I first met Mac Davis (Millen) when I joined the Edisto River Band. We played together for about two years and I got to know him very well. The first thing that struck me about Mac was how easy it is to get along with him! He is the most laid back and likable guy you would ever want to meet and he possesses a wicked sense of humor as well. We both shared primary vocal duties in the band and I can say after looking back over the years that Mac was technically one of the most “pitch-perfect” singers to harmonize to that I have had the privilege to work with! A truly talented man, a good friend, and a dedicated musician who has been entertaining folks in this state for many years I can’t say enough good things about him…
 
Mac Millen Bio:
Well, first things first. Let me get my name straight with you right off the bat. Most of you around the Orangeburg area know me as Mac Davis (I’ll get to the Mac Millen name in a minute).  I’m from Denmark, SC and I have been doing some kind of music, seems like my whole life. I think seeing the Beatles that Sunday night on the Ed Sullivan show started this whole music thing rolling.  I started singing in our church choir when I was thirteen, then I was a drummer in the high school band. About the ninth grade, I ran into Michael Covington and he knew a guy named Eddie Hutto who played guitar, Eddie knew a guy who played bass and we started the band Omega. I finished high school and went off to college but kept playing drums/vocals on weekends with the band Blue Thunder with Eddie (guitar/vocals), Elizabeth Hightower (keyboards/flute/vocals), Billy Herman (bass) and Dale Patrick (drums/vocals).

 

I took some time off to finish school and around the early eighties, I was the drummer/vocalist in the original Edisto River Band. There were several lineups in that band. Originally, Eddie Hutto (guitar/vocals), Elizabeth Hutto (keyboard/flute/vocals), the late Gus Eubanks (bass/vocals) Jeffrey Padgett (lighting/percussion) and Bobby Padgett (sound and bookings). Also, Wes Johnson (guitar/vocals). Later members of ERB were: David Cooler (keys/guitar/vocals), Jerry Axson (guitar/vocals), Hal Axson (bass/vocals) and Tommy Tant (guitar/vocals).

 

After the Edisto River Band, I was the drummer/vocalist with the Sands. Jeffrey Padgett and Tommy Tant were in that band. That band featured Billy Shaw who had sung with the Drifters and Skip Pearson, great sax player who is a big draw in the Columbia Jazz scene.

 

The next band was a homecoming of sorts for me. I became the drummer/vocalist for Silver Creek. I joined back up with Eddie and Elizabeth Hutto, Bobby and Jeffrey Padgett, Rodney “Tubb” Ballard (guitar/lead vocals) and Fred Jeffers (bass/vocals). We had a good couple of years, especially opening for the Nashville acts coming through Orangeburg at the Silver Spur Club.

 

The last regular working band I was with was Two Hits and a Miss out of Barnwell. We played the lower part of SC and some Georgia. I played drums/vocal with Dave Horne (guitar/vocals) and Deb Horne (bass/vocals). Dave was a former Nashville touring guitarist who once shared the stage with Carl Perkins (he wrote several of Elvis’s big hits, like Blue Suede Shoes, etc).

 

So, back to my name! These days I’m a singer/ songwriter and I work out of my studio in Blackville when I’m not doing the day job. I had to get a writer’s name, so that’s why I also go by Mac Millen since I’m a Nashville Songwriters Association International member. I released a CD last year entitled, "Songs Found By The Cotton Field" (CDBaby).  I’m working on new material for the next CD and I occasionally play drums/vocals with The Cove Band (beach, 60’s), play bass and some guitar/vocals for Graham’s Turnout (bluegrass/gospel) and guitar/vocals with the Bill Humphries Band (folk, soft rock). I do house concerts and special church music also.