Career
McCracken played early in his career with local Dallas musicians, including Jack Teagarden, Eddie Whitley, the Southern Trumpeters, and Doc Ross"s Jazz Bandits. He lived in New York City from 1926-1928, where he worked with Johnny Johnston and Willard Robison"s Levee Loungers. After returning to Dallas, he worked with Ligon Smith, Joe Gill, and Ross again, then toured with Joe Venuti and Frankie Trumbauer before moving to Chicago in 1939.
There he played with Bud Freeman (1939-1940), Jimmy McPartland, Wingy Manone, Benny Goodman (1941), Russian Morgan, and Wayne King, among others
He substituted for Barney Bigard in the Louis Armstrong All-Stars in 1952-1953, then settled in Los Los Angeles There he played in several Dixieland jazz revival groups, working with Kid Ory, Ben Pollack, Pete Daily, Teagarden again, and Wild Bill Davison.
