Muscle Shoals Meets the 70s rewind

Part 19: Sing all night long

As the Muscle Shoals Meets the 70s two-night stand was drawing to a close, the world-famous Fiddleworms and friends had the audacity to ask all the thought-provoking questions, y’all. Thankfully, me and 700 of my closest friends had all the very simple answers. Yep, all the questions were asked and answered in Florence’s historic Shoals Theatre that night, friends.

Wayne Chaney, Bob Wray, and Donny Carpenter joined the Fiddleworms and kicked off the Hank Williams Jr. country rock n’ roll anthem, “Family Tradition,” with this oh so timely announcement: We ain’t dead, yet! You got that right, Wayne. Sure, it was getting a little late for us old-timers but none of us were looking to go anywhere. We were down to sing all night long.

I’ll tell you what, there was some hot fiddling happening right then and there courtesy of Donny (Carpenter), friends. It was a true all-star lineup: Mitch Mann was on the acoustic, Clint Bailey was on the keys, Micheal Dillon Curington was on the skins, Cissy Guin was keeping time, and Bob (Wray)was on bass. Mercy! Oh, and I was literally living for all the slide guitar that Scott Todd was giving us. They law, y’all! Eddie Martin, Jamie Barrier, and Matt Prater were there, too, singing back-up. Seriously. No lie. This performance was everything my Southern heart needed. I’m keeping it with me forever and ever.

"Family Tradition" is my Southern girl badge of honor in song form, y’all. There’s no mumbling allowed or half-heartedly singing along to it, either. Oh no, no, no. It’s all or nothing. Follow my lead – I sing “Family Tradition” at the top of my lungs letting all my drawl hang out, y’all. Hank, why do you drank?

Trust me when I say: My generation took “Family Tradition” to heart and it became our mindset. We were raised on outlaw country and I admit, Hank Jr. taught me to not give much thought to what people think or say about me.

Yeah, ole Bocephus had a heavy hand in raising me in the late 70s and early 80s. Dare I say, I never even thought about Hank Jr. as being country, though, until I saw him on Hee Haw. Speaking of … remember how when we were growing up, we only had one (shared) TV in the house? Back then, we gathered as a family after supper each night to watch TV. Sure, our parents controlled what we watched but in hindsight, that routine made for some good times. Some, family traditions, if you will. "Salute!"

Looking over the beautiful crowd gathered together that Saturday night in Florence’s historic Shoals Theatre, I smiled and realized … the Muscle Shoals Meets series is our Shoals family tradition. This is who we are, friends – we come together to celebrate music and do the good work. We’re one community and you know what? We built two playgrounds this time around.

Yes. This is our Shoals family tradition. Come into the fold.

Stay tuned … more to come.

Dig Worms!

Photo credit: Devona Hawkins