news

McAnally looks forward to Buffett's museum show

Even without his long association with music superstar Jimmy Buffett, Mac McAnally would be a star in his own right.

Since the late '70s, the singer/songwriter has enjoyed a string of hits on the pop and country charts including "It's a Crazy World," "Back Where I Come From" and "Down the Road." In 2008, McAnally re-recorded that last song as a duet with Kenny Chesney, scoring a No. 1 country single and a Grammy Award nomination. He's also written and/or produced hits for other acts, including Alabama, Sawyer Brown and Steve Wariner, and the Country Music Association has named him Musician of the Year three times, in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

Still, McAnally's greatest fame from his longtime association with Buffett. A member of Buffett's Coral Reefer Band, he'll accompany Buffett in an intimate performance Thursday night at the National Naval Aviation Museum.

In a phone interview, McAnally said the sold-out fundraising concert is something that he and Buffett are both excited about.

"We were just bragging about that show last night in Raleigh," McAnally said. "Jimmy's been a longtime supporter of the military and the Wounded Warrior Project, and so have I, drafting off him in the NASCAR sense. Both of our fathers were connected to the military. (Jimmy) is a sailor and a military historian, so the Navy and the air, it's an interest to him. I hesitate to speak for him, but I know there's a passion there. There's nothing not to like."

McAnally said the show will consist of he and Buffett on guitar, accompanied by steel drummer Robert Greenidge.

"It's a reincarnation of what we did two years ago in Tahiti," McAnally said. "We enjoy playing that configuration, so we're looking forward to it."

Buffett is known for playing for huge audiences, such as the 35,000 people who saw him perform on the public beach in Gulf Shores, Ala., last year. So the chance to play an intimate show is a treat.

"Jimmy has a unique ability to go into a large crowd and make it personal," McAnally said. "But when it is personal like this, it's very exciting. And we'll all be united in a common cause, which is a great benefit."

McAnally said his relationship with Buffett on- and off-stage is something that is still enjoyable and exciting, all these years on.

"We are truly old, good friends, and that's never a bad thing," McAnally said. "He's been a supporter of what I do from the very beginning. He sent me a note after my first record came out (in 1977), and it said, 'we're both from Mississippi and both songwriters and we're going to be friends.' I was a fan before I met him, and I am now. I'm honored to get to stand beside him and play. I was and am sort of bashful. I was from the — as he says — 'not fun' part of Mississippi. He was from the fun part near the water, and is less bashful. I was always more inclined to stand to the side. Maybe I'm of more use to him there; I try to be, anyway."

Getting back to Thursday's concert, though, McAnally said he's looking forward to seeing the museum for the first time.

"I'm somebody who takes being an American seriously," he sad. "My father was one of seven brothers who were all military. Out of my musician circle of friends in Nashville, I've had a couple of friends that have told me I needed to see the museum, so I'm looking forward to it. And I'm honored to be a part of all of this.

"They probably couldn't have anyone play for them that is more aware of and excited about Naval Aviation than Jimmy is. We're looking forward to it."

Written By: Julio Diaz