Mack Vickery (June 8, 1938 – December 21, 2004), also known as Atlanta James and Vick Vickers, was an American musician, songwriter, and inductee in the Hillbilly Hall of Fame and Alabama Music Hall of Fame. His songs have been recorded by artists such as

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Biography

Vickery was born in Town Creek, Alabama and moved to

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

in 1957. Considered leading man material, he recorded for

Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee in February 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny C ...

, although nothing was initially released. Vickery continued to record for a number of minor labels and under various aliases, including "Vick Vickers" and "Atlanta James". Vickery first scored a songwriting hit when

Faron Young Faron Young (February 25, 1932 – December 10, 1996) was an American country music producer, musician, and songwriter from the early 1950s into the mid-1980s. Hits including "If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin')" and " Live Fast, Love Hard, D ...

recorded Vickery's song "She Went A Little Bit Further", which reached number 14 on the Country Music charts in 1968. Vickery followed this with songs for artists like

Johnny Paycheck Johnny Paycheck (born Donald Eugene Lytle; May 31, 1938 – February 19, 2003) was an American country music singer and Grand Ole Opry member notable for recording the David Allan Coe song "Take This Job and Shove It". He achieved his greates ...

Lefty Frizzell William Orville "Lefty" Frizzell (March 31, 1928 – July 19, 1975) was an American country music singer-songwriter and honky-tonk singer. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1982. Frizzell released many songs that charted ...

, James Carr,

John Anderson John Anderson may refer to: Business *John Anderson (Scottish businessman) (1747–1820), Scottish merchant and founder of Fermoy, Ireland * John Byers Anderson (1817–1897), American educator, military officer and railroad executive, mentor of ...

, and

Tanya Tucker Tanya Denise Tucker (born October 10, 1958) is an American country music singer and songwriter who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13. Over the succeeding decades, Tucker became one of the few child performers to mature int ...

. Vickery's most successful hit as a writer was co-writing " The Fireman" with

Wayne Kemp Wayne Kemp (June 11, 1940 – March 9, 2015) was an American country music singer-songwriter. He recorded between 1964 and 1986 for JAB Records, Decca, MCA, United Artists, Mercury and Door Knob Records, and charted twenty-four singles on the ...

, recorded by

, which reached number 5 in 1985. Jerry Lee Lewis recorded a number of Vickery's songs, including "Rockin' My Life Away", "

Meat Man "Meat Man" is a Rock 'n' roll song written by Mack Vickery and originally recorded by him in 1970 under the name Atlanta James. The most well known recording was by Jerry Lee Lewis, and was the first and only single off Lewis's 1973 album '' Sout ...

" (described as "two minutes and forty seconds of sexual boasts, delivered furiously and convincingly") and "Ivory Tears". Vickery became known as Lewis's "speechwriter", and "In Vickery, a fan as well as a professional, Jerry Lee had found someone who could articulate his troubles better than he himself ever could." According to the book ''Jerry Lee Lewis - His Own Story'', Vickery was one of Lewis' best friends; Lewis stated that he was "like a brother". Waylon Jennings recorded "

The Eagle The eagle is a large bird of prey. Eagle or The Eagle may also refer to: Places England * Eagle, Lincolnshire, a village United States * Eagle, Alaska, a city * Eagle Village, Alaska, a census-designated place * Eagle, Colorado, a statut ...

" which was written by Vickery along with Hank Cochran and Red Lane. This song was used as the unofficial "official theme song" of the First Gulf War as it was easy to relate the lyrics to the F-15 Eagle fighter jet. Jennings had recorded "Cedartown Georgia" earlier in his career, a 1971 hit that was co–written by Vickery, Sammi Smith, and Charlie Cobble. Both songs are found on albums of the same names, respectively. In 1970, Vickery recorded the album ''Live at the Alabama Women's Prison'' which included

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

impersonations. The back cover notes of the live album were penned by Waylon Jennings as he said Mack had beat him to the punch by recording a live album at a women's prison. He reached the charts as a singer (under the name "Atlanta James") for the first time in 1974 with "That Kind of Fool" (also recorded by Jerry Lee Lewis) and again in 1977 with "Ishabilly" and "Here's to the Horses". Vickery was also friends with legendary Nashville disc jockey

Ralph Emery Walter Ralph Emery (March 10, 1933 – January 15, 2022) was an American country music disc jockey, radio and television host from Nashville, Tennessee. Emery promoted numerous stars on his radio and TV shows, and was called the Dick Clark o ...

and made numerous appearances on his early morning WSM television show. He also made several appearances on the

Nashville Network The Nashville Network, usually referred to as TNN, was an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming included music videos, taped concerts, movies, game shows, syndicated programs, and numerous talk shows. On September ...

(TNN) show ''Nashville Now''. In the 1970s, Vickery toured with comedian Hollis Champion, also known as "Elmer Fudpucker", opening shows for Jerry Lee Lewis. In 1989, Vickery won the Music City News "Song Of The Year Award" for another song he co-wrote with

, " I'll Leave This World Loving You", a hit for

Ricky Van Shelton Ricky Van Shelton (born January 12, 1952) is an American retired country music singer. Active between 1986 and 2006, he charted more than 20 singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts. This figure includes 10 Number One hits: "Somebod ...

. In 2002, the

Alabama Music Hall of Fame The Alabama Music Hall of Fame, first conceived by the Muscle Shoals Music Association in the early 1980s, was created by the Alabama Music Hall of Fame Board, which then saw to its Phase One construction of a facility after a statewide referendu ...

honored Vickery with a bronze star in its Walkway of Stars. Vickery died of a heart attack in Nashville, Tennessee in 2004 at the age of 66.

References

External links

Alabama Music Hall of Fame
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vickery, Mack 1938 births 2004 deaths People from Town Creek, Alabama American country singer-songwriters American rockabilly musicians 20th-century American singers Country musicians from Alabama Singer-songwriters from Alabama