McKenna Mendelson Mainline was a Canadian blues band that released four albums. In the spring of 1969, the band was signed to Liberty Records (United Artists).

In the summer of 1968, in May, Toronto, Ontario, Canada blues guitarist Mike McKenna (born April 15, 1946, in Toronto), formerly of Luke & The Apostles, placed an ad in The Toronto Star seeking musicians for a new project. In replying to the ad, acoustic blues artist Joe Mendelson (born July 30, 1944, in Toronto, died February 7, 2023, in Toronto) suggested to McKenna that the idea of searching for blues musicians through the want ad milieu was an exercise in naïveté. Nevertheless, the two worked well creatively and the basis of McKenna Mendelson Mainline's dynasty was formed.

The Spassticks' Tony Nolasco (born July 9, 1950, in Sudbury, Ontario) was also recruited, along with American bass player Timothy O'Leary, who was dumped in the first month. Former The Paupers bassist Denny Gerrard (born February 27, 1948, in Scarborough, Ontario) was invited to join, completing the quartet. The band debuted at the Night Owl club in Toronto's Yorkville Village from August 5–10 and the following month recorded demos which later became the basis of a bootleg album, McKenna Mendelson Blues. Gerrard left the band in early October immediately after a show at Massey Hall supporting The Fugs because of artistic differences and was replaced by Mike Harrison (born November 1, 1948, in Brampton, Ontario), bassist from popular Canadian R&B band Grant Smith & The Power ^{[citation needed]}

In November 1968, MMM opened for The Jeff Beck Group at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan, and garnered several standing ovations. ^{[citation needed]}

In December 1968, MMM reversed the trend of English bands coming to North America, and proceeded to England to gig and hopefully to pursue a major record deal. ^{[citation needed]} The band hit the stage almost immediately, their first show being at the Utrecht Pop Festival on December 27/28, 1968, filling a prime timeslot just vacated by Jimi Hendrix and his duo (Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell). MMM started soon thereafter gigging on an English club circuit which included such notables as The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, Family, The Keef Hartley Band, Gun, and the newly formed Led Zeppelin. ^{[citation needed]}

After several false starts, they signed with Liberty/United Artists in the spring of 1969, and in April 1969 recorded a best-selling album, Stink. It was subsequently reissued on CD.

Homesickness, dissension in the ranks, and the vagaries of youth facilitated a return to Canada in June 1969. Shortly after the July 1969 release of Stink, Allied Records released the demos recorded in September 1968 as McKenna Mendelson Blues. MMM thus became Canada's first "major label" act to be the victim of a bootlegged album. However, while in Europe and England selections from the Stink album appeared on various blues samplers and compilations, notably Liberty's Gutbucket (1969), subtitled 'An Underworld Eruption', and Son of Gutbucket (1969). ^{[citation needed]}

Following Stink, and a brief hiatus resulting from the internal dissension, the band reformed with Zeke Sheppard on bass and was signed in Canada by GRT Records. In 1971, Mainline recorded a second studio album, Canada Our Home and Native Land in San Francisco.^{[citation needed]} The album featured horn arrangements on some tracks and was engineered by Fred Catero, who worked on many albums by top artists, including Bob Dylan, Al Kooper, and Santana. The album had more of a production sheen than the Stink album, owing perhaps to the California influence and that of its producer Adam Mitchell, formerly of the Paupers. The subsequent supporting tour included dates in Australia. ^{[citation needed]}