{{Short description|American jazz musician}} {{Use American English|date=September 2021}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}} {{for2|the Canadian politician|Ernie McLean (politician)|Canadian ice hockey coach|Punch McLean}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Ernest McLean | birth_date = {{birth date|1925|3|23}}<ref name="bare">{{cite book| first1= Bob| last1= Eagle| first2= Eric S.| last2= LeBlanc| year= 2013| title= Blues - A Regional Experience| publisher= Praeger Publishers| location= Santa Barbara| pages=174 | isbn= 978-0313344237}}</ref> | birth_place = New Orleans, Louisiana, United States | death_date = {{death date and age|2012|2|24|1925|3|23}} | death_place = Los Angeles, California | genre = Blues, jazz | occupation = Musician | instrument = {{flatlist| Guitar • Banjo • Mandolin }} | years_active = 1945–2010 | label = | associated_acts = Dave Bartholomew, Harold Battiste, Earl Bostic, Fats Domino, Herbert Hardesty, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Dr. John, Smiley Lewis, Earl Palmer, Lloyd Price, Little Richard, Shirley and Lee }} '''Ernest J. McLean''' (March 23, 1925 – February 24, 2012) was an American rhythm and blues and jazz guitarist.
==Career== Born in New Orleans, McLean was the son of musician Richard McLean, who played banjo in a government music project band, and his wife Beatrice.<ref name=hannusch>[http://www.offbeat.com/articles/obituary-ernest-mclean-1926-2012/ Jeff Hannusch, "Obituary: Ernest McLean", ''Offbeat.com'']. Retrieved 28 August 2015</ref> He began learning guitar at the age of 11. After the end of World War II, he joined Dave Bartholomew's band. The band featured drummer Earl Palmer and saxophonists Lee Allen, Herb Hardesty and Red Tyler, and became the best-known in New Orleans. They performed on many recordings, notably those made at Cosimo Matassa's studio. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, McLean was featured on many of the most successful and influential recordings of the era, including Fats Domino's "The Fat Man", Lloyd Price's "Lawdy Miss Clawdy",<ref name=hannusch/> and recordings by Shirley and Lee, Little Richard and Smiley Lewis.
In the late 1950s, encouraged by his friend Scatman Crothers,<ref name=hansen>[http://toursdepartingdaily.com/ladies-gentlemen-ernest-mclean/ Matthew Hansen, "Ladies & Gentlemen, Ernest McLean", ''ToursDepartingDaily.com'']. Retrieved 28 August 2015</ref> McLean followed bandmate Earl Palmer to Los Angeles, where he began working in Earl Bostic's band.<ref name=hannusch/> In the early 1960s he was hired by Walt Disney to perform at Disneyland. There he played jazz standards and regularly performed in the New Orleans Square for the next 35 years.<ref name=hannusch/> He also played on occasional recording sessions for Lou Rawls, Sonny and Cher, and Screamin' Jay Hawkins, most notably featuring on Dr. John's debut album ''Gris-Gris'' recorded in 1967 on which he played guitar and mandolin, an instrument he had never previously played.<ref name=hannusch/><ref>[http://www.ponderosastomp.com/music_more/50/Ernest+McLean Ernest McLean, ''The Ponderosa Stomp'']. Retrieved 28 August 2015</ref>
In 2010, he took part in a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tribute to Dave Bartholomew at Case Western University. He died in Los Angeles in 2012 at the age of 86.<ref name=hannusch/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:McLean, Ernest}} Category:1925 births Category:2012 deaths Category:Rhythm and blues musicians from New Orleans Category:Jazz musicians from New Orleans Category:African-American guitarists Category:American rhythm and blues guitarists Category:American male guitarists Category:American jazz guitarists Category:New Orleans Square (Disneyland) Category:Guitarists from Louisiana Category:20th-century American guitarists Category:American male jazz musicians Category:20th-century American male musicians