Mac Wiseman
| Mac Wiseman | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Malcolm B. Wiseman |
| Born |
May 23, 1925 Crimora, Virginia, U.S.A. |
| Genres | Bluegrass, country |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Instruments | Guitar, upright bass |
| Years active | 1944–present |
| Labels | Dot, Capitol, RCA, Sugar Hill, CMH, Music Mill, Oh Boy, Wrinkled Records |
| Associated acts | Molly O'Day, Foggy Mountain Boys, Bill Monroe, Osborne Brothers, The Country Boys |
Malcolm B. Wiseman (born May 23, 1925), better known as Mac Wiseman, is an American bluegrass singer, nicknamed The Voice with a Heart. The bearded singer is one of the cult figures of bluegrass.
Born in Crimora, Virginia, he attended school in New Hope Virginia and graduated from high school there in 1943. He studied at the Shenandoah Conservatory in Dayton, Virginia—before it moved to Winchester, Virginia in 1960—and started his career as a disc jockey at WSVA-AM in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
His musical career began as upright bass player in the band of country singer Molly O'Day. When Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs left Bill Monroe's band, Wiseman became the guitarist for their new band, the Foggy Mountain Boys. Later he played with Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys. After a performance on Louisiana Hayride he became popular as solo artist. In the 1950s, he was the star of The Old Dominion Barn Dance on WRVA in Richmond, Va.
During the folk revival in the 1960s, Wiseman had successful concerts at the Hollywood Bowl and Carnegie Hall.
He joined producers Randall Franks and Alan Autry for the In the Heat of the Night cast CD Christmas Time’s A Comin’ released on Sonlite and MGM/UA for one of the most popular Christmas releases of 1991 and 1992 with Southern retailers.
In 1993 he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor. His substantial girth and light tenor voice gave rise to the quip that "Mac Wiseman sings like Gene Vincent looks, and looks like Ernest Tubb sings."
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