Music
Steve Mackay
1949–2015 · tenor saxophonist
Ann Arbor saxophonist whose wild tenor lines on the Stooges' Fun House (1970) are some of the most famous horn parts in punk's prehistory.
- Born
Grand Rapids, Michigan- Died
Daly City, California
aged 66- Birth name
- Steven Mackay
- Detroit years
- late 1960s–1976
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Mackay was part of the Ann Arbor and Detroit underground in the late 1960s, playing with the avant-rock group Carnal Kitchen and working at Discount Records, the Ann Arbor record store where Iggy Pop had also clerked. After sitting in with the Stooges several times, he was invited to join two days before the band left Michigan in May 1970 to record Fun House in Los Angeles, and his free-jazz tenor defines “1970” and “L.A. Blues.” Iggy Pop let him go that October. He stayed in Ann Arbor until 1976, playing in local blues-rock bands, then moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, where he worked as a stationary engineer and electrician while recording with underground acts. When the Stooges reunited in 2003 he rejoined them, touring until shortly before his death in 2015.
Highlights
- Saxophone on three songs of Fun House (1970)
- Member of Ann Arbor's avant-rock group Carnal Kitchen
- Rejoined the reunited Stooges from 2003 until 2015
- Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Stooges (2010)
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Worked here · late 1960s–1976
Discount Records (Ann Arbor)
Closed
Ann Arbor record store where he worked while playing in local bands.