Odell McLeod

Mac Odell
Birth name Odell McLeod
Born (1916-05-31)May 31, 1916
Died January 11, 2003(2003-01-11) (aged 86)
Genres Country Gospel[1]
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter[2]
Labels Mercury Records, King Records,[3] Acuff-Rose Music
Associated acts Mac & Slim, Mac And Little Addie,[3] Hank Williams, Roy Acuff

Odell McLeod 1916–2003[4] (known by his stage name Mac Odell) was an American country-gospel singer, radio entertainer, and songwriter.[2]

Early life

McLeod was born May 31, 1916 in Roanoke, Alabama.[4] He grew up on country music, listening to artists such as the Skillet Lickers, Deford Bailey, and Jimmie Rodgers. About 1939 he married Adeline Myrtle Wood, better known as Addie. She was from Arkansas and six years his junior. In 1940 they were living in Benton Township, Berrien County, Michigan.[5]

Career

McLeod's began his career by working with Slim Bassett. They traveled regularly with McLeod popularizing his own songs by performing them on radio stations throughout the southern United States in the 1930s.[1] The duo landed a regular show in New Orleans in 1935, known as "Mac & Slim." He continued to work with Bassett until he married his wife Addie.[3] He continued his career as a radio entertainer alongside his wife Addie on WJJD. "Mac and Little Addie" as they were known played for the station's Chicago Supper Time Frolic show until the start of World War II.[3] During the war, McLeod worked in a factory in Michigan. He continued to write songs during the war and resumed his career WLAC in Nashville, Tennessee once the war had ended. He was with the station until 1957, appearing both solo and as Mac and Little Addie.[3]

McLeod was with the Mercury Records label from 1949 until 1952, leaving to join King Records.[3] He wrote numerous songs throughout his career, including "The Battle of Armageddon" which was recorded by Hank Williams.[6] Additional songs included "Thirty Pieces of Silver" made popular by Wilma Lee Cooper[7] and "From the Manger to the Cross" sung by Hank Williams, both of which became re-recording standards in country music.[3]

Later life

McLeod moved to Benton Harbor, Michigan in 1957 where he became the business owner of "Odell Signs." He gave up songwriting at the time and suffered a heart attack in 1974 which led him to give up his business.[3] In the late 1970s, he began writing and performing again, penning songs for the group Folk Variety of Germany. The group also re-recorded some of his earlier songs.[3] He traveled to the Netherlands in the 1980s where he and Addie toured with A.G. and Kate, a popular gospel dual.[3] He died on January 11, 2003 at his home in Benton Harbor, Berrien County, Michigan.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 Malone, Bill C. (2002). Country Music, U.S.A: Second Revised Edition. University of Texas Press. ISBN 9780292752627.
  2. 1 2 Malone, Bill C. (2002). Don’t Get Above Your Raisin’: Country Music and the Southern Working Class. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 9780252026782.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Larkin, Colin (1998). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Country Music. Virgin. pp. 314–315. ISBN 9780753502365.
  4. 1 2 3 "Odell 'Mac' McLeod Obituary". The Herald Palladium. Hillbilly Music. 13 January 2003. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  5. ↑ FamilySearch.org. "1940 US Census and United States Public Records Index". FamilySearch.org. External link in |title= (help);
  6. ↑ Jeremiah, David (2008). What in the World is Going On?. Thomas Nelson Inc. ISBN 9781418569426.
  7. ↑ Harkins, Anthony (2005). Hillbilly: A Cultural History of an American Icon. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195189506.

External links

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