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.(Certified Copy of Birth Record)The State of Ohio, Tuscarawas County Probate Court No. 100191, Record of Births, Date Filed June 4, 1885 Vol. 1, Page 383, No. 35, Witness my signature and the seal of said Court, at New Philadelphia, Ohio, this 26th day of October, 1981. Judge George J. Demis By Janet Lane Deputy Clerk. 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 aide to newsmen in China covering the Boxer Rebellion.
In America, Mac traveled as a railroader and minstrel."He's Gone to the Big Rock Candy Mountain", Railroad Magazine, Vol. 68 No. 6, Oct. 1957 p. 57 He worked for numerous railroads during his life.
On October 8, 1917, McClintock married Bessie K. Johnson in Farmington, 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 active in 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 strike in Utah on June 14, 1913, with Joe Hill.Tucker Utah strike on June 14, 1913 (Salt Lake Tribune)."Joe Hill", Gibbs M. Smith, INC. Peregrine Smith Books, Salt Lake City 1984, photo of spellbinders Mac McClintock and Joe Hill on p. 118 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 TitleRecording DateLabel / Catalog NumberNoteAin't We Crazy?1928-09-06Victor V-40101The Big Rock Candy Mountains1928-09-06Victor Talking Machine Co. 21704-BHallelujah! I'm a Bum1928-03-31Victor 21343-B (42137)Reverse side is "The Bum Song". Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Victor 21343 (Black label (popular) 10-in. double-faced)," accessed October 6, 2021.Get Along, Little Dogies1928-03-01Victor V-40016Fireman, Save My Child1929-12-15Victor V-40234The Texas Ranger1928-03-01Victor 21487Jerry, Go Oil That Car1928-03-16Victor 21521The Bum Song1928-03-16Victor 21343The Trail to Mexico1928-03-09Victor V-40016The Old Chisholm Trail1928-03-22Victor 21421Circus Days1928-03-31Victor 21567Goodbye, Old Paint1928-03-01Victor 21761The Bum Song #21928-09-06Victor 21704The Trusty Lariat1929-12-15Victor V-40234My Last Dollar1928-03-22Victor 23690Billy Venero1928-03-31Victor 21487Red River Valley1928-03-27Vi 21421-BRoamin1929-12-15Vi V-40264Sam Bass1928-03-01Vi 22420Hobo's Spring Song1929-04-30Vi 22003-A V-40112Jesse James1928-03-09Vi 21420 LPV548If I Had My Druthers1929-04-30Vi 22003-B V-40112Dad's Dinner Pail1928-03-09Vi 21521
LPs TitleYearLabel / Catalog NumberHaywire Mac1950Cook Records 01124Harry K. McClintock "Haywire Mac"1972Folkways Records FD 5272Hallelujah! I'm a Bum1981Rounder Records 1009
Compilations TitleYearLabel / Catalog NumberTrackSongs to Grow On, Vol. 3: American Work Songs1951Folkways Records 07027Track 4: "Jerry, Go Oil That Car"Cowboy Songs on Folkways1991Smithsonian Folkways 40043Track 7: "Utah Carl"Folk Song America, Vol. 11991Smithsonian Collection 461Track 5: "Big Rock Candy Mountain"Railroad Songs of the Early 1900s1998Rounder Select 1143Track 20: "Jerry, Go Oil That Car"O Brother, Where Art Thou?2000Lost Highway Records 170069Track 2: "Big Rock Candy Mountain "Back in the Saddle Again: American Cowboy Songs2004New World RecordsTrack 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.
Notes
References
Further reading "Haywire Mac and the Big Rock Candy Mountain" (Stillhouse Hollow Publishers Inc., Copyright 1981) By Henry Young. Santa Fe Railway locomotive engineer Retired Oct. 31, 1974. Goodreads
External links Harry McClintock biography Harry McClintock at AllMusic.