Steve Mackay facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Steve Mackay
Mackay in 2014
Background information
Born	(1949-09-25)September 25, 1949 Grand Rapids, Michigan, US
Died	October 10, 2015(2015-10-10) (aged 66) Daly City, California, US
Genres	Rock, jazz
Instruments	Saxophone
Years active	1970–2015
Associated acts	The Stooges, Carnal Kitchen, Violent Femmes, Estel

Steve Mackay (born September 25, 1949 – died October 10, 2015) was an American tenor saxophonist. He was most famous for being a member of the band The Stooges. You can hear his saxophone playing on three songs from their second album, Fun House, released in 1970.

Joining The Stooges

In 1970, Steve Mackay was already known to the band The Stooges. He played with a group called Carnal Kitchen in Detroit. After playing with The Stooges a few times, their lead singer, Iggy Pop, asked him to join the band. This happened just two days before they went to Los Angeles to record their album Fun House.

Steve Mackay played with The Stooges for about five months. He left the band in October 1970. Later, he said he was "somewhat grateful" to leave. The band was having a tough time finding enough chances to perform.

In 2003, Steve Mackay rejoined The Stooges. They played their first show in 29 years at a big music event called the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. He stayed with the band until he passed away in 2015. During this time, he played on several of their albums. These included live albums like Telluric Chaos (2005) and studio albums like The Weirdness (2007) and Ready to Die (2013).

Other Music Projects

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Steve Mackay played with many different musicians. He worked with bands like Violent Femmes and Commander Cody. He also played with groups such as Smegma and Zu.

He lived in Ann Arbor for a while. There, he continued to play with Carnal Kitchen. He also played with a blues rock band called the Mojo Boogie Band. In 1976, he moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. To support his music, he worked at sewage treatment plants.

In the late 1980s, Mackay played in a new version of Carnal Kitchen. His wife at the time, Annie Garcia-Mackay, was a blues singer and bassist in the band.

Rumors of His Death

By the 1990s, Steve Mackay's music career seemed to slow down. He moved to Pacifica, California, and started working as an electrician. Many people thought he had died. In fact, some music websites like MTV and Rolling Stone even said he had passed away in the 1970s.

No one knows exactly how this rumor started. One idea is that a music journalist misheard a song lyric. Another rumor spread because a marathon runner with the same name died. However, a record label called Radon found Steve Mackay. They proved he was still alive and released his first solo music.

New Music and Tours

Radon released a song called "Death City" in 1999. After that, Steve Mackay started performing and recording more often. He worked with a group of musicians called the Radon Ensemble. They went on their first big tour in 2003.

Mackay performing in 2007

Steve Mackay also played live shows with the band Violent Femmes.

In 2005, Radon released an album called 30 Years of Service. This album was a collaboration between Smegma and Mackay. He also released his own album, Michigan and Arcturus, in 2006.

In 2007, Mackay recorded new songs. One of these was "Prisoner," which he wrote in 1984. In 2009, Iggy Pop added his voice to this song. It was later used in a French movie.

Mackay kept working with other musicians. In 2011, he released a new album called Sometimes Like This I Talk. This album featured other members of The Stooges. He also released North Beach Jazz in 2011, which included punk bassist Mike Watt. In 2012, he played saxophone on a song for the Portuguese rock band Black Bombaim.

In 2014, Steve Mackay played on a song for the French band the Meredith Hunters. He also toured with a band called Bunktilt. In 2015, he was featured on an album by the experimental punk band Round Eye. His final recordings appeared on their second album, Monstervision, released in 2017.

His Passing

Steve Mackay passed away in October 2015. He was 66 years old. He died from an infection called sepsis at a hospital in Daly City, California.

A special event was held to honor Steve Mackay in February 2016. Many musicians played, including Jello Biafra and Mike Watt. They performed songs from The Stooges' Fun House album. Iggy Pop also sent a short poem that was played for everyone there.

Music Albums

with The Stooges

• Fun House (1970)
• Telluric Chaos (2005)
• The Weirdness (2007)
• Have Some Fun: Live at Ungano's (2010)
• Raw Power Live: In the Hands of the Fans (2011)
• Ready to Die (2013)

with Estel

• Untitled EP (2009) featuring Mike Watt

with James Williamson

• Re-Licked (2014)

Solo albums

• Michigan and Arcturus (2006)
• Sometimes Like This I Talk (2011)
• North Beach Jazz (2013)