July 2013
The mission of the MSMA is to preserve and promote the legacy and the future of Muscle Shoals Music
Let’s get this party started . . . When you’re paying tribute to Jerry Wexler, you don’t scrimp on the funk. Period. The July 25 tribute to the legendary producer will be a high-energy, no-holes- barred event featuring the very best that Muscle Shoals music has to offer. Fortunately this star-studded evening is part of the Muscle Shoals To Music Row LIVE! series so it will be webcast to fans around the globe. A few hundred lucky people will have the chance to purchase tickets to witness it first-hand at the Marriott Shoals Conference Center.
Guest of honor will be Paul Wexler, who will perform and also provide his unique insights into the life and career of his celebrated father. The stellar lineup includes Christine Ohlman, Ed King, Bonnie Bramlett, Spooner Oldham, Donnie Fritts, Steve Bassett and some surprise guests. The artists will be backed by the Muscle Shoals All-Stars featuring David Hood, Kelvin Holly, Mike Dillon, N.C. Thurman, Will McFarlane, Harvey Thompson, Charles Rose and others. A photography exhibit featuring the iconic images of Dick Cooper will be on display in the lobby of the conference center. The tribute is sponsored by Marriott Shoals Hotel and Spa, Big River Broadcasting and the Muscle Shoals Music Association. Tickets are $10 and table sponsorships are also available. For information call Big River Broadcasting at 256-764-8121 or visit www.ms2mr.com
Keb Mo Will Headline Handy Festival Concert Recipient of multiple W.C. Handy Blues Awards, and a three-time Grammy winner for Best
Contemporary Blues Album, Keb' Mo' will be the headliner for the 2013 W.C. Handy Music Festival. Born “Kelvin Moore,” this popular blues artist has taken his special brand of music to audiences all over the world.
He released his self-titled debut in 1994 and became a fresh face in blues/roots music. Keb's genre-blending artfulness, intuitive lyrics, unique guitar style, distinctive voice, and magnetic charisma on stage have gained him a tremendously loyal fan base and the significant honor of being called, "a musician's musician.”
His new album, “The Reflection” is the first new studio album by Keb Mo since “Suitcase” in 2006. These twelve songs are the product of an important period of personal and professional growth for the artist. Since 2006, he moved from Los Angeles to Nashville, started a family, built a state-of-the-art home studio, and founded his own label, Yolabelle International, distributed by Ryko and the Warner Music Group.
The concert is scheduled for 8 p.m. on July 27 at Norton Auditorium on the UNA campus. Tickets are $40 general admission. Tickets are available online and at the Handy Festival Office located at the Kennedy Douglass Center for the Arts, 217 E. Tuscaloosa St., Florence.
YOW! It’s Too Funky In Here (Gimme Some Air) Yow! Good Gawd! Lookee Here! Everyone loves James Brown, but few know that one of his last hit singles was recorded in Muscle Shoals. Beginning for two days on April 16, 1979, and continuing off and on with dates in April and September, tracks were recorded here for James Brown's album "The Original Disco Man." It was produced by Brad Shapiro and engineered by Steve Melton at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios.
The musicians included Roger Hawkins, drums; Jimmy Johnson, Larry Byrom and Ken Bell, guitars; David Hood, bass; Randy McCormick and Barry Beckett, keyboards; and Mickey Buckins, percussion. The backgound vocals were by the group Brandye. The Muscle Shoals Horns (Charles Rose, Harrison Callaway and Harvey Thompson) added horns to the tracks. Unfortunately, James Brown's vocals Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section Bassist were recorded in Nashville so we did not get to work with the “Godfather” in person. David Hood has kept all of his work diaries from the mid-sixties to the present. The single was “It’s Too Funky In Here (Gimmee Some Air)” and it reached #15 in Because they contain information that the R&B charts. It was written by the late great George Jackson, Brad Shapiro, spotlights the rich history of Muscle Shoals Walter Shaw and Robert Miller and was published by Muscle Shoals Sound Music, he will share one segment of his Publishing. “The Original Disco Man” reached 152 in Billboard’s Top Album Chart. diary in this column each month.
Florence-Lauderdale Public Library Free Screening Room Films for Handy Week
Tuesday, July 23 2 - 4:30 p.m. Jerry Wexler: Immaculate Funk Introduced by Terry Pace with panel featuring Paul Wexler, Donnie Fritts, David Hood, Jimmy Johnson and Dick Cooper
Thursday, July 25 2 - 4:30 p.m. The Last Waltz Introduced by Terry Pace with special guest Jimmy Johnson.
The Alabama Music Hall of Fame will be open during the W.C. Handy Music Festival Monday through Friday from 12-4 p.m.
Muscle Shoals All-Stars To Perform July 24 In the mood for a night of Muscle Shoals tunes? Cypress Lakes ‘It’s Rock And Roll Heaven, Man’ Golf and Country Club will host an evening of Muscle Shoals All- The iconic 3614 Highway recording studio was Star music on Tuesday, July 24. The free concert will feature the recently purchased by the Muscle Shoals Music Muscle Shoals All-Star Band featuring guests from the Decoys as Foundation. The studio was deemed “Rock and Roll well as Gary Nichols, Christine Olhman, Charles Rose, Harvey Heaven” by Keith Richards in the critically-acclaimed Thompson and others. Muscle Shoals movie. Help the foundation raise funds to upgrade the facility and turn it into a Muscle Shoals The fun begins at 7 p.m. Restaurant and bar will be available. Sound Museum. For more information, check out the The event is sponsored by the City of Muscle Shoals, the Colbert Muscle Shoals Music Foundation on Facebook. County Commission and the Shoals Solid Waste Authority.
UNA Students Win $10,000 in Shure Microphone Competition A team of UNA students recently won first runner-up in the Shure Microphone Fantastic Scholarship competition. They competed with nine other university teams. Each team recorded a track using a Shure microphone and produced a five-part video component explaining their progress along the way.
The UNA team members were Pace Collet, Luke Hunter, Donnie Pitts, Ryan Speakman and Leo Taylor. Each of the students received a professional-quality microphone and they won $10,000 in recording equipment for the UNA Commercial Music Program. The tracks were recorded at Noiseblock studio in Florence.
Coming this month: IN THE STUDIO Dan Penn and James Govan CDs due out on ACE records FAME Stephen Knight Marco Giovino Anne Foster Emma Klein Abbie Lusk Jim Sewell Shirley McStadden
NOISEBLOCK Brett Eldredge The Sprigs Gnarly Charlie The Paper Lights Dillon Hodges The critically-acclaimed Muscle Austin Ely Shoals documentary will be released Christ Community Church in theaters by Magnolia pictures on September 27 following a week of NUTTHOUSE red-carpet VIP events in New York Donna Jean Godchaux City. More details to come in the Take your vitamins and get ready for a Bobby Denton August issue of the MSMA 10-day feast of live music. For more Red Mouth newsletter. information about the Handy Festival Gary Nichols go to http://www.wchandyfestival.com Wildwood Ruminators Shelley King Demos for: Spooner Oldham, Muscle Shoals Music Association Board of Directors Mark Narmore, Carl Holder, Coy Fulmer & Doc Walley Jimmy Nutt - President Wiley Barnard Rodney Hall - Vice President Dick Cooper WISHBONE Larry Bowser - Sec/Treasurer Nick Martin The Cains David Hood - Past President Suzanne Bolton Crystal Hopkins Terry Pace Jingles for: KSCB….Liberal, KS Links we like ...... KOMX….Pampa, TX http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/mslmc-marriott-shoals-hotel-and-spa/ Stratmeyer Media….Paducah, KY http://www.ms2mr.com OnMedia….Carbondale, IL Contact us at [email protected] or visit us on Facebook.
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