Episode 2: Jerry Wexler

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Welcome to the Vibe of Muscle ShoalsSound podcast. I'm Terrell Benton. Thanks
for listening. I hope you enjoyedour last podcast on the Share thirty six
to fourteen Jackson Highway Record. Today, we're going to look at the godfather
of Muscleshall's music, Jerry Wexler,The Rhythm and the Blues. Jerry Wexler

(00:21):
always argued that a producer must servethe artist and the artist project. How
do you begin to tell the storyof a man like Jerry Wexler, A
complicated and brilliant man. He wouldspend hours upon hours talking about his accomplishments
and not scratch the surface. ButI'm going to attempt to get at the
heart of this giant and the musicbusiness and his contributions to Muscleshall's sound.

(00:46):
Jerry Wexler was from Washington Heights,New York, and though his career took
many turns, he became known asthe godfather of soul music. As a
writer for Billboard Magazine in the latenineteen forties, he coined the phrase rhythm
and blue. He rose to becomea partner at Atlantic Records. Jerry worked
with the legendary performers ranging from RayCharles, Rutha Franklin, Otis Redding,

(01:10):
Big Joe Turner, Solomon Burke,Wilson Pickett, Bob Dillon, Edda James,
Willie Nelson, Doctor John, theDrifters, Carlos Santana, and Dire
Straits. The great Memphis musician andproducer Jim Dickinson told the story of Jerry
and the legendary Sam Phillips at anindustry party in Memphis. They were getting

(01:34):
together shortly after Wexler had produced throughRutha Franklin nineteen seventy two gospel album Amazing
Grace. But instead of playing thenew Aretha record, all Sam Phillips wanted
to hear was a Tony Joe Whiterecord that Wexler had produced at Muscle Shoals,
Sound the Train I'm on, Phillipsmarveled, It's so good it don't
sound paid for. Jerry Weschler wasborn in nineteen seventeen and was the first

(01:59):
child, and his mother doated onhim. He was determined to help her
son in any way, and afteryears of underperforming at various jobs, Jerry's
main vocation seemed to be record collecting. She finally enrolled him at Kansas State
University. From Manhattan, New Yorkto Manhattan, Kansas, Jerry soon discovered

(02:20):
he could easily make the trip toKansas City and immerse himself in the rich
jazz scene there After his while hismother brought him back to New York and
he was eventually drafted. Being draftedgave Jerry the work ethic that propelled him
for the rest of his life.Eventually, he went back to Kansas State
on the GI bill and got hisjournalism degree. With his degree in hand,

(02:43):
he went back to New York andgot a job as a pitchman for
BMI Publishing. Eventually he landed aninterview with Joe Carlton, the editor of
Billboard magazine, and for the nextfour years he was a reporter at Billboard,
and his interaction with all of theNew York record label owners got him
his first big leg up in themusic industry. During his time at Billboard,

(03:05):
he had met Herb Abramson and i'mat Ertigan, the owners of a
small label called Atlantic Records, andthey offered him a job as the head
of publishing, but Wexler demanded more. He wanted to become a partner Abramson
and Urtigan declined, but a yearlater he was asked to be the co
head of Atlantic Records. Atlantic hadalready had hits with Big Joe Turner and

(03:28):
Stick McGee, but Jerry was aworkaholic and his motto was achieve, Achieve,
Achieve. He made Atlantic a powerhouse. In the nineteen fifties. The
roster Atlantic was the cream of thecrop with Loiverne Baker, Ray, Charles
Ruth Brown and the drifters Wexler andi'm at Ertigan hired a young engineer to

(03:49):
work at the main studio in NewYork, Tom Dowd. He had worked
on the Manhattan Project, which developedthe atomic bomb. He began producing the
Atlantic Artist. Jerry didn't know howto produce a recording artist, but he
was a master of managing a sessionand the artist. As the label grew,

(04:10):
he used all of his connections tomake sure that the artist received proper
distribution and airplay. At that pointin the music industry, the forty five
rpm record was the king, anddue to Jerry's detail, the roster of
artist grew to include Ivory, JoeHunter, Solomon Burke, the coasters.
Atlantic Records was soul music. Wexlersaid, we just never seemed to miss.

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One of the reasons for that wasJerry was the first producer to want
his artist to contribute. He said, remember, producers don't really make records
great, it's the artist. Innineteen sixty six, Rick Hall at Fame
Studio and Muscle Shows called Jerry saidhe had something hot for Jerry to hear.

(04:58):
A song recorded at Noralis Studio inSheffield, Alabama, Percy Sledge when
a Man Loves a Woman. Jerrysaid it was a transcendent moment in the
saga of muscle shows. It wassoon number one. When he heard the
song, he called, I metOerdigon and said, I have the song
that will pay for all of thesummer. Jerry jumped on a plane and

(05:20):
flew to Muscle Shoals, and hetook along his newest signee, Wilson Pickett.
Music was in the air that youbreathed and the water you drank in
muscle shows. More than any otherlocale or individual, Muscle Shoals changed Jerry
Wexler's life musically and every way.The musical integration of the artists and musicians

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and muscle Shoals was special to Jerry, despite the legacy of racial inequality in
the South. He loved the muscleshows musicians, and he loved that they
loved the music of African Americans.When Jerry came to muscle shows, he
was in his fifties and the playerswere in their twenties. But a bond
took place and they became family.David Hood of the Swampers said, Wexler's

(06:05):
loud voice and his New York accentwould boom across the room. He could
stun you with his voice. Iwas petrified, but later we became so
tight that asked him to officiate mywedding. Jimmy Johnson of the Swampers said,
after a while, we became Jerry'ssecond set of kids. Jerry put
us in a national spotlight, saidSwamper drummer Roger Hawkins. When Jerry told

(06:30):
me he liked my playing, well, that was a big moment in my
life. The boys and Muscle Shoalstaught Jerry Wexler a new way of making
records spontaneous. Wexler would come toMuscle Shoals on a weekend and get together
with the singer and with Barry Beckettof the Swampers, and they would rough
out the songs and then Barry wouldwrite a bare bones chart. The Muscle

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Shoals sound method of arrangements involved numbering, not naming, chords, and it
worked like a charm. The Swamperswould come in on Monday afternoon, they
would get a copy of the numberedchart and the arrangement would begin communally and
in an organic way. Wextlord lovedthat the ideas could come from anyone in

(07:14):
the room. When thirty six fourteenJackson Highway opened in April of sixty nine,
Jerry brought in Share, followed thatwith The Great Lulu of To Serve
with Love Fame, and then followedup with Boz Scags and eventually the Rolling
Stones. The Stones will be asubject of a later podcast in this series.

(07:34):
While he was producing records, Jerrystill had to mind the store at
Atlantic, and the early seventies,the music that Jerry cared the most about
wasn't selling. He was in aslump, but Atlantic was not. They
had become the four Runners of discowith groups like The Spinners, and Jerry

(07:55):
was accused of favoring friends who madegreat records that didn't sell. Jerry later
said, I've made hundreds of legendaryrecords that people talk about that didn't sell.
His kids would say to him,don't come back from Muscle Shoals with
the same stuff. Wid he wouldcome back with a song that he dug.

(08:15):
In nineteen seventy five, Wesler couldn'tdeal with the situation at Atlantic anymore.
I met hERG and told Jerry thathe was too abrasive in a maverick,
but in his style. Jerry quicklypointed out the artist on the current
roster of Atlantic that he had signedto the label, Willie Nelson, John
Prine, the Jay Giles Band,the Average White Band, and a little

(08:39):
band from England called led Zeppelin.It was too late. After years of
being on an equal playing field,suddenly he was under Ahmetz direction rather than
a fifty fifty split. He hadlived and breathed Atlantic Records for twenty two
years and it was over. Jerrywas not out of the music game by
a long shot. He returned MuscleShoals in nineteen seventy six with Johnny Townsend

(09:01):
and Ed Sanford the Sandford Townsend Band. Jerry worked with Swamper keyboard player Barry
Beckett, and Smoked from a DistantFire went to number nine on the charts.
Barry Beckett said it was the firstthing he'd ever co produced with Jerry.
Barry worked the arrangements and Jerry workedwith the vocals. If there was

(09:22):
one constant in Jerry Wexler's life,it was muscle Shoals. He came back
over and over working with Bob Dylanon Slow Train Coming and saved and dire
straits on Communica. As I've said, Jerry Wexler was the godfather of soul
music, but he was also afather figure for the Swampers and the muscle
shells sound. When you listen tothe music that he produced and muscle shoals,

(09:46):
remember these statements that he made.Ask what he wanted on his tombstone,
Wexter replied two words, more bass. And he always said always answer
the phone. You never if it'sa hit calling. To learn more about
Jay Wexler and the legacy he leftat muscle shows, try and find his

(10:07):
autobiography co written with David Ritz,The Rhythm and the Blues My Life in
American Music, and search for theserecords. They're massively important. In the
History of the America's Songbook. Geta pen and paper. I'm going to
go through a long list here,and you need to hear these records.
Laverne Baker's Soul on Fire, RuthBrown's Miss Rhythm, The Clovers Down in

(10:31):
the Alley, The Drifters, AllTime and Greatest Hits and more, Ray
Charles, The Birth of Soul andthe Genius of Ray Charles, Big Joe
Turner's The Boss of the Blues,Solomon Burke Home in Your Heart, Wilson
Pickett, A Man and a Half, Aretha Franklin's I Never Loved Demand and
Lady Soul, Dusty Springfields, Dustyand Memphis Share thirty six fourteen Jackson Highway,

(10:58):
and the Late Doctor John's Gumbo,and these records recorded at Muscle Shoals
Sound, Ronnie Hawkins of Ronnie Hawkinsand the Hawks Thing his Self title record
which featured Dwayne Alman at Muscle ShoalsSound, the Great Donnie Fritz, Prone
to Lean, Willie Nelson's Phases andStages, Tony Joe White's The Train I'm

(11:18):
On, Kim Carnes Sailing, SamfordTownsend Band, Smoked from a Distant Fire,
dire Straits Communica, Bob Dylan's SlowTrain Coming and Saved, jose Feliciano's
Sweet Soul Music, and a littleknown classic done at Muscle Shoals Sound,
lew Anne Barton's Old Enough. Thisis just a small sample of the magic

(11:43):
of Jerry Wexler. Often play thegame if you could have dinner with five
people and discuss anything, the firstname of my list would always be Jerry
Wexler. And make no mistake aboutit. He brought soul music to America.
Jerry Wexler was inducted into the Rockand Roll Hall of Fame and nineteen
eighty seven. Thanks for listening andcome see us at Muscle Shoals Sound.

(12:03):
We have tours every hour beginning onthe half hours, seven days a week
from ten thirty until four thirty.We'll be back with the next Vibe of
Muscle Shoals Sound podcast next month andwe'll talk about the life of one of
the greats and muscle shows music history, the legendary Eddie Hinton. Thanks and
we'll see you next month.