OurTupelo

The Mississippi native and 10-time Country Music Association Musician of the Year recipient has lived to tell a story of gratitude and Mississippi roots.

Even the simplest question can get sidelined into story time with a native Mississippian like Mac McAnally, who has long parlayed that skill and considerable musical ones into a decades-long country music career.

His latest album, “Once in a Lifetime,” is due for release July 31. It’s his 15th album right? Well, he counts studio albums and live albums as different, he says, working his way down a mental list. “The first one came out in ’77. Whew, that makes me feel old and irrelevant,” he says with a chuckle and the easy charm that, second only to his guitar work and songs, make his live shows so appealing.

“Once in a Lifetime.” Obviously not a reference the Country Music Association Musician of the Year Award, of which he has enough to last a lifetime. Ten of them. “I don’t know that I deserved a single one, but I do know that I appreciated them.” The title track embodies his positive outlook on each new day.

“I can’t find a reason not to keep on smilin’, come what may, cause every day is once in a lifetime,” he sings in the single that came out in June.

“I wrote that song with my friend Drake White (also featured on it), a great country act on his own,” McAnally says. “We just happened to run into one another at a restaurant in town, having breakfast at separate tables. I was saying ‘Hey’ on my way out of the building, and he asked “How’s everything going?’

“I said “Awesome. Every day is once in a lifetime,’ just as small talk. That’s also how I look at it. I’ve always looked at every day as a singular privilege to be here and make things better, and do something good.

“That’s kind of the way I’m raised, and I give Mississippi a lot of credit. That’s a big part of how I look at life.”

McAnally is a Hall of Fame songwriter, but it was Drake who pounced on that comment, “Aw, man, we need to write that! Or at least, you need to write that!”

“I give him a lot of credit” for recognizing the potential, McAnally says. “Turns out, we wrote it together, and he was gracious enough to sing on it, too. He’s a way better singer than me. We had a big time singing together.”

The song’s lively spirit uplifts another theme alongside optimism: Appreciation. Again. “If you flirt with not being here …” says McAnally, who nearly three years ago suffered four heart attacks over the course of a weekend, “And, lived to tell the story.

“The men in my family, we tend to just sort of drop in the yard at 60 years old. I like to say it’s out of courtesy. We don’t want to be any trouble to anybody,” he says. “We just sort of collapse. That’s probably what, genetically, was supposed to happen three years ago.” But he got the 100 percent blockage cleared, denying the “widowmaker” its due.

“I’m in the bonus round,” McAnally says, still able to play a show and walk a golf course, “And, I’m so blessed for many reasons beyond that.” That in mind, “It goes all caps that every day is once in a lifetime.”

Optimism and hope are just part of McAnally’s make-up. Growing up, his folks wouldn’t let him watch the news, because of how deeply he’d take its conflicts to heart. ‘I can’t really stand for anybody to be on the short end of the stick or for people to not get along.” That makes these divisive times tough. “We have to find a way to emphasize what we have in common. … I believe we’re more equipped to do that than ever before.

“Americans are particularly blessed to be in America. Earthlings are particularly blessed to be on Earth. We’re in a good spot,” he says. “Sometimes we take way too much for granted.” He likes to put some hope out into the world in all of his shows, such as singing a song like “What a Wonderful World,” made famous by Louis Armstrong. “I try to sing somebody else’s positive song, but in my own way, about how proud I am to be here, how lucky I am to be here, and the lot of things I have to be thankful for.”

McAnally co-produced Jimmy Buffett’s new album, “Life on the Flip Side,” along with Michael Utley — a No. 1 country album and No. 2 pop album released in late May. “I’m proud of Jimmy. I’m proud of all of us,” says McAnally, a longtime Coral Reefer Band member. “To be a first-year Baby Boomer and to have a No. 1 album is pretty impressive in your seventh decade. It is an awesome thing.”  McAnally was finishing up that project in the early days of the COVID pandemic, then immediately turned to work on his own album for the summer release.

While the pandemic has put the kibosh on summer touring and live shows, fans can hear McAnally in a live recording from his house studio, live-streamed in June.

His song, “Alive and in Between,” is another of those point-in-life musings. Southern imagery swirls in it — kudzu vines and June bugs, religion and football. The song had its start in an art exhibition, called “Trio,” some years back that paired a literary work with a visual artist and a musical artist to create works in response.

McAnally was matched with Mississippi-raised writer Harrison Scott Key’s memoir, “The World’s Largest Man.” “Somebody knew me pretty well to pick that book,” says McAnally, who grew up in Belmont and shares its north Mississippi backdrop. 

“He wrote beautifully about our area of the state. It also woke up a bunch of childhood memories and stories from Belmont. It’s not a lot different than it was then, and what is different I don’t even see it. When I go there, I’m still a 10-year-old walking down Main Street.” The book brought a brighter focus on that time, he says, and its intro is a guitar lick he’s used tuning instruments for years.

A line in its chorus, “The clock ticks whether you laugh or cry. … Like a June bug in late July, I downplay what it means,” has that gentle nod to mortality. As McAnally says, good-natured as always, “Whatever halftime is, I’m past it.”

But also, as always, he tips his hat to those Mississippi roots for the impact on his musical success. He notes its rich tradition of storytellers (“I don’t know that I’m particularly smart, but I was smart enough to shut up and listen”) and the tight-knit community of his childhood. “You can see, in a small town, how we sort of need one another. A community figures out a way to get along with everybody, because it’s your community.

“I think that gives you a vantage point in life that benefits not only you, but who you come into contact with in life. I’m so grateful that’s where I come from.”

Check out Mac McAnally’s Zoom Tour interview with Mississippi Today’s Editor-at-Large Marshall Ramsey:

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Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today, Report For America

Gov. Tate Reeves answers questions during a press conference concerning the coronavirus pandemic.

Gov. Tate Reeves late Friday announced his three appointments to the commission tasked with coming up with a new state flag design to put before voters — a week after the deadline to make the appointments per a bill he signed into law.

The new commission this week held its first meeting without the appointments of Reeves, who had opposed the Legislature removing the 1894 state flag with its divisive Confederate emblem, saying voters should have decided whether to remove it.

The commission has another meeting scheduled for next week, and plans to approve a new flag design by Sept. 2. That design will go before voters on Nov. 3, for an up-or-down vote. If voters reject it, the commission will work on a new design to put before voters in 2021.

Reeves for the last two weeks had offered little explanation why he hadn’t made his appointments, other than he was busy with the COVID-19 pandemic and other issues.

Although he had signed the flag commission legislation into law without raising such issues, he questioned on Wednesday whether lawmakers have the “constitutional authority to call a meeting of an executive branch entity” or to make appointments to such a commission.

Reeves, as the law stipulated, named his three appointees to the nine-member commission from the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Mississippi Arts Commission and Mississippi Economic Council. Reeves had expressed displeasure that the Legislature restricted his appointments to these groups and placed no restrictions on House Speaker Philip Gunn and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who chose the other six members.

Reeves appointments to the flag commission are:

Mississippi Department of Archives and History: Betsey Hamilton.

Hamilton is a retired public school teacher, real estate broker and appraiser.  Hamilton serves on the board of the Union County Heritage Museum and as a member of the Commission on the Future of Northeast Mississippi. She has previously served as a founding member of the b of the Union County Historical Society and the Tanglefoot Trail. She was a trustee for the New Albany Public School District and a member of the Advisory Council for the New Albany Boys and Girls Club.

Mississippi Economic Council: Tribal Chief Cyrus Ben.

Ben is the fifth democratically elected chief of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. He took office in 2019, making history as the youngest chief. Ben is actively involved in mentoring youth in his community, is a life-long resident of Neshoba County and lives in the Pearl River community.

Mississippi Arts Commission: Frank Bordeaux.

Bordeaux serves as vice president of property and casualty for BXS Insurance. He has been involved with numerous civic and nonprofit organizations over the years, including serving on the Gulfport Youth Sports Association, as a past board member of Feed My Sheep Soup Kitchen, and as a past board member of Lynn Meadows Discovery Center.

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Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today, Report For America

Gov. Tate Reeves

Hours after the state health department reported the second most single-day cases of COVID-19 in Mississippi, Gov. Tate Reeves announced mask mandates for six more counties, as well as statewide restrictions for social gatherings and bars.

“We’ve seen a tremendous amount of spread in young people,” Gov. Reeves said in a press release. “By far, the group driving these high numbers is people in their 20’s. I’ve been talking for about a week about wanting to do something to curb the spread among young, drunk careless folks.”

Mississippians 18 to 29-years-old make up the largest chunk of infections, at 22 percent.

The order limits all social gatherings to 10 people or less indoors, and 20 or less outdoors. It also requires bars to only sell alcohol to seated customers, and to halt alcohol service at bars and restaurants from 11 P.M to 7 A.M. Previous measures, such as limiting those businesses to 50 percent capacity, ensuring 6 feet of separation, and limiting 6 people per table, remain in effect.

In addition to the 23 counties already under a mask mandate, Gov. Reeves’ new executive order applies to: Calhoun, Holmes, Lamar, Montgomery, Winston, and Yalobusha counties. The order goes into effect July 25, and expires Aug. 3.

On Friday, MSDH reported 1,610 new cases and 28 new deaths, bringing the total case count to just under 50,000.

Gov. Reeves signed a separate executive order extending the suspension of work search requirements for unemployed Mississippians until Aug. 8. The order addresses other unemployment policies, such as extending the suspension of the one-week waiting period requirement to receive benefits until Dec. 26.

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Bobby Moak said he will not seek reelection as chairman of the Mississippi Democratic Party. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Mississippi Democratic Party Chairman Bobby Moak, who has led the party since 2016, announced on Friday afternoon he would not seek reelection to the top leadership position — an abrupt decision that shakes up an already dramatic struggle for control of the party.

The announcement, which Moak sent to the party’s 80-member executive committee on Friday afternoon, comes just hours before the committee is scheduled on Saturday morning to elect its leader for the next four years.

Moak, who had previously announced his candidacy and asked for support, was being challenged by at least two people: former longtime Appeals Judge Tyree Irving and longtime state Rep. Earle Banks. In his email on Friday, Moak endorsed Banks for the top job.

“I will not seek the office of Chairman of the Mississippi Democratic Party Executive Committee nor will I seek any elected office of this committee,” Moak wrote in a Friday afternoon email. “It is time we join together as a party and work toward helping our candidates, rather than suffering through petty, in-house political maneuvering. Now is the time for the party to unify behind a candidate that can bring the party together.”

Earlier this month, a group of Irving supporters on the party’s executive committee, who believed Moak was stalling the new leadership vote, utilized an obscure party constitution clause and garnered enough signatures to call their own meeting for Saturday. Moak, in turn, scheduled a meeting for Thursday — two days before the Irving supporters’ special meeting.

But on Thursday morning, Banks publicly announced he was entering the race, prompting Moak to cancel the Thursday meeting. Saturday’s previously scheduled meeting is still on, and committee members are expected to vote to elect their new leader.

Irving on Monday — before Banks entered the race and before Moak dropped out — told Mississippi Today that 45 members of the party’s newly elected 80-member executive committee have pledged support to him, and another eight have told others they’ll vote for him.

It’s unclear how the executive committee may vote now that Banks has entered the race and now Moak has withdrawn.

“It is no secret that during this election for the chair’s position of the Mississippi Democratic Party the process has become contentious and placed friends at political opposites,” Moak wrote on Friday. “The process devolved to something more than it should have. It certainly is not a way to bring the committee or Democrats statewide together. Campaigns like this should be reserved for taking on Republicans in elections around the state.”

Many Democratic leaders and candidates have decried a lack of leadership in the party and support for candidates, particularly amid the party’s dismal showing in the 2019 statewide elections. Republicans swept all statewide offices last year, solidifying supermajority control of the state Legislature and increasing down-ticket wins on the local level.

Some party elders have also criticized Moak and other party leaders for failing to devote resources to electing Black candidates, even as white voters have left the party in droves and Black voters have become a substantial majority of the party’s base. The last six Democratic Party chairmen, including Moak, have been white. Irving and Banks are Black.

The meeting to elect new party leaders is scheduled for Saturday at 10 a.m.

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COVID-19 continues to put more and more stress on Mississippi’s hospitals.

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