a nursing home. Dallas Morning News, ''‘It was a shock’: Rockabilly Hall of Famer Mac Curtis dies from injuries sustained in accident'', 17 September 2013

Albums

Singles

Charted singles

* "The Quiet Kind" (1968) #64 C&W * "The Sunshine Man" (1968) #54 C&W * "Happiness Lives In This House" (1969) #63 C&W * "Don't Make Love" (1969) #60 C&W * "Honey, Don't" (1970) #43 C&W * "Early In The Morning" (1970) #35 C&W

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Curtis, Mac 1939 births 2013 deaths People from Fort Worth, Texas American rockabilly musicians American country singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Texas Dot Records artists King Records artists Charay Records artists Epic Records artists Radar Records artists Radio personalities from Texas 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century American guitarists Country musicians from Texas