Background
Arnold was born in Ware Place South Carolina, one of 13 children born and raised on a sharecropper"s farm.
Arnold was born in Ware Place South Carolina, one of 13 children born and raised on a sharecropper"s farm.
His early career included working with a young James Brown in the band, J. Floyd & the Shamrocks. Arnold moved to Chicago in 1965, where he worked with A.C. (before Christ) Reed prior to joining Muddy Waters" band in 1966. Arnold appears on the November 1966 live recording with Muddy released in 2009 as Muddy Waters - Authorized Bootleg.
He formed the Soul Invaders in 1967, finding work backing up B.B. King, The Temptations, and others
His studio work in the 1960s includes playing bass on several notable blues albums, including Otis Spann"s The Blues Is Where lieutenant"s At, and John Lee Hooker"s Live At Cafe Au Go Go. He performed in various session work after moving to California in the 1970s.
His television work also included a four-year gig as part of the set band on Soul Train. By the 1990s, Arnold had grown weary of the road life and returned home to Pelzer, South Carolina and virtual retirement from the spot light until 2006 when he was convinced to front his own band, Plate Full O" Blues.
Arnold"s return to the stage was the subject of a documentory, Stan Woodwards final film, Nothing to Prove: Mac Arnold"s Return to the Blues.
The Blues Foundation Arnold and the band support the preservation of music education in public schools through the, "I Can Do Anything Foundation", an organization that was started following the release of a song by the same name, written by Mac Arnold and Max Hightower and performed by Plate full O" Blues.