Born on August 17: Maria McKee, country-rock muse of Lone Justice

She was born in 1964 in Los Angeles. She took her first steps in Lone Justice between 1982 and 1987.

She was born in 1964 in Los Angeles. She took her first steps in Lone Justice between 1982 and 1987.

Half-sister of guitarist Bryan MacLean, who was part of the psychedelic band Love in the mid-1960s, she grew up in a bohemian family, close to the West Coast folk and psychedelic scenes. In 1982, at just 18 years old, she founded Lone Justice with guitarist Ryan Hedgecock. The band, which soon incorporated Marvin Etzioni (bass) and Don Heffington(drums), became a pillar of the cowpunk movement along with The Gun Club, Jason & The Scorchers, and Rank & File. Their self-titled debut album, however, wasn't released until 1985. It was produced by Jimmy Iovine, who had also worked with Tom Petty, Patti Smith, and U2. Their music blends country, rockabilly, and gospel. Much of its originality comes from Maria McKee's vocal intensity. She's reminiscent of Emmylou Harris who's taken a good dose of vitamins, or even Dolly Parton on acid!

Produced by Steve Van Zandt (on vacation from Springsteen's E Street Band), the second album, "Shelter" (1986), marked a less original pop-rock evolution, and public interest waned somewhat.

After attending a Lone Justice concert, Dolly Parton herself called Maria "the greatest girl singer any band could ever have." Thus dubbed, the group could have hoped to return to the top. However, this was not the case, and Lone Justice, also subject to the inevitable internal tensions, disbanded in 1987. Despite the deaths of Huffington (2021) and Sutton(2023), Maria McKee reformed her band in 2024 to record "Viva Lone Justice." A third album with her former bandmates, Hedgecock (guitar) and Etzioni (bass), was 37 years in the making!

Maria also has seven personal albums to her name. The latest, "La vita nuova," was released in 2020.

(MH with Stéphane Soupart - Photo : © Etienne Tordoir)

Photo: Maria McKee with Lone Justice on stage at the Elysée Montmartre in Paris, France, on June 3, 1985