North Texas veteran radio DJ and award-winning country music composer Bill Mack died of COVID-19, according to his son, Billy Mack Jr.
Mack, who was a staple on country radio from the 1960s, died early Friday morning just two days after being diagnosed with COVID-19. He was 91 years old.
“I am very sad to tell you that my dad passed away early this morning due to COVID-19 with underlying conditions. He was an amazing father, grandfather, great-grandfather and husband to my mother. I am fortunate to have had not only a great father, but also my best friend, “Mack’s son Billy Mack Jr. said on Twitter.
Mack’s son spoke to NBC 5 on Friday afternoon and said his father suffered from dementia and lived in a memory care center when he was diagnosed with the virus. They both confirmed Wednesday that they had fluid in their lungs and COVID-19 and took him to an ICU in Irving.
Soon after, doctors told the family that Mack had very little time left.
Mack’s son said that since his father was positive for COVID-19, he, his mother and his three sisters were only able to say goodbye in a conference call.
“We have to say goodbye to him yesterday. My sister played Clinging to a Saving Hand, a song he wrote years ago. He said he wanted to hear it, so we played it and tried to sing a little bit with him,” said Mack Jr. “He couldn’t He spoke very well, but his sense of humor was still there. One of the things he said to us, “Guys, please come together, I’m embarrassed in front of the nurse.”
NBC 5 News Billy Mack Jr. smiles as he talks to NBC 5 about his father, legendary DJ and songwriter Bill Mack, on July 31, 2020.
Mack Jr. said the family had taken every precaution against the disease and hoped to be able to visit his father soon, not realizing that when they saw him in March it would be the last time they would see each other face to face.
“You hear stories of nursing homes and people getting infected, but you never thought that would happen,” said Mack Jr., adding that the memory spotlight where his father lived was fantastic and treated him like his family. They are still unsure how the virus entered the facility, and Mack Jr. said his father is believed to be the first resident diagnosed. “My heart is with them too.”
Mack Jr. said his father’s enduring legacy will be that of a great father, a great friend, and that of someone who tried to share stories about music and movies with his family of listeners.
NBC 5 / UNT History Portal Bill Mack in front of the WBAP radio and television studios in 1971.
Mack, who was born in the Panhandle City of Shamrock, was known to his loyal listeners as “Dean of Country Music Disc Jockeys” and “Radio’s Midnight Cowboy” due to his dual status as a country music DJ and songwriter.
He first hit the airwaves in Fort Worth in 1969 as a disc jockey on WBAP 820-AM, where he hosted the Country Roads Show and played music for night truckers.
The show, which aired from the historic WBAP studios where NBC 5 also aired for the first time, was renamed the Midnight Cowboy Trucking Show, which is associated with its nickname. The show, with its clear channel signal, reached listeners in Texas and much of the United States.
NBC 5 / UNT History Portal Bill Mack in his WBAP-AM studio in Fort Worth, 1973.
That show is still on the air, although it is now known as Red Eye Radio. Current host Eric Harley said on Twitter that he was “deeply saddened by the death of longtime friend and former radio partner Bill Mack. A legend. In 1969, he founded the all-night show on WBAP that eventually became Red Eye Radio My love and my prayers go out to Cindy, Billy and their family. Rest in peace, brother. “
“When you see Bill Mack, in the background is the Texas flag, there’s Big Tex at the great Texas State Fair and all those other iconic symbols that go with Texas,” said Harley during an interview with NBC 5.
Harley learned of Mack’s death this morning on Twitter.
“It really is devastating because Bill was more than just a colleague. He was more than just a friend. He was like a brother. It was the perfect companion for everyone I knew, “he said.
Harley grew up listening to Mack’s radio show and then joined him as a co-host.
“He was very nice and I thought to myself this is the legend I’m working with,” said Harley. “One night she said: Son, I’m going to bring you a coffee. And she went down the hall and made us both coffee. He was that kind of man. You couldn’t imagine how kind and gentle he is until you met him in person.
After leaving terrestrial airwaves, Mack hosted a show on XM satellite radio for another decade before leaving in 2011.
The Dallas Morning News Bill Mack, also known as Midnight Cowboy, with his display of golden record songs that he has written for popular country and western singers, appears at his home in Fort Worth, Texas, on Sunday, February 16, 1997.
Mack’s country music songs were recorded by more than five dozen artists, culminating in 1996 with a Grammy Award for the Best Country Song and Country Music Academy Song of the Year and Country Music Music Awards for the song Blue.
That same song also earned 13-year-old LeAnn Rimes her first Grammy for her recording of the song.
Another of Mack’s hits, Drinking Champagne, was a hit for singer Cal Smith in the 1960s and George Strait in 1990. Other popular performances of the song by Dean Martin and Willie Nelson were played live and can be seen on Youtube.
Mack was named a member of the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999 and is a member of the Texas Heritage Composers Association. As for his radio career, Mack was enshrined in Country Music DJ and Radio Hall of Fame in 1982.
Brad Loper / The Dallas Morning News WBAP songwriter and DJ Bill Mack with his Grammy and American Country Music Award in the living room of his East Fort Worth home on Wednesday.
Mack would also present all the concerts at Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth.
“I’m pretty sure if you look up ‘country music’ in the dictionary, you’ll see the picture of Bill Mack,” said Pam Minick of Billy Bob. It really is a walking encyclopedia. The most important thing is that I consider him a great friend. And God, Bill Mack, you’re country music and we’ll miss you. “
Harley said he lost family members to COVID-19 and regrets that they cannot be joined by Mack.
“I know it’s hard when you can’t join as a group, and it would be a great group for Bill. I am telling you right now, he would fill many, many, many churches and it is very difficult to know that his friends that he had could not be there for him, ”he said. “While we cannot be there to show our condolences in person, we are here and we will continue to do so and we will honor him for a long, long time.”
Funeral plans have yet to be announced, but the family said they will hold a service to celebrate his life when it is safe to gather people in the same room.
Mack is survived by his wife Cindy, son Billy, and two daughters Misty and Sunnie. He was preceded in death by a daughter, Debbie.
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