Early career

Grounded in blues music learned from his father, a steel worker who played blues guitar at weekends,^[4] McDonald spent his early days playing jazz, doo-wop, and gospel, and eventually relocated to New York City as a teenager with his band of friends, called The Entertainers.^[2][3]

McDonald formed the group Wood Brass & Steel in 1973 with bass guitarist Doug Wimbish and drummer Harold Sargent. The group recorded two albums before their 1979 breakup.^[3] He then became part of the house band for Sugarhill Records and appeared as a session player on many early rap recordings, including "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five.

Post-Sugarhill

After leaving Sugarhill, McDonald, Wimbish, and drummer Keith LeBlanc began working with Adrian Sherwood, and eventually formed the trio into the industrial/dub group Tackhead, initially fronted by Gary Clail and later Bernard Fowler.^[3] McDonald also collaborated with Sherwood on other projects, including albums by African Head Charge and Mark Stewart.^[2]

In the 1990s, McDonald assumed the moniker "Little Axe" and began moving from hip hop to a form of blues that drew from an array of musical influences, including dub, R&B, gospel, and jazz.^[2] He has been working steadily as a studio musician, recording both his own blues albums, and continuing to appear as a guest act on other artists' albums. His most recent albums have been released on Real World Records. Alan Glen is often featured on harmonica on these albums.^[3]

In 2009, he collaborated with Mauritanian musician Daby Touré to produce an album, Call My Name.

As of 2016, he still tours and gigs regularly, has a loyal following and is in regular demand for session work as a guitarist.