news

SHOW DOG SIGNS"DOWN THE ROAD" SINGER MAC McANALLY

Legendary Music Maker Celebrates Latest No. 1 With New Label Deal

(NASHVILLE, Tenn.) The ultimate goal for any record label signing has to be reeling off a string of No. 1 hits and building the kind of career that eventually lands the artist in the hall of fame. For Show Dog's latest signing, it's already mission accomplished. Legendary musician, songwriter, producer and recording artist Mac McAnally is Show Dog's newest artist.

"There's nobody more respected, at least when it comes to musicians and people who really know this business, than Mac McAnally," says Show Dog proprietor Toby Keith. "There aren't a lot of guys you put in that category and I've gotten to work with a few. So getting to be a part of whatever Mac wants to do is an honor for me, and for everyone at the label."

Coming off his No. 1 country single "Down The Road" with Kenny Chesney, McAnally is again on the cusp of widespread notoriety – recognition he has never lacked from his musical peers. He and Chesney are nominated for the ACM Vocal Event of the Year, which will be bestowed in association with the April 5 CBS telecast. And while "Down The Road" may be McAnally's first chart-topper as a recording artist, it's his sixth country No. 1 as a writer. And the accomplishments don't end there.

McAnally got his start as a Muscle Shoals session musician, becoming one of the most highly regarded guitar players in the business. He's played behind or sang harmony for many artists including Roy Orbison, Hank Williams, Jr., Amy Grant, Travis Tritt, Linda Ronstadt, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Dolly Parton and Jimmy Buffett, who Mac continues to tour with as part of his Coral Reefer band and has produced projects for including the #1 album, License to Chill. Mac has also produced artists including Ricky Skaggs, Sawyer Brown, Chris LeDoux and Little Feat.

As for career milestones, McAnally was named 2008 Musician of the Year by the Country Music Association, and was inducted into the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame the same year. In 2007, McAnally was honored with induction in the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. He signed his first record deal at the age of 16, was the first artist signed to the legendary Geffen Records, and with this signing to Show Dog he's still going strong.