Well Jimmy played my song last night. Yes I still have the old vinyl of Wet Willie’s “Keep on Smilin.” I even got a digital copy a couple of years back. I saw Wet Willie perform back in the 1970’s and those recordings are still among my favorites. Growing up in Mississippi during the 1970’s it was hard not to be a fan of a Southern Rock band from Mobile. http://www.ktb.net/~insync/wet_willie.html
Jimmy made a really nice remark last night as he introduced the song “Keep on Smilin'” and I don’t think I can quote it verbatim but it went something like this. Life goes by really quick. We have lost a lot of friends over the years. It is up to us who survive to celebrate them. To live our time we have to the fullest. People like Duane Allman, Berry Oakley, Lamar Williams, Toy and Tommy Caldwell, and a list of old school blues players too. Man this was a night of memories. For the final jam the band brought out Jeff Becks’ “Goin’ Down.” This morphed into Led Zeppelins’ “Whole Lotta’ Love” and back. Awesome stuff! What a band. Did I say that enough last night?
Jimmy Hall is not to be missed. Tell your friends and family. Go see him as soon as you can. You will not be disappointed.
Here are some links that relate to this story:
http://www.marshalltucker.com/cgi-bin/tuck/faq.html?id=Zk7TKrtq
http://www.jeffbeck.com/index.html
http://www.allmanbrothersband.com/