Billy Mack and the Juke Joint Johnnies

Thank you again for the fantastic music that Billy Mack & the Juke Joint Johnnies provided for the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter's 40th Anniversary Celebration in Lansing on October 5, 2007.

We were thrilled by your musical variety and your talented performance. Billy Mack & the Juke Joint Johnnies provided exactly what we needed for this event! You read our audience beautifully - folks were slow to warm up to dance, but your positive energy and good humor got everyone up and dancing in no time. You took requests easily from our audience, playing a good variety of old and new, fast and slow songs that had folks tapping their feet and singing along. Moreover, I really appreciate how flexible you all stayed throughout the night, especially when it was getting late, and you let the crowd talk you out of taking a break, and instead kept everyone dancing while playing the faster rock songs they requested.

(Pictures from the event) clearly illustrate how much fun folks were having dancing, and the fantasic energy of the band. Should you ever need a reference for Billy Mack & the Juke Joint Johnnies, you're welcome to have folks call me or our Director . . . thanks again!

Wendi Tilden
Development Director - Wendi Tilden, Development Director

We booked Billy Mack and the Juke Joint Johnnies to sing at our 2007 event. What a fantastic job they did! We enjoyed them so much that we’ve already invited them to perform again in 2008. Billy Mack & The Juke Joint Johnnies was the first band that got the crowd to their feet and on the dance floor. They play covers that everybody knows, and their original music is great, too! Billy will jump right into the middle of the audience and get them all singin’ along!

Sometimes with a large outdoor event like the Fun Fest, there is so much to do and see that people will stop by to listen, but don’t always stay. If the entertainer doesn’t grab their attention in those first few moments, they move on to something else. I can tell you that when people stopped and listened to this band, they sat right down and watched the entire performance.

On behalf of HERO I would highly recommend Billy Mack and the Juke Joint Johnnies. They are exceptionally talented performers and will give you a great show!

Laura Gibson
Entertainment Chair
Hamburg Enhanced Recreation Organization
- Entertainment Chairperson

"Red Hot Rockabilly with a touch of Western swing -- red hot and very cool!"
-- Unkle Sherman, KPIG Radio 107.5 FM, Santa Cruz, CA

"Billy Mack and the Juke Joint Johnnies don't just play music, they put on a show, and their energy level is out of control! This band has the innate ability to include the crowd in this entertainment frenzy. Whatever you do, don't miss seeing this group, and don't leave home without your dancing shoes!
--Johnny Johnson, Chelsea Summerfest (former coordinator) and Chelsea Bowlapalooza

"Your Top Dog CD has some great stuff there! I especially love "Top Dog" and "Wish Me Well." Simply superb!!
--Ron Weiser, legendary rockabilly record producer

"Wow, great songs! Terrific playing! Thanks so much for this music . . ."
--Randy McNutt, author of"We Wanna Boogie", and other music industry books

"Billy Mack is in the here and now, but he brings back the day when country was country, and rockabilly was cool. That was a golden era that shall never be again, save when Billy Mack takes the stage and sings with that incredible instrument he calls his voice. Hats off to you, Billy!"
-- Joe Summers, master jazz guitarist/musician/songwriter

- Individual

The music turns heads and makes necks crane on Main Street. Is this Crazy Wisdom Bookstore? Isn't their usual fare singers/songwriters softly strumming acoustic guitars? What's this rockin' from upstairs? This is Billy Mack & the Juke Joint Johnnies playing -- for them -- toned down, and unplugged.

Not that Billy and the JJJ's seem to have made much of a concession to the cozy confines of the tearoom. Though their PA is probably only set on three, it's still plenty loud enough to drown out the espresso machine, and your neighbors -- unless they shout. Drummer Paul Koch has brought his mini bebop kit; the bass drum is barely bigger than a typical snare, and he plays with the Hot Rod sticks that produce less volume than standard ones, but still allow him to whack with plenty of energy. Lead guitarist Kevin Winters happily picks his way through one sizzling solo after another on his Telecaster, while Rick Lee contributes pounding bass lines on a standard Fender and a futuristic-looking electric bass.

And there's Billy Mack. All in black, with the short sleeves of his shirt turned up like a West Side Story Jet, long, disheveled pompadour, reverbed voice complete with Elvis hiccups and Jerry Lee Lewis screams, he's the picture and soundtrack of the fifties. But his is no slavish impersonation. Billy and the JJJ's don't just play this music - they own it.

It's a shame there's no room to dance. The Tea Room is crammed with chairs and tables and sofas. Only the aisle is free, but Billy frequently commandeers that, strutting and slithering along it with his cordless mike, occasionally jumping on one of the few empty chairs, or melodramatically dropping to his kknees and offering the mike to an audience member, working the crowd with just the right mix of moxie and excess.

This is your daddy's -- and maybe your granddaddy's -- rock and roll, and that a good thing. Reliable, sturdy, and as much fun as a '56 Chevy, this is the rockabilly that Grandma and Grandpa dancd o before you were a glint in anybody's eyes: songs so familiar you can't remember when you didn't know them, mostly rockers, some original Billy Mack gems, and the occasional ballad like the ones the walls of the Tea Room are accustomed to reflecting.

They close the night with "What a Wonderful World," complete with Billy's very credible Louis Armstrong imitation on the bridge, and heartfelt and genuine the rest of the way. The whole crowd sings along. We've been smiling for hours. We've temporarily forgotten about the slumping Michigan economy, the war in Iraq, and global warming. Billy and the JJJ's encore with "Please Give Me Something to Remember You By." They already have.

- Sandor Slomovits, Ann Arbor Observer - - Ann Arbor Observer

"Billy Mack is an outstanding singer, and is blessed with a sublime songwriting talent and voice. If you get his CD (Top Dog), you won't regret it. The only disappointment may be that there are only ten songs!"
--Boppin' Around Magazine (Dutch magazine)

"This CD (Queen of the Idle Hour Inn) is the successor to his first (Top Dog), and is neatly recorded in a clean style . . . Mack does not hide his identity as a percussionist, as noted in the song "Bring My Baby Back," a funny rock and roll number. The fact that Mack is a fine songwriter is also apparent; for example, we thought the song "How Low Can You Go" must be a cover, but it turned out to be an original! This is an excellent CD."
--Boppin' Around Magazine (Dutch magazine) - Dutch Rockabilly/Rock Magazine

This album kicks into action with Billy Mack's theme song, "Top Dog," which ends with a tough guy/hepcat spoken word. "I got nothin' to lose . . . I'm a "Top Dog" with a baaaaad attitude! Ha ha ha haaaaah!" Sounds like Wolfman Jack meets the Big Bopper!

Mack has a great voice, and a talent for the techniques of hillbilly singing (the voice yelpin' higher at the end of a vocal line), and the songs he both writes and covers shows it off well. Mack is also on drums here, and is backed by a large cast of cats 'n kittens on various instruments and backing vocals.

There's alot of variety within Mack's rockabilly. "Wish Me Well" is the kind of lonesome ballad that Ricky Nelson sang in the movie "Rio Bravo," while "Tricky Business" is more like something Elvis would have broken into in "Blue Hawaii." Another crooner entry is the obligatory cover of "Blue Moon," where he strains quite effectively for some tormented Roy Orbison whines.

Two more tunes that showcase Mack and company's wide range of influences include their version of "Honey Hush," which is only a little too smooth for a drunken radio minister to play on his program; same for "Hold On," where the piano falls just short of Jerry Lee's hammering.

This album has no shortage of rockin', though, especially when sounding like veteran rockabilly man Ray Campi on "Long Gonner," "Smooth Step" and "Come Back." "Long Gonner" particularly has Campi's nervous (nervous!!) energy, quick stuttering rhythmns, wild man "Whew!" shouts and the ultra-twanged guitar break that showcases several playing techniques all in one brief solo.

In "Smooth Step," Mack sums up the album with some more great words of wisdom: "Rockabilly baby with a smooth step/C'mon rockabilly baby with your cool daddy, rockabilly baby with your cool dad!" - Sir Kevin May

"Billy Mack is an outstanding singer, and is blessed with a sublime songwriting talent and voice. If you get his CD (Top Dog), you won't regret it. The only disappointment may be that there are only ten songs!"
--Boppin' Around Magazine (Dutch magazine)

"This CD (Queen of the Idle Hour Inn) is the successor to his first (Top Dog), and is neatly recorded in a clean style . . . Mack does not hide his identity as a percussionist, as noted in the song "Bring My Baby Back," a funny rock and roll number. The fact that Mack is a fine songwriter is also apparent; for example, we thought the song "How Low Can You Go" must be a cover, but it turned out to be an original! This is an excellent CD."
--Boppin' Around Magazine (Dutch magazine) - Dutch Rockabilly/Rock Magazine

"Billy Mack, leader of Billy Mack & the Juke Joint Johnnies, calls the band's music 'atomic roots rock', and when you give it a listen, you know he's not kidding! The quartet plays high-energy Americana with a funkabilly twist."

"A show of roots originals and covers that draws from rockabilly, vintage rock 'n' roll, country swing and hillbilly bop. . . The group's originals include crowd favorites like 'Top Dog' and 'Queen of the Idle Hour Inn' . . . a highlight of their set is 'Grease Ball Free For All.' "

"Prior to performing with the Juke Joint Johnnies, (Billy Mack) toured nationally with The Starlight Drifters The band's fame has spread well beyond our area." - portion of writeup by Roger LeLievre

"Billy Mack, leader of Billy Mack & the Juke Joint Johnnies, calls the band's music 'atomic roots rock', and when you give it a listen, you know he's not kidding! The quartet plays high-energy Americana with a funkabilly twist."

"A show of roots originals and covers that draws from rockabilly, vintage rock 'n' roll, country swing and hillbilly bop. . . The group's originals include crowd favorites like 'Top Dog' and 'Queen of the Idle Hour Inn' . . . a highlight of their set is 'Grease Ball Free For All.' "

"Prior to performing with the Juke Joint Johnnies, (Billy Mack) toured nationally with The Starlight Drifters The band's fame has spread well beyond our area." - portion of writeup by Roger LeLievre