Six-time CMA Musician of the Year Winner Mac McAnally Could Break Category Record at November 5 CMA Awards
Seventh award would give esteemed guitarist most consecutive instrumentalist wins.(NASHVILLE, Tenn.) - Whether he's playing in Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band, penning songs with country stars, laying down tracks in recording sessions, or filling venues with fans eager to hear him perform his No. 1 hits, Mac McAnally has earned his place among country music's most respected artists. The guitarist, songwriter and producer is such a force on the country scene, he's won six CMA Musician of the Year awards. And on November 5, he could pick up his seventh - and become the record-holder for most consecutive wins in the category. The 48th annual CMA Awards will be broadcast live from Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on ABC-TV at 8 p.m. EST.
First nominated in 2007, McAnally has won the award each year since 2008, tying the consecutive-win record set by fiddler Mark O'Connor (1991-96). McAnally's current nomination, No. 8, puts him in the company of esteemed fellow nominees. The award has been presented annually since 1988, when guitarist Chet Atkins won. In 2009, McAnally also earned a CMA Award nomination for Musical Event of the Year for his duet with Kenny Chesney on "Down the Road," the McAnally-penned No. 1 hit he first recorded - and placed on the country singles chart - two decades earlier.
McAnally's recent credits include producing Buffett's Songs from St. Somewhere, as well as co-writing seven of its tracks. He also produced the late Jesse Winchester's final album, A Reasonable Amount of Trouble, and can be heard playing numerous instruments and singing on Lee Ann Womack's just-released album, The Way I'm Livin'. In February, the one-time Muscle Shoals session player made his long-awaited Grand Ole Opry debut as a featured performer after numerous appearances with other artists.
McAnally also has worked with Toby Keith, Zac Brown, George Strait, Brad Paisley, Chris LeDoux, Amy Grant, Martina McBride and many others, in addition to recording his own critically acclaimed albums. His most recent, Mac McAnally Live in Muscle Shoals, is available -along with his other releases - through his website, macmcanally.com, as well as iTunes and other online and physical music outlets.