Harry Kirby McClintock (October 8, 1884 – April 24, 1957), also known as "Haywire Mac", was an American railroad man, radio personality, actor, singer, songwriter, and poet, best known for his song "The Big Rock Candy Mountains".
Harry Kirby McClintock | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Harry Kirby McClintock October 8, 1884 |
| Died | April 24, 1957 (aged 72) San Francisco, California |
| Other names | Haywire Mac, Radio Mac, Strawlegs Martin |
| Occupation(s) | boomer, author, poet, busker, cowboy, union organizer |
| Known for | "The Big Rock Candy Mountains", "Hallelujah, I'm a Bum" |
Life
editMcClintock was born on October 8, 1884, in Uhrichsville, Ohio.[1][non-primary source needed] Both his parents were from nearby Tippecanoe, Ohio; however, his family moved to Knoxville, Tennessee soon after his birth. In his youth, McClintock ran away from home to join the circus and drifted from place to place throughout his life. He railroaded in Africa, worked as a seaman, supplied food and ammunition to American soldiers while working as a civilian mule-train packer in the Philippines, and in 1899 worked as an aid to newsmen in China covering the Boxer Rebellion.[citation needed]
In America, Mac traveled as a railroader and minstrel.[2][3] He worked for numerous railroads during his life.
On October 8, 1917, McClintock married Bessie K. Johnson in Farmington, Utah.[citation needed] They had one daughter.[2]
Radio and music
editIn 1925, McClintock participated in a KFRC Radio talent contest.[4] His performance of his song "The Big Rock Candy Mountains" won him spots on two new KFRC radio shows: a children's program titled Mac and His Gang where he sang popular cowboy songs with his "Haywire Orchestry",[5][6][note 1] and a variety program titled Blue Monday Jamboree, which he hosted with Meredith Willson, Bea Benaderet, Edna Fischer,[8] and future I Love Lucy producer Jess Oppenheimer.[9][10] McClintock was also a member of Al Pearce's The Happy Go Lucky Hour,[11] a KFRC spin-off of Blue Monday Jamboree, alongside Edna Fischer and Tommy Harris.[12]
"The Big Rock Candy Mountain" reached No. 1 on Billboard's "Hillbilly Hits" chart in 1939. The song was featured in the 2000 Coen brothers' film O Brother, Where Art Thou?.[13] McClintock's song "The Old Chisholm Trail" was featured in the end credits of "The Grandest Enterprise Under God" (episode 5) of the TV documentary miniseries The West. He was included in Robert Crumb's series of "Heroes of Blues, Jazz and Country" trading cards.[14]
Politics
editMcClintock was active in the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). He served with Frank Little in the Fresno Free Speech Fight from January 12 to March 4, 1911, and participated in the Tucker Utah strike on June 14, 1913, with Joe Hill.[15][16] McClintock wrote the marching song of the IWW, "Hallelujah, I'm a Bum", and he is credited with being the first person to sing Hill's song "The Preacher and the Slave" in public.[17] In the early 1920s, McClintock worked and organized union men in the oil fields of West Texas, where he met and recruited author Jim Thompson, who later incorporated him into several short stories using the name Strawlegs Martin.[18]
Memberships
edit- Initiated by W.F. Little into IWW Union No. 66 on March 4, 1911
- Deputy sheriff, San Francisco, California, deputized on February 7, 1930
- Screen Actors Guild, inducted as a member on May 5, 1939
- American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), inducted as a member on September 30, 1940
Selected discography
edit78s
edit| Title | Recording Date | Label / Catalog Number | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ain't We Crazy? | 1928-09-06 | Victor V-40101 | [19] |
| The Big Rock Candy Mountains | 1928-09-06 | Victor Talking Machine Co. 21704-B | [20] |
| Hallelujah! I'm a Bum | 1928-03-31 | Victor 21343-B (42137) | Reverse side is "The Bum Song".[21] |
| Get Along, Little Dogies | 1928-03-01 | Victor V-40016 | |
| Fireman, Save My Child | 1929-12-15 | Victor V-40234 | |
| The Texas Ranger | 1928-03-01 | Victor 21487 | |
| Jerry, Go Oil That Car | 1928-03-16 | Victor 21521 | |
| The Bum Song | 1928-03-16 | Victor 21343 | |
| The Trail to Mexico | 1928-03-09 | Victor V-40016 | |
| The Old Chisholm Trail | 1928-03-22 | Victor 21421 | |
| Circus Days | 1928-03-31 | Victor 21567 | |
| Goodbye, Old Paint | 1928-03-01 | Victor 21761 | |
| The Bum Song #2 | 1928-09-06 | Victor 21704 | |
| The Trusty Lariat | 1929-12-15 | Victor V-40234 | |
| My Last Dollar | 1928-03-22 | Victor 23690 | |
| Billy Venero | 1928-03-31 | Victor 21487 | |
| Red River Valley | 1928-03-27 | Vi 21421-B | |
| Roamin | 1929-12-15 | Vi V-40264 | |
| Sam Bass | 1928-03-01 | Vi 22420 | |
| Hobo's Spring Song | 1929-04-30 | Vi 22003-A V-40112 | |
| Jesse James | 1928-03-09 | Vi 21420 LPV548 | |
| If I Had My Druthers | 1929-04-30 | Vi 22003-B V-40112 | |
| Dad's Dinner Pail | 1928-03-09 | Vi 21521 |
LPs
edit| Title | Year | Label / Catalog Number |
|---|---|---|
| Haywire Mac | 1950 | Cook Records 01124 |
| Harry K. McClintock "Haywire Mac" | 1972 | Folkways Records FD 5272 |
| Hallelujah! I'm a Bum | 1981 | Rounder Records 1009 |
Compilations
edit| Title | Year | Label / Catalog Number | Track |
|---|---|---|---|
| Songs to Grow On, Vol. 3: American Work Songs | 1951 | Folkways Records 07027 | Track 4: "Jerry, Go Oil That Car" |
| Cowboy Songs on Folkways | 1991 | Smithsonian Folkways 40043 | Track 7: "Utah Carl" |
| Folk Song America, Vol. 1 | 1991 | Smithsonian Collection 461 | Track 5: "Big Rock Candy Mountain" |
| Railroad Songs of the Early 1900s | 1998 | Rounder Select 1143 | Track 20: "Jerry, Go Oil That Car" |
| O Brother, Where Art Thou? | 2000 | Lost Highway Records 170069 | Track 2: "Big Rock Candy Mountain [sic]" |
| Back in the Saddle Again: American Cowboy Songs | 2004 | New World Records | Track 1: "Old Chisholm Trail" |
Bibliography
editStories
edit- "Railroaders are Tough" (Railroad Magazine, April, 1943)
- "Boomer and Their Women" (Railroad Magazine, December, 1957)
Articles
edit- "New Publications – Railroad Songs of Yesteryear" (Railroad Magazine, August 1943) Short biography is part of review.
Notes
edit- ^ This record's album cover (1972 - Folkways Records, FD 5272) is a 1929 photograph of "Mac's Haywire Orchestry". Names from left to right: Cecil "Rowdy" Wright (guitar), Waite "Chief" Woodall (fiddle), Frank Gilmore (accordion), Cleo "Doc" Shahan (guitar), "Duck" Buckholtz (drums), Asa "Ace" Wright (fiddle), Jerry Richard (banjo), Frank Baker (piano), Bessie McClintock (vocals) and "Haywire Mac" McClintock (banjo, guitar and vocals).[7]
References
edit- ^ (Certified Copy of Birth Record)The State of Ohio, Tuscarawas County Probate Court No. 100191, Record of Births, Date Filed June 4, 1885 Vol. 1, Page 383, No. 35, Witness my signature and the seal of said Court, at New Philadelphia, Ohio, this 26th day of October, 1981. Judge George J. Demis By Janet Lane Deputy Clerk.
- ^ a b "Bluegrass Messengers - Harry "Haywire Mac" McClintock- 1928". Bluegrassmessengers.com.
- ^ "He's Gone to the Big Rock Candy Mountain", Railroad Magazine, Vol. 68 No. 6, Oct. 1957 p. 57
- ^ "San Francisco Radio". Theradiohistorian.org.
- ^ "San Francisco Radio". Oldradio.com.
- ^ "Harry "Haywire Mac" McClintock - KFRC Radio, San Francisco". Bay Area Radio Museum. August 12, 2014.
- ^ "Harry McClintock : Haywire Mac" (PDF). Ia800305.us.archive.org. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
- ^ "Edna Fischer (1902-1997) – San Francisco's First Lady of Radio". Sfmuseum.org. Archived from the original on 2022-05-20. Retrieved 2022-04-20.
- ^ "Famous Radio Broadcasters : Poster". Archived from the original on 14 April 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "KFRC's Blue Monday Jamboree Artists and Staff". Oldradio.com.
- ^ "The Happy Go Lucky Hour". Theradiohistorian.org.
- ^ "The History of KFRC Radio, San Francisco". Bay Area Radio Museum. August 11, 2014.
- ^ "O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Music From The Motion Picture)". May 5, 2000 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Coming This Week | Robert crumb art, Robert crumb, Robert crumb comic". Pinterest.com. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
- ^ Tucker Utah strike on June 14, 1913 (Salt Lake Tribune).
- ^ "Joe Hill", Gibbs M. Smith, INC. Peregrine Smith Books, Salt Lake City 1984, photo of spellbinders Mac McClintock and Joe Hill on p. 118
- ^ "Long Haired Preacher (Preacher and the Slave) - YouTube". YouTube. 7 May 2022. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Burnett, Jay. "Things Are Not As They Seem". The Penniless Press On-Line. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
- ^ "Victor matrix BVE-46452. Ain't we crazy? / Radio Mac - Discography of American Historical Recordings". Adp.library.ucsb.edu.
- ^ "Victor matrix BVE-46454. The Big Rock Candy Mountains / Mac [i.e., Harry K. McClintock] - Discography of American Historical Recordings". Adp.library.ucsb.edu.
- ^ [1] Archived 2022-12-05 at the Wayback Machine Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Victor 21343 (Black label (popular) 10-in. double-faced)," accessed October 6, 2021.
Further reading
edit- "Haywire Mac and the Big Rock Candy Mountain" (Stillhouse Hollow Publishers Inc., Copyright 1981) By Henry Young. Santa Fe Railway locomotive engineer Retired Oct. 31, 1974. Goodreads
External links
edit- Harry McClintock biography
- Harry McClintock at AllMusic.
- Harry McClintock discography at Discogs
- Harry McClintock at IMDb