20 Facts About Steve Mackay

Steve Mackay was an American tenor saxophonist best known for his membership in the Stooges.

Steve Mackay's performances are showcased on three songs on the band's second album, Fun House.

In 1970, Mackay was familiar to the Stooges from his work with the Detroit avant-rock pioneers Carnal Kitchen.

Steve Mackay remained with the Stooges for five months before being fired by Pop in October 1970.

In 2003, Steve Mackay rejoined the Stooges when they played their first show in twenty-nine years at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

Steve Mackay remained with the group until his death in 2015.

Steve Mackay contributed to James Williamson's solo studio debut, Re-Licked.

Steve Mackay was based in Ann Arbor until 1976, when he initially relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area.

In 2000, Stooges biography pages on websites for MTV, VH1, and Rolling Stone included an item indicating that Steve Mackay had died as a result of a heroin overdose in the 1970s.

Scott Nydegger from the small record label and noise collective Radon disproved the rumors by contacting Steve Mackay and arranging to release his first solo recordings.

Radon released the "Death City" single in 1999, and Steve Mackay began to perform and record regularly with a revolving line-up of musicians associated with Radon.

Steve Mackay appeared at live shows by Violent Femmes, with whom he played off and on for over two decades after appearing on their album The Blind Leading the Naked.

The Steve Mackay Ensemble continued to perform live and on radio, and embarked on a tour of the US and Europe in 2006.

In December 2007, Steve Mackay recorded two day sessions at the Big Baldy's Toe studio in Claremont CA, home to Amps for Man Is the Bastard founder Henry Barnes.

Steve Mackay continued to collaborate with the Clubfoot Orchestra members, sitting in occasionally at the Bay Area Boat Club's parties.

Also in 2011, Steve Mackay released North Beach Jazz featuring punk bassist Mike Watt, a member of the reunited Stooges.

Steve Mackay was featured on the record Titans, released in 2012 by the Portuguese stoner-psychedelic rock band Black Bombaim, playing sax on track 'C'.

In September 2012, Steve Mackay joined San Francisco band Coo Coo Birds in the studio, after previously meeting the band's bassist Charles James Gonzalez at Smiley's Saloon in Bolinas, California.

In 2014, Steve Mackay played on the song "A Higher Price To Pay", by the French heavy rock band the Meredith Hunters.

Steve Mackay died in October 2015 from sepsis at a hospital in Daly City, California at the age of 66.