Mac Wiseman spoke with a roots music magazine in 2006, reflecting on his career in music. “Not to sound too critical, but the ‘bluegrass’ classification was the worst damned thing ever happened to me,” he observed. “Up until then I was getting as much airplay as Marty Robbins or Ray Price.” But it was his voice, those golden pipes, that will be remembered sweetly. In 1946 he moved to Knoxville and found a gig playing with country singer Molly O’Day on radio and in the studio recording that would catapult him into a career in bluegrass; first with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs and then, Bill Monroe. We take some time to look at all sides of Mac’s music, from bluegrass to country and rock to pop. A truly American treasure.
