William Dermot Colleran (April 26, 1925 – February 28, 2022), better known as Mac Martin was an American bluegrass musician.

Biography

He was born in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

on April 26, 1925. William "Mac Martin" Colleran used to listen to "hillbilly music" on WWVA and WSM

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divis ...

when he was young. Colleran had his first guitar at the age of fifteen. Shortly afterwards, he joined up with Ed Brozi, performing as a duo. After graduating from high school he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served on the island of

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

. In the late 1940s, Colleran formed his first group the Pike County Boys consisting of Bill Higgins,

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

and Bill Wagner, bass, who began playing regularly on

WHJB WHJB is a classic hits radio station serving the Westmoreland County area, including eastern Allegheny County. The station is owned by St. Pier Group LLC, a subsidiary of Renda Broadcasting Corporation, and broadcasts at 107.1 MHz with an ER ...

Greensburg, Pennsylvania Greensburg is a city in and the county seat of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States, and a part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The city lies within the Laurel Highlands and the ecoregion of the Western Allegheny Plateau (ecoregion), W ...

. Because there were three "Bills" in the group, Colleran changed his name to Mac Martin. In 1953, the Pike County Boys left

. In the mid 1950s, Colleran got together with Mike Carson and Billy Bryant and, by 1957, the Dixie Travelers was formed. The newly formed group began performing at Walsh's Lounge in

and did so until 1976. Musicians such as Earl Banner, Slim Jones, Frank Batista, Norm Azinger, Bud Smith, Keith Little, and Bob Artis have all been part of the Dixie Travelers. They recorded for Gateway Records and

Rural Rhythm Records Rural Rhythm Records is a record label based in Nashville, Tennessee specializing in recordings by bluegrass music and gospel music artists. History "Uncle" Jim O'Neal founded the Rural Rhythm label in 1955 in Arcadia, California. He sold via mai ...

. Martin died in

McMurray, Pennsylvania McMurray is a census-designated place (CDP) in Peters Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania. The population was 4,736 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. Its zip code is 15317, which it shares with neighboring ...

, on February 28, 2022, at the age of 96.

References

Bibliography

*Kristin Baggelaar and Donald Milton. ''Folk Music: More Than a Song''. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1976. p. 257-258

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Mac 1925 births 2022 deaths American bluegrass mandolinists American bluegrass musicians American mandolinists Country musicians from Pennsylvania Military personnel from Pittsburgh Musicians from Pittsburgh United States Navy personnel of World War II