CMA Musician of the Year Mac McAnally Suffers a Heart Attack
Mac McAnally is recovering after suffering a heart attack while in Los Angeles.
The songwiter — who recently won his ninth CMA Musician of the Year trophy — had a heart attack on Nov. 13, which forced him to cancel his performance at Sunday's (Nov. 19) hurricane benefit in Tallahassee, Fla., with Jimmy Buffett, Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith and Jake Owen.
“Mac is doing well,” publicist Elaine Schock of Shock Ink tells Taste of Country. “He was released from the hospital last week and planning to resume work soon.”
McAnally is a singer, songwriter and session musician in Nashville and also a member of Jimmy Buffett's band the Coral Reefers. Following McAnally's heart attack, Buffett shared details with fans via Facebook.
"OK, by now, most folks have heard about Mac's heart attack, which was a little more serious than a Big Mac attack," Buffett writes. "He is fine now and stable and should leave the hospital tomorrow, which is great news for all of us. Sadly he will not make the hurricane benefit this Sunday in Tallahassee."
McAnally is tied with Chet Akins for the number of Musician of the Year trophies. He is also a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame — he has penned hits for Alabama ("Old Flame"), Kenny Chesney ("Down the Road," "Back Where I Come From"), Shenandoah ("Two Dozen Roses") and Sawyer Brown ("Thank God for You," "All These Years") among many, many other.
The Best Country Songs of 2017