Biography

Warner Mack was a popular performer for Decca Records during the 1960s. He was born Warner MacPherson, the son of a Presbyterian minister, and raised in Vicksburg, Mississippi, where he taught himself to play guitar as a youth. A talented athlete, he had offers to play both college baseball and football; he was also offered a spot on the St. Louis Cardinals, but Mack really wanted to be a musician. He got his start on the KWKH Louisiana Hayride and then appeared on Red Foley's Ozark Jamboree, gaining an even greater following. He still kept a day job at a tire company and also worked as an announcer on a Vicksburg radio station. Mack moved to Nashville in the late '50s; in 1957, he began his profitable association with Decca, becoming "Mack" thanks to an inattentive secretary. He wrote his debut single, "Is It Wrong (For Loving You)," scoring a Top Ten hit that remained on the country charts for over nine months and crossed over to become a minor pop hit. He later signed with Kapp Records and produced several albums for them. After performing on The Grand Ole Opry, he re-signed to Decca, where "Sittin' in an All Nite Cafe" made it to the Top Five. He had a serious auto accident in 1964 and spent several months recovering, but in 1965, he scored the biggest hit of his career with "The Bridge Washed Out," which topped the charts for months. This was followed by a series of hits that stretched until 1973; among his most popular songs were "Sittin' on a Rock (Crying in a Creek)," "Talkin' to the Wall," and "Leave My Dreams Alone." Mack left Decca in 1973. Four years later he signed to Pageboy Records and had one minor hit, "These Crazy Thoughts (Run Through My Mind)," his final chart entry. In 2020, Mack released a comeback album titled Better Than Ever. Warner Mack died in Nashville on March 1, 2022; he was 86 years old. ~ Sandra Brennan