Muscle Shoals Meets the 70s rewind

Part 19: Words to live by

Hi, my name is Monica — I’m Gen X and I was raised on radio. I am so grateful to the Fiddleworms and friends for curating such comprehensive setlists for both nights of Muscle Shoals Meets the 70s. It was nice being reminded of several songs, such as “The Gambler” by Kenny Rogers, that had a subtle but somewhat heavy hand in shaping who I am. Knowing when to walk away and knowing when to run has served me well. Good work, Fiddleworms.

Ahh, speaking of doing the good work, when Eddie Martin took the Shoals Theatre stage a little more than halfway through night one, set two in his leisure suit, aviators, and newsboy, I almost lost my mind, y’all. His fit was giving 1970s groovy energy with a hint of Peaky Blinders mischief. Ten out of ten. I wasn’t the only one all about Eddie, either – he was one of several local superstars with a cheering section complete with "❤️ Eddie” signs. Gotta give it up for that, friends.

Eddie is such a gracious artist. He took a minute to recognize how we were all experiencing a very special night. He mentioned how it’s not every day we stand before artists backed by amazing vocals, a string section, and killer horns. So true – the Shoals Sisters, the Polyester Horns, and the Shoals Strings really upped the MSM the 70s game. When Eddie said, “I just wish we could find a good guitar player,” the house collectively laughed because we were all in on the joke.

It took me a beat to realize not only was Eddie performing my favorite Kenny Rogers classic, “The Gambler,” but that James LeBlanc was standing with Marie Lewey and Cindy Walker adding backing vocals. Are you kidding me? Y’all, I never wanted the dealing to be done.

I just have one question: How is it possible that I still know every word to this song 47 years later, but I can’t remember why I came into a room? I was seven years old, friends, when “The Gambler” was everywhere. I kid you not, I think about these lyrics pretty dang often in my daily walk. Most of the time, I am literally too tired to sleep. You know, some folks don’t seem to understand that you never count your money when you're sitting at the table. Geez. They weren’t raised right, y'all.

It was so nice congregating with 700 of my closest friends who absolutely know when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em.

More to come … stay tuned.

Dig Worms, friends.

Photo credit: Angel DeAnn Pilati