Harry McClintock
Quick Facts
Libra
Biography
Harry Kirby McClintock (October 8, 1884 – April 24, 1957), also known as "Haywire Mac", was an American railroad man, radio personality, actor, singer, songwriter, and poet, best known for his song "The Big Rock Candy Mountains".
Life
McClintock was born on October 8, 1884, in Uhrichsville, Ohio. Both his parents were from nearby Tippecanoe, Ohio; however, his family moved to Knoxville, Tennessee soon after his birth. In his youth, McClintock ran away from home to join the circus and drifted from place to place throughout his life. He railroaded in Africa, worked as a seaman, supplied food and ammunition to American soldiers while working as a civilian mule-train packer in the Philippines, and in 1899 worked as an aid to newsmen in China covering the Boxer Rebellion.
In America, Mac traveled as a railroader and minstrel. He worked for numerous railroads during his life.
On October 8, 1917, McClintock married Bessie K. Johnson in Farmington City, Utah. They had one daughter.
Radio and music
In 1925, McClintock participated in a KFRC Radio talent contest. His performance of his song "The Big Rock Candy Mountains" won him spots on two new KFRC radio shows: a children's program titled Mac and His Gang where he sang popular cowboy songs with his "Haywire Orchestry", and a variety program titled Blue Monday Jamboree, which he hosted with Meredith Willson, Bea Benaderet, Edna Fischer, and future I Love Lucy producer Jess Oppenheimer. McClintock was also a member of Al Pearce's The Happy Go Lucky Hour, a KFRC spin-off of Blue Monday Jamboree, alongside Edna Fischer and Tommy Harris.
"The Big Rock Candy Mountain" reached No. 1 on Billboard's "Hillbilly Hits" chart in 1939. The song was featured in the 2000 Coen brothers' film O Brother, Where Art Thou?. McClintock's song "The Old Chisholm Trail" was featured in the end credits of "The Grandest Enterprise Under God" (episode 5) of the TV documentary miniseries The West. He was included in Robert Crumb's series of "Heroes of Blues, Jazz and Country" trading cards.
Politics
McClintock was an active spellbinder for the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). He served with Frank Little in the Fresno Free Speech Fight from January 12 to March 4, 1911, and participated in the Tucker Utah strike on June 14, 1913, with Joe Hill. McClintock wrote the marching song of the IWW, "Hallelujah, I'm a Bum", and he is credited with being the first person to sing Hill's song "The Preacher and the Slave" in public. In the early 1920s, McClintock worked and organized union men in the oil fields of West Texas, where he met and recruited author Jim Thompson, who later incorporated him into several short stories using the name Strawlegs Martin.
Memberships
- Initiated by W.F. Little into IWW Union No. 66 on March 4, 1911
- Deputy sheriff, San Francisco, California, deputized on February 7, 1930
- Screen Actors Guild, inducted as a member on May 5, 1939
- American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), inducted as a member on September 30, 1940
Selected discography
78s
| Title | Recording Date | Label / Catalog Number | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ain't We Crazy? | 1928-09-06 | Victor V-40101 | |
| The Big Rock Candy Mountains | 1928-09-06 | Victor Talking Machine Co. 21704-B | |
| Hallelujah! I'm a Bum | 1928-03-31 | Victor 21343-B (42137) | Reverse side is "The Bum Song". |
| Get Along, Little Dogies | 1928-03-01 | Victor V-40016 | |
| Fireman, Save My Child | 1929-12-15 | Victor V-40234 | |
| The Texas Ranger | 1928-03-01 | Victor 21487 | |
| Jerry, Go Oil That Car | 1928-03-16 | Victor 21521 | |
| The Bum Song | 1928-03-16 | Victor 21343 | |
| The Trail to Mexico | 1928-03-09 | Victor V-40016 | |
| The Old Chisholm Trail | 1928-03-22 | Victor 21421 | |
| Circus Days | 1928-03-31 | Victor 21567 | |
| Goodbye, Old Paint | 1928-03-01 | Victor 21761 | |
| The Bum Song #2 | 1928-09-06 | Victor 21704 | |
| The Trusty Lariat | 1929-12-15 | Victor V-40234 | |
| My Last Dollar | 1928-03-22 | Victor 23690 | |
| Billy Venero | 1928-03-31 | Victor 21487 | |
| Red River Valley | 1928-03-27 | Vi 21421-B | |
| Roamin | 1929-12-15 | Vi V-40264 | |
| Sam Bass | 1928-03-01 | Vi 22420 | |
| Hobo's Spring Song | 1929-04-30 | Vi 22003-A V-40112 | |
| Jesse James | 1928-03-09 | Vi 21420 LPV548 | |
| If I Had My Druthers | 1929-04-30 | Vi 22003-B V-40112 | |
| Dad's Dinner Pail | 1928-03-09 | Vi 21521 |
LPs
| Title | Year | Label / Catalog Number |
|---|---|---|
| Haywire Mac | 1950 | Cook Records 01124 |
| Harry K. McClintock "Haywire Mac" | 1972 | Folkways Records FD 5272 |
| Hallelujah! I'm a Bum | 1981 | Rounder Records 1009 |
Compilations
| Title | Year | Label / Catalog Number | Track |
|---|---|---|---|
| Songs to Grow On, Vol. 3: American Work Songs | 1951 | Folkways Records 07027 | Track 4: "Jerry, Go Oil That Car" |
| Cowboy Songs on Folkways | 1991 | Smithsonian Folkways 40043 | Track 7: "Utah Carl" |
| Folk Song America, Vol. 1 | 1991 | Smithsonian Collection 461 | Track 5: "Big Rock Candy Mountain" |
| Railroad Songs of the Early 1900s | 1998 | Rounder Select 1143 | Track 20: "Jerry, Go Oil That Car" |
| O Brother, Where Art Thou? | 2000 | Lost Highway Records 170069 | Track 2: "Big Rock Candy Mountain[sic]" |
| Back in the Saddle Again: American Cowboy Songs | 2004 | New World Records | Track 1: "Old Chisholm Trail" |
Bibliography
Stories
- "Railroaders are Tough" (Railroad Magazine, April, 1943)
- "Boomer and Their Women" (Railroad Magazine, December, 1957)
Articles
- "New Publications – Railroad Songs of Yesteryear" (Railroad Magazine, August 1943) Short biography is part of review.
