Scotty Mack turned his love of music into a career —
and rockin' fun for dancers across the Mid-South
By Tommy Roberts, Editor
Scotty Mack shows his disk jockey experience every week at Little Rock Bop Club dances, but he's been at it much longer than that.
Originally from El Dorado, Scotty graduated from Hot Springs High School in 1966. Drafted into the United States Army soon afterward, he served one year in Vietnam and was awarded a Purple Heart when he was wounded the night before he was scheduled to process out to the “world.”
After completing his tour of duty for the Army, Scotty entered radio school in Memphis, Tenn., and worked with people like George Kline, a good friend of Elvis Presley.
Lucky career move
Luck was certainly on his side when he got his first radio job. He approached Gus Dickson, owner and manager of KGUS in Memphis, for a job. Someone had just quit and Scotty was hired on the spot. Later, he was hired by KZNG in Memphis, where he stayed for ten years. Then, he moved to KBHS in Hot Springs, where he was program director for fifteen years.
Scotty’s love for radio began when he was about nine years old. He started listening to John R. on WLAC Radio, a Nashville station. There, he got hooked on rhythm & blues music. He also listened to
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Scotty at work around 1984.
(Remember music on vinyl?)
WLS, out of Chicago, and became fascinated with artists like Dion, Buddy Holly and the Platters. He began collecting records at the age of 10. Now, he has 8,000 50s and 60s tunes, on records, CDs and cassettes, in his library of music.
Scotty was the first DJ to start playing 50s and 60s music in Hot Springs. He began the dance parties at Coy’s Steak House in the 1980s. The owner and crew of Coy’s traveled with Scotty to Dallas to study the operation of a popular oldies club there, Studebaker’s. They came back and opened the T-Bird Lounge at Coy’s.
After ten years at Coy’s, he went out on his own. In April 1994, he began the Oldies Dance Party at BootScooter’s Kountry Club, after Alex Ward (the Pig ’n Whistle guy from Memphis ) left.
Catch his act
Working now at KVRE in Hot Springs Village, he also DJs for us and fills in for the Heber Springs Jitterboppers. He’ll be a featured DJ at Bop on the Lake this year and at the Casino Royale party in May.
 In his spare time, Scotty fills his thrill for adventure by stock car racing. He drives No. 222 in the Street Stock Division. Next to oldies, his favorite thing is gettin’ down and dirty on the red clay track. It’s hard to imagine our DJ making like Dale Earnhardt! Be careful out there, Scotty.
In a nutshell, Scotty Mack is one of the best oldies disk jockeys to be found anywhere. He’s on the board of directors of the National Association of R&B DJs. It’s very hard to find anything he doesn’t know about 50s and 60s music (ask him who performs “Rainy Day Bells” and who’s the lead singer) and it’s almost impossible to find a tune he doesn’t have. We’re lucky to have him
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