Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On September 13, 1949, future bassist Craig “Thunderfingers” MacGregor of the rock band Foghat was born in Sioux City. Playing in the platinum-selling band from 1976 to 1993, as well as rejoining the group in 2005, MacGregor died after a diagnosis of stage four lung cancer in 2015.
After his birth and early childhood on the banks of the Missouri in western Iowa, MacGregor moved with his family to Connecticut. A musical child, MacGregor started on the piano at age 7 before eventually moving on to drums, trumpet, and bass. Starting out with a band named Sawn, the bassist honed his skills touring on the East Coast.
Foghat, originally formed in London in 1971, found itself looking for a basis after relocating to the United States and releasing two self-titled albums. MacGregor joined the band, starting with the album “Night Shift” in 1976. Coming off the success of the single “Slow Ride” from 1975’s “Fool for the City,” the band went double platinum with 1977’s “Foghat Live.”
MacGregor also played with a variety of other bands, including Randy and the Radiants, the Kneetremblers, and Buck Dharma. MacGregor spent the end of his life fighting for the Patient Test Results Information Act after doctors first detected his lung cancer in 2012 in an early phase but did not disclose the test results to him. #IowaHistoryDaily #IowaOTD #IowaHistoryCalendar
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