He was born in Alton, Illinois, United States, the son of William Henry and Elizabeth "Lizzie" McFarland, as one of 12 siblings.
[1] On the 1934 recordings, McFarland played the piano and sang in a gruffer, deeper voice than before, and was accompanied by Peetie Wheatstraw on guitar, Lem Johnson (clarinet), plus an unknown fiddle player.
With help from fellow St. Louis Jazz Club member Charlie O’Brien, they managed to track McFarland down, when he was visiting relatives in his birthplace of Alton.
He performed with just his voice and piano accompaniment, in the same gutsy, outgoing and tough style, as was reminiscent of true "barrelhouse".
Several cuts, including "So Long Buck", were in a similar manner to the earlier "On Your Way", and utilised a 16-bar blues formula, but instead of the more usual dominant toward the end of the progression, "there is one and a half bars of the submediant (vi)".
[13][14] In 2009, Wolf Records released a compilation album, Barrel House Piano, which included 18 tracks by Speckled Red and five by McFarland.