Biography

Mac Wiseman – Sings Old Time Country Favorites

After recording for his own Wise Records, Mac made four LP’s within a few months, three of them for Dot Records and one for Rural Rhythm Records. Mac commented, “I moved to WWVA in Wheeling West Virginia, the first part May, 1966. I worked the WWVA Jamboree. It was about to bite the dust when I joined, but the station had just gone 24 hour country, and I had a brainstorm. I started what I called “artist of the month”. Bill Anderson was the first one. I’d guarantee them one play every hour for 30 days if they came to work the Jamboree for nothing the last Saturday. It was a great deal for them and an incredible deal for us.”

“When I moved to Wheeling, the Dot contract was in the offing. I came back to Nashville in May and recorded thirty-six sides for three LP’s, one folk, one bluegrass and one with strings. Then, that same month I went to Ohio to record for Rural Rhythm. In the matter of thirty days or so, I recorded fifty-six sides. By September, all of them had been released. That must be some kind of a landmark. I think we did the Rural Rhythm record in Akron. Lee Sutton, who was an announcer on WWVA at the time, produced the session for Uncle Jim O’Neal, who owned Rural Rhythm.”

Mac became fond of Uncle Jim O’Neal. “We were on the same wavelength because both of us loved the old songs,” he said. “Four or five times, he’d insist on me coming to see him in California. He’d send me a plane ticket. I’d go out and stay at his house two or three days, and all we’d talk about was old songs. We’d try to stump each other, coming up with the other didn’t know.”

Uncle Jim picked the songs for Mac’s album, but Mac knew most of them. Some had been recorded from the dawn of the country music business in the 1920’s, and nearly everyone had a long and interesting history. One example shows the richness and depth of the music that Mac and Uncle Jim drew upon. “The Little Mohee” derived from a British Broadside, “The Indian Lass,” and was noted as far back as the 1840’s. Adapted by American balladeers, it was first recorded by Buell Dazewe in 1927, and before long the melody formed the basis of “On Top of Old Smokey”. “Sittin’ On Top Of The World” was a hokum blues song that dated back to the Mississippi Sheiks’ 1930 recording. Also in 1930, polka pioneer Wayne King recorded “The Waltz You Saved For Me.”. Some two years earlier, blues single Charlie McCoy recorded the first version of “Corrine, Corrina.” And in 1937, Jimmie Davis…the sometime governor of Louisiana who popularize the classic “You Are My Sunshine”…recorded the sweetly sentimental “I Saw Your Face In The Moon.” Also included is a bonus track “Wildwood Flower” instrumental performance that was recorded during these 1966 sessions, but not released on the original album. It was a varied program held together by the minimalism and professionalism of the musicians, and Mac’s feel for truly great melodies.

Mac can’t recall why he didn’t do another album for Uncle Jim. The first one sold well, in fact, Mac alone sold sufficient copies to justify another. Mac’s recordings have gone in and out of print and they’re scattered over countless labels, but here we have a snapshot of Mac Wiseman at work. He has been called “the Voice with a Heart”, but let’s not forget that he also saved many old and great songs for us. Twenty of them here.

Collin Escott