Five-time Grammy Award winner
Albert Philip McKay has set standards of excellence throughout his career.
Besides being one of the driving forces behind The Emotions, Deniece
Williams, and the phenomenal success of Earth, Wind & Fire, McKay
has continued to grace countless recording sessions with his trademark rhythm
guitar style for such artists as Isaac Hayes, Tina Turner, The
Jackson Five, Celine Dion, and more...
In 1977, I had the rare opportunity of hitchin’ a ride on Earth, Wind
& Fire's “Spirit” tour, where I met Al. Surprisingly, I was
a right-handed guitarist who had learned to play somewhat left-handed, and
Al was a left-handed guitarist who had learned to play somewhat right-handed.
With this peculiarity in common, we hit it off and have been friends ever
since. Just back from Japan touring with the L.A. All Stars, I took the opportunity
to shoot a few questions to Al in April of 2000. —Robert Decker
Do you have a question for Al McKay?
Send
it here and we'll post your question and Al's answer on this interview
page.
Robert
Decker: I want to cover EWF, the All Stars, the inception of instructional
guitar videos, and more, but first I have to ask, what was it like thirty
years ago learning to play as a lefty?
Al
McKay: At first, I didn't realize I was a lefty. [laughs]
I got my first guitar at nine and learned to play upside-down. There was no
one there to say, “Hey, that's not right.” A year or two later,
some guy changed my strings around, and I had to learn to play all over again.
Were there
many left-handed guitars available back then?
No,
not really.
So, you
pretty much did the Hendrix thing... changing the nut around...
Changing
the nut around? What nut!? There was no nut. This was a thirteen-dollar Sears
& Roebuck. I think the first "real" left-handed guitar
I ever saw was Dick Dale's Stratocaster.
What was
your first custom left-handed guitar?
I
found it at a club I was working at right out of high school. Some guy saw
me playin’ a Gibson without a cutaway and thought I was playing upside
down. He approached me with a cream-colored Telecaster, which I bought for
$65. That was my first lefty.
And as
I know, you've had a good marriage with that guitar ever since.
I've
just started playin’ it again. In fact, I just bought another custom
Tele. I don't know why, I just started playin’ Telecasters again, and,
man, it's like goin’ back home. And you feel like… man, where have
I been?
Your original
Tele, as I recall, has a humbucker in it.
Yeah,
I had one put in after I saw Terry Kath's [Chicago] Tele.
So, the
humbucker took the place of the front pickup?
Exactly.
What pickup
selection do you use most?
The
middle position. Many of the engineers I work with ask, “What year is
that guitar?” They always say it has a great sound, especially when I
just plug it right into the board.
Did you
use that guitar in Earth, Wind & Fire?
Yeah,
“Shining Star” and a coupla of the others. But I remember it was
the “Shining Star” guitar.
Internet
Question:
Thanks for being such an inspiration to another rhythm player. I have two
questions: 1) Back in the old days, how did you and Johnny decide who would
play what? 2) What effects do you use when performing/recording, and did you
use any effects or multitracking on that hellacious solo from "Shining
Star?" I think that's one of the greatest recorded solos of all time!
—Mark D., Los Angeles, CA
I
played all the guitar parts on ninety percent of the EWF records, except for
that incredible solo on “That's the Way of the World,” which was
Johnny Graham's. On stage, we just learned to complement each other's playin’.
“Shining Star” was all me. The solo was played on a Gibson SG using
an effect called “The Rat,” and the rhythm was done on a Fender
Telecaster. On Al
Dente, my most recent project, I used a wah-wah pedal, blues driver, digital
sampler/delay, and a compression/sustainer. I hope this answers your questions.
Question?
I
noticed in your most recent publicity pictures you're sporting a new guitar.
It
was an attempt to make the Al McKay model. [laughs] The guitar plays
and sounds beautiful, but there's a problem keepin' it in tune. We'll see
what happens...
What are
you using for picks?
I
use Moshay, but they can't be found very easily. It's a nylon pick with a
hole in the middle. In addition, I use Claytons' heavy gauge picks.
Internet
Question:
From early on, I've been told that thin picks are best for playing rhythm,
but you use thick picks—what am I missing? —Steven
D., Santa Fe, NM
Thin
picks never worked for me because my rhythm strokes are hard and I would always
chip or break them. I like the Claytons for playing lines. Question?
Did you
set out to be a rhythm guitar player, or did it just happen?
At
first, I always played lead, but it was the drums that gave me the idea of
doing the rhythm thing. I kinda used chords and thought about what a percussionist
or drummer would play. I started using the guitar more like a percussion instrument
instead of playing the notes and solos. The rhythm thing didn't really come
into focus 'til my Ike & Tina Turner days. Ike's the one that really showed
me how to strum a groove.
Did you
join EWF as a lead or rhythm guitar player?
When
I joined EWF, I was the only guitar player. I met Maurice [White] at a club
in Seattle called The Black and Tan. He was playing drums with Ramsey Lewis,
and I was with a group called The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band. I was playin’
drums as well as guitar. We hit it off, exchanged numbers, and Maurice said
he'd give me a call when he got into L.A. At the time, I was doing contracting
for Stacks records. They were bringing all these acts into town. I was the
guitar player and musical director, as well as the contractor. If it was Johnny
Taylor or the Staple singers, or whoever was coming in, I would put the bands
together for whomever the act was. Maurice contacted me about joining the
band, but I told him that I had this contracting job that might clash. He
said not to worry about it. After a few gigs, things were going great and
then it happened. There was a gig on Saturday night for EWF, and I had a gig
at the “Whiskey,” which was pretty substantial for me at that time.
It was all union, and it was a lot more dollars. So, I took that one. When
I came back, I had been replaced. Johnny Graham had the gig. They went on
without me for about two months, then I got a call from Maurice to come have
Thanksgiving dinner over at his house, which I thought was real strange.
But I went. There was a band meeting and they all wanted me back in, and that's
how I got back in. Everything worked out fine afterwards.
When did
your song writing come into play?
Maurice
would just start singing melodies to the things I was playing, and that's
how the whole writing thing kinda came about.
What was
your first collaboration?
The
first song we did was called “Flowers,” but “Singasong,”
“Best of My Love,” and “September”—those were the
three that really did well.
What was
your favorite EWF album?
“Spirit”
and “All 'N All.”
Who have
you been hearing nowadays that's strummin a good groove?
I
really don't hear any new guys layin’ down the groove. It's mostly drum
machines and keyboard players. The best groovers are the vets.... Nile Rogers,
Jimmy Nolan [James Brown], Wah Wah Watson, Leo Nocentell [The Meters]—those
guys are still kings.
You mentioned
Wah Wah Watson. Didn't you two do some work together?
We
did some film scores along with some recordings for Motown. I've always admired
his playing.
In '79,
you and Maurice produced “Boogie Wonderland” featuring The Emotions.
Maurice has been quoted as saying, “It was our contribution to disco.”
But wasn't the whole I Am album somewhat disco-esque?
Not
really. “Boogie Wonderland” at that time was the only disco tune
we cut. After I left the band, they did “Let's Groove,” which, was
pretty much disco.
I particularly
enjoyed Faces, the last EWF album you participated on. Yet, I know you weren't
very pleased with it. Was this one of the reasons it was your last record
with the group?
Faces
to me was overproduced. It lost a lot of the raw grooves that we were known
for. I don't think it even had one successful single.
Though
the next album [Raise] did well, everything after that went downhill ‘til
EWF's breakup in ‘83. Maybe you had seen the writings on the wall?
I
left the band in ‘81 and, yes, I could sense it—things were getting
real tense during the Faces sessions. Maurice was hiring a lot of guest musicians
that didn't have anything to do with the EWF sound—guys like David Foster,
[Steve] Lukather, Marlo Henderson. I appreciated Maurice's efforts in trying
to keep the music current, but he wasn't allowing us, the band, to have the
first stab at it. So I moved on.
Speaking
of Lukather, did you know of him before the Faces sessions?
Oh,
yeah, I've known Steve since he was sixteen, and he was a monster player then!
Internet
Question:
How did you meet Steve L. and had you worked together before EWF? —Dennie
Heye •
Designer
of the Official Toto Web site.
I
met Steve when he was working with a bass player friend of mine named Phil
Kelsey. Even then, Steve was one helluva guitar player. Later, I saw him playing
with Boz [Scaggs] in concert. By then, he was a real hot-dog. Michael Landau
was also there on guitar and just as impressive! Question?
Internet
Question:
As much as the world respects Sir George Martin's masterful productions with
The Beatles, it must've felt great to have won three Grammys for the band's
version of “Got To Get You Into My Life,” featured in the Sgt. Pepper
movie. Isn't this a real testament to the EWF sound? —Paul
F., Seattle, WA
Yeah,
that was a fun track to do. We cut it in a small studio in Denver, Colorado.
Larry [Dunn] came up with the arrangement, Maurice did the vocals, and I did
all the guitars. The track came together in no time at all. Question?
Internet
Question:
I was wondering what type and gauge strings you used, as well as the type
of guitar you played on Finis Henderson's "Skip to My Lou"?
Hi, I used Dean Markley gage 11's on my 335 on Skip to My Lou. Question?
Internet
Question:
I have two questions for Al McKay. What type and brand of effects did you
use on "Don't Ask My Neighbors" and " Getaway"? And what
is your typical effects setup now? Thank you. Yours truly, Eric
On ''Don't Ask My Neighbor," I used a Fasier
and wah-wah pedal... On "Getaway." I did three guitar parts—no
effects. Question?
Internet
Question:
Three quick questions: Did you use a chorus or any other kind of effect on
"Be Ever Wonderful," Is there a guitar part in the original "Reasons,"
and how did "I'll Write A Song For You" come about? Thanks. T.
I used a Boss Chorus on Be Ever Wonderful, there was no guitar part in the
original Reasons and I'll Write a Song For You came about with the help of
Steve Beckmier and Phillip Bailey. Question?
Internet
Question:
As a fellow southpaw Strat slinger, I grew up listening to EWF (and still
do). I have admired your playing for many years, and whether it was a solo
or rhythm part, you always gave the song exactly what was needed. Now my question
is a two parter. (1) Why don't you do an instruction book/video on your unique
playing style? (2) What was the main rhythm groove chord progression on Flowers
and what effect did you use that is smooth yet still funky? Be Listening At
Ya' —"The Thrill"
I've done three guitar videos - one by Star Licks [out
of print]
and two by Rittor Music [Funk
Rhythm Guitar and Funk Rhythm & Groove]
all distributed by Hal
Leonard. On "Flowers," I played four different guitar parts
using a Boss Chorus and the Roland Space Echo… < Remember that one? Question?
Internet
Question:
I have both the "Live in Rio" and "Alive in 75" CD's.
Two big differences stick out on those two CD's. On the "Rio" CD
the guitars are mixed further in the back and the pace is much faster. Was
this a conscious decision by Maurice back then to change the way you guys
sounded live? —Regards, Aaron.
There
are all kinds of changes on the live in "RIO" record. Everything
sounds like we're on speed, but that's youth. The concert was back in 1979—I
don't know why they say it was in 1985. I was gone by then. It's not a bad
CD… but ain't a good one either. We played a couple of nights in RIO
and to me, we did much better shows then the one that was released. The other
live CD I played on was "Gratitude." That's it! —Peace, Al
McKay
Interview
to be continued...
Download
a brief MP3 off of Al McKay's new album “Al Dente”
Singasong
l Getaway
Do
you have a question for Al McKay?
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