#the dirty mac

[elvispresley]

♪ And you know what it's worth ♪

John Lennon, Eric Clapton and Keith Richards from The Dirty Mac performing Yer Blues (1968)

[dadrockconfessions]

[bluesrocknrollingstones]

Rock N Roll Circus, 1968

Photos by Mike Randolph

[theballadofmickandkeith]

[rhapsodynew]

The Dirty Mac: a supergroup that lasted only one evening

So, meet the British supergroup The Dirty Mac! And here are the participants:

John Lennon (vocals, rhythm guitar)

Eric Clapton (lead guitar)

Keith Richards (bass guitar)

Mitch Mitchell (drums)

The really cool supergroup is The Dirty Mac, with Eric Clapton, John Lennon, Mitch Mitchell and Keith Richards, 1968

The figures of The Beatles, Cream, The Rolling Stones and The Jimi Hendrix Experience gathered in one group at the same time! Probably, The Dirty Mac is the most stellar supergroup in the history of rock. But why did it last so little?

The fact is that The Dirty Mac musicians initially did not expect to continue their joint activities. This supergroup was formed specifically for the sake of a single performance at the famous Rock and Roll Circus Rolling Stones show on December 11, 1968. In addition to The Dirty Mac, they also performed on this show The Rolling Stones, and The Who, Jethro Tull, Marianne Faithfull and Taj Mahal. It turned out to be a real extravaganza, the footage of which can be seen in a small trailer:

The newly formed supergroup John Lennon and Mick Jagger, the main inspirer of The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus. After chatting sweetly for about a minute, they finally introduced all the musicians (Lennon introduced himself as "Winston Leg-Hip"), and The Dirty Mac took the stage. The most unusual thing was probably to see Keith Richards was behind the bass, but apparently they trusted him more in terms of soloing on the electric guitar Eric Clapton.

The Dirty Mac's "leader" John Lennon's song "Yer Blues" from The Beatles' just-released "White Album" was chosen for performance. It sounded dirty and depressing on the record, so when performed by The Dirty Mac it turned out to be appropriate - heavy and very powerful. So the word "Dirty" in the band's name comes in handy here. (Curiously, the prefix "Mac" was also chosen by John Lennon not by chance, but by analogy with the famous Fleetwood Mac band).

Then several other members joined the supergroup: an Israeli violinist Ivry Gitlis and Yoko Ono, with whom the song "Whole Lotta Love Yoko" was performed. A video image of this action can probably be found only in the full version of the "Rock and Roll Circus", which is not freely available, so we will be content with only an audio recording and let our imagination run wild.

Thus, The Dirty Mac actually functioned for less than one day, ceasing to exist simultaneously with the completion of the filming of "Rock and Roll Circus".

At that moment, each of its participants was going through a difficult but turning point in their lives.

Less than a month ago, another supergroup Cream broke up, and Eric Clapton went free swimming. A little later, he and Ginger Baker will join another supergroup, Blind Faith, which will last even less afloat.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience was also on the verge of collapse. Soon the bass player will finally leave it Noel Redding, and Mitch Mitchell will continue to play with Hendrix in other bands.

Only one Keith Richards held firm in The Rolling Stones, even though they were about to get into trouble. The guitarist felt worse and worse Brian Jones: Very soon he would leave the band, and in July 1969 he would be found dead in his own pool. The Rock and Roll Circus show is his last performance with The Rolling Stones.

The Beatles were not doing better either - their joint career was also gradually declining.

Therefore, the performance of these four great musicians for a few hours is a kind of creative outburst against the background of the ocean of raging passions in their lives, short, but bright and memorable.

Before the start of filming, when asked which guitar amp he wants to use, John Lennon replied: "The one who will play." And The Dirty Mac played. With just a few strokes, demonstrating to the world the full power of rock and roll and making history in a few minutes.

[thecreativemillennial]

Ozzy osbourne paying tribute to the late John lennon

[chaoticdesertdweller]

John Lennon rehearsing for the Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus. 📸 Dick Polak.

[funituregonewrong]

Yer Blues - The Dirty Mac 

John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Mitch Mitchell

[gregsnero]

THE GANG AS LPS!!

took 20 minutes but i think its pretty accurate not gonna lie i outdid myself

charlie

dennis

mac

dee

frank

[elvispresley]

John Lennon, Eric Clapton and Keith Richards from The Dirty Mac performing Yer Blues - 1968

[dadrockconfessions]

[theandrosaur]

I have watched the series. Again.

[bluesrocknrollingstones]

From auctionet

[chrliekclly]

i do not control th art my brain focuses on nd this came to me on a walk

[bugnosestar]

more mac sketches !! full disclosure i drew these while drinking so if that explains the 180 in horny/depressing moods.. uhh yeah. i have lots of thoughts about this guy.