Pat McClaughlin and the Roughnecks

Pat McLaughlin is a maverick. The revered, if a bit enigmatic, singer, songwriter and guitarist has spent years honing his layered style. Dedicated only to the pursuit of a new groove or an old feeling, his songs rehash the sights and sounds of a reformed nomad with roots in Iowa, footprints in San Francisco, New Orleans and Chicago, and a home in Nashville. Raised in Waterloo, Iowa, McLaughlin landed in San Francisco, California, in the early 1970s. He had given college in Arizona a try but found the lure of music unshakable. In California, Pat began to write songs, playing alone at open mic nights and in the streets near the bay.

McLaughlin’s compositions have been recorded by a jaw-dropping array of artists including Bonnie Raitt, Alan Jackson, Taj Mahal, Trisha Yearwood, Al Kooper, Nanci Griffith, Josh Turner, Shawn Camp and Don Williams. Gary Allan recorded Pat’s “Songs About Rain,” securing yet another BMI Country Award for McLaughlin. An in-demand studio musician, Pat’s guitar “chunking” finessed projects by Jamie Hartford, Rosanne Cash, Julie Roberts, Don Williams, Al Cooper, Shawn Camp, Cowboy Jack Clement, Neil Diamond and many more. As further testament to McLaughlin’s skill, engineer David Ferguson called on Pat to play acoustic guitar for the final Johnny Cash recording sessions. A frequent collaborator of John Prine, Pat McLaughlin frequently finds himself working alongside legends. Rolling Stone called McLaughlin “a tasty, rootsy gem,” while he prompted the Tennessean’s Peter Cooper to spout poetry: “Groove and soul, slink and stutter, groove and soul, wisdom and pain, groove and soul.”