Muscle Shoals Meets the 70s rewind

Part 20: Breaker Breaker 1-9

Mercy sakes alive … “Convoy!” No amount of exclamation points can adequately express how excited I was for this night one, set two Muscle Shoals Meets the 70s performance. I was beside myself giddy, friends. I’m fully aware that I grinned like a maniac for the entire three plus minutes of Matt Prater’s stellar rendition of this sacred song. I was mooning for sure. Y’all, I got so much side-eye from my son and my friend during “Convoy.” Us old heads must do better at schooling these rookies. You gotta copy on me, Shoals friends?

I can't speak for Matt, of course, but this kind of seemed like his dream gig. It was crazy obvious that he was born to tell the "Convoy" story, y’all. Great job, Matt! Not everyone could have slipped into that character and done it justice. I'd cast him right now in a reboot of the movie with those world-famous Fiddleworms, those silky-smooth groovy Shoals Sisters, those funky Shoals Strings, and that National Banjo Champion, Weston Stewart, as his supporting cast of characters. Hey. Now, that’s an idea.

All you youngsters out there can’t relate to how novelty songs were all the rage in the 70s. Seeing “Convoy” performed live wasn’t even on my Bingo card but it made my life. Until that night in Florence’s historic Shoals Theatre, I hadn’t heard this song in years and seeing it live after all this time was just astonishing. Thank you, Clint Bailey, Michael Dillon Currington, Mitch Mann, Scott Todd, Steve Vickery, Marie Lewey, Cindy Walker, Weston Stewart, Matt Prater.

This song makes me think of the beautiful marriage between songs and movies. Which came first, the "Convoy" song or the "Convoy" movie? I’ll never forget learning (as an adult) that our beloved Donnie Fritts was in the movie. Just when I thought a cool guy couldn’t get any cooler, he just did with every single conversation … that’s a big 10-4, Leaning Man.

For those who still may not get it, this song schooled an entire generation on CB lingo/trucker talk. I'm a little rusty but there was a day that my CB language skills were so impressive they belonged on my resume as speaking a different language. Truth is, if you know me at all, you’ve probably heard me respond to some sort of request with, "10-4, good buddy." It’s a thing. So, maybe my trucker talk game is alive and well after all. Yeah, I’m that girl.

Seriously, raise your hand if you had a "handle" as a kid. C'mon, don't be shy. My cousin dubbed me "M&M" and so it was forever more. Every time I see a rubber duck on a dashboard, I think of this song, too. Every rubber duck out in the world makes me think of the one and only outlaw prophet, Kris Kristofferson. 10-4, Rubber Duck.

More to come … stay tuned.

Dig Worms, friends.

Photo credit (video still): Angel DeAnn Pilati