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The BiTS Interview:Mississippi MacDonald

Olli MacDonald is riding high as one of the foremost, in-demand names on the UK blues

scene. Known as Mississippi MacDonald, his earthy vocals and passionate guitar playing
have marked him out as a highly talented interpreter of the blues. He is a student of

blues and soul music and helped secure a marker for the previously unmarked grave

of O.V. Wright. Three times nominee for British Blues Awards, he now has seven albums
under his belt.

BiTS: Tell me something about yourself. Although you’re very popular in the UK, a lot of people don’t know
very much about you, so what are some interesting facts about you?

MM: [Chuckles] I don’t know whether I am that popular then, in which case [laughing]. I’m Mississippi
MacDonald. That’s what folks call me. I live in London, and I was born in
London. I’ve been playing since I was 11 years old and it’s just
recently, I guess that things have really kind of started to take off a bit.
Maybe an overnight sensation after 30 years [laughing] potentially.
The last year or so has been great.
BiTS: What were you playing when you were 11?

MM: I had a very basic acoustic guitar and it was the era of Nirvana
and all those things and I was never really into it, but it all changed
for me, and this is very precise, but it was Wednesday, 7th of
November, 1991, and I went to see Chuck Berry. I went to see him at
a gig, and he came out and he looked fantastic, and he played, and he
sounded just like the records. And I couldn’t really work out what
he was doing. He had a cherry red 335 and had the captain’s hat on
and flared trousers - just brilliant - and it sounded just like all of
those records and part of me thought, I don’t know how he’s doing
this. The other part of me thought I need to work that out. I need to
work out how he’s making those sounds and it was that moment and
then I kind of got into it. I had my dad’s record collection and like
anyone who’s interested in blues and soul and gospel, you start on a
journey and then you look to see who influenced them and where did
that go. I think all of us have got that story in some way, shape, or form.

BiTS: I had the great pleasure of seeing Chuck Berry a couple of times
myself. He was a stunning entertainer. Absolutely amazing.

MM: Yes. This was great. He played for an hour and a half, and I don’t
think he always did play for an hour and a half from what I’ve read,
but he did all the hits, and he did the duck walk across the stage and
he did the splits and all of that, and it was just an extraordinary
experience. Made a real impression on me. And that’s how I got going.

BiTS: That’s where you started having an interest in the blues. Did
you start by records, then? Is that what happened?
MM: Well, no, I was thinking about that the other day. Nowadays, everyone’s got access to streaming and
YouTube, so it’s really accessible, but it wasn’t so much and this was the early 90s. I remember going into what
was the Virgin Megastore and you would look at the album covers and if you had enough confidence, you’d
maybe ask them to put it on for you, but I remember there were two albums. There was Buddy Guy’s “Feels
Like Rain” and that fascinated me because it had a Sunburst Fender Strat on the front cover, and I’d never seen
one of those in real life before. Oh, what’s that? Kind of a space-age thing. And the other one was Albert Collins