Heaven adds another great harmonica player, vocalist & songwriter

Baldwin County native Larry T Wilson’s life was about connecting with others through music

Realizing that I could go see Larry T Wilson and John Joiner play there a couple times every week convinced me that the Flora-Bama was the greatest bar in the history of the world. It was early in 1990 and I had just started publishing my newspaper here. Whether they were in various bands together – Hurricane Warning, Southwind, The Dixie Flyers – or jamming with others (Larry T. w. Big Muddy – JJ with David Johnson and whoever else needed a picker), they were always on target with their musical message. The more time I spent at the ‘Bama listening to those guys, the other possible-probables and the characters my beloved bistro has always attracted especially during the Songwriters Fest, the more convinced I was that there was something very special going on. There were a few Sunday nights in 1990 when it was only me and the bartender (usually Bruce or Bo) in the inside room and a couple regulars in the front bar late on a Sunday night, but Larry T, JJ and Chris Penese would still be killing it, and I could not leave.
The only full color cover I ever printed during 15 years of the old offset printing press days was of Larry T looking like a red haired Prince Valiant knocking it out of the park from the ‘Bama inside stage. I had to forward the picture a few days early for a color separation, and it cost what was then a whopping $125 extra. Larry T was so pleased, and I’m very proud of that.
Because Jeff Etheridge and Lynn Rabren from the FBISF documentary, “Stories in Rhyme,” were kind enough to share transcripts of Larry T interviews in the movie from 1992 and 2018, I am able to use Larry T‘s own words to hopefully convey that he was a man who lived his muse. He found his lot in life, and I’d like to think he died in peace. As his Dixie Flyer compadre Rock Killough put it: “He lived and breathed it. And not only could he wail the blues, he could blow the damn reeds off of a harmonica.’’

By Fran Thompson

If the late Larry T Wilson told you he loved you, then you are one of many.
“I knew Larry T for about 25 years. I loved and admired his performance on stage from the first time I ever saw and heard him,’’ said Frank Brown International Songwriters Fest (FBISF) Director Andy Haynes. “I don’t know exactly when he began to have medical challenges, but I can say with certainty he had a lot of them for a number of years. He faced them all with courage and dignity. I’m sure he was always a kind and gentle soul, but I feel he grew to be more so over the recent years. Someone said they never had a conversation with him that didn’t end with him saying ‘I love you.’’’
“I remember the first time Larry T. told me he loved me, I was like, dude, where I grew up (Greenville), guys don’t say that to each other,’’ said Evans Davis, who co-wrote four songs with his friend on Larry T’s latest CD, In The Blink Of An Eye. “But he assured me it was alright. You do make a unique connection when you write a sad love song with somebody.’’
Davis, who will play at Larry T’s Jan. 26 memorial (see sidebar) with the Leavin Brothers Band, said Larry T was his connection to the boiling cauldron of musical creativity that defined the Flora-Bama in the early 1990’s, letting him sit in and introducing him to the cast of possible-probables. He was with Larry T hours before he passed.
“He was gone by then, but I told him that I loved him and I would try to carry on the best I could with what he started. That is all I can do,’’ Davis said.
“He was a phenomenal songwriter – one of the best there ever was around here,’’ said Lea Anne Creswell, who has been entertaining patrons at the Flora-Bama sine 1983 and has played hundreds of times with Larry T. “He just knew how to put words together, and for someone who didn’t play an instrument besides harmonica, that is phenomenal.
“For him to go through all those obstacles and health issues with his head held up was so admirable,’’ Creswell added. “He was just somebody I always looked up to.’’
Ken Lambert, the first songwriter to ever play for Joe Gilchrist at the Flora-Bama, said he and Larry T became friends immediately.
“From the day he first started sitting in at the Flora-Bama we were close. He would always greet me with that smile and a hug,’’ said Lambert, who was with Larry T right before he passed. “I can’t put into words how special he was. One of the finest folks ever to play at the Flora-Bama. Listening to him singing “I Know How To Love You By Heart’’ during his shows with Rock with that sweet, angelic voice of his was the best.’’
J Hawkins, another one of the Flora-Bama original musicians, picked on stage with his friend only a few times, but he also considered Larry T as exceptional a human being as he was a songwriter, entertainer and musician. His only regret is the he never did get to go fishing with him in the honey spot for brim Larry T often spoke of near Molino.
“I could go on with this forever,” Hawkins said. “He was just such a good and loving person. He did not have a mean bone in his body. And he always had that big smile. It was always that way, even at the end when people had to help him up on stage and the stage was only one foot off the ground. His health was failing. You could tell that he was not doing that good. But he was always in good spirits and he always had that big smile. He never complained. I will miss him, but I also know he was in a lot of pain. I miss him, but he knew Jesus. And that’s where he is now. With Jesus. I’d be alright with that in the end when I’m done with this earth.’’
Larry T, a Bay Minette native and Seminole resident, was 61 when he passed on Dec. 5 at South Baldwin Hospital. He was one of the four children Travis and Joan Wilson raised in North Baldwin County.
Beverly Jo Scott, who has thrived in music while based in Brussels, Belgium since she left America in 1982, went to high school with Larry T.
“We spent a lot of time together. He was close to my whole family and we are all devastated,’’ she said.
A football star at Baldwin County High, Larry T used to skip class and ride around playing his harmonica in a car with Scott and her friends, much to the chagrin of football coach Lyle Underwood.
“Larry T was quite the important figure at school sportswise. We were the last of the long hairs representing the rock ‘n roll scene. Coach Underwood would find out that Larry T was out riding around with us and he would make him stay after school and run. We always laughed about that.’’
Scott had a happy reunion with Larry T when she came home to play the FBISF around 1991 and they have remained close, especially through social media platforms, ever since.
Scott wanted Larry T to travel to Brussels to work with her on a multi-media project and album, but when his health issues prevented that, she came home and recorded him singing her song “Mobile Bay.” She currently uses that video of Larry T singing the song on a huge screen behind her at the start of her popular Swamp Cabaret virtual duo show that she takes on the road to venues all over Europe.
“He’s behind me calling me off to the bayou,’’ she said. “He is well known to my fans over here.’’
Like all of his close friends, Scott was amazed at Larry T’s ability to lift others up even while he was struggling mightily with his own health issues.
“He was a gold mine of positivity to everyone around him,’’ she said. “That’s just who he was.’’
Larry T was hooked on music and songwriting by the time he was 15. He just did not think it would provide a living.
“Even when I was just a kid, I would look at the credits to see who wrote the songs. So yeah. It was always a big deal to me,’’ Larry T said.
He didn’t have to look outside of his family for musical inspiration. His father had credits that included picking for Hank Williams Sr. and George Morgan.
“When my dad realized that he wasn’t gonna be able to keep me from being in music, he said, ‘Well son, don’t think that I don’t want you to do this. But you almost have to crave disappointment to do this for a living.’ And he was right.’’
Larry T said he was with his father the first time he heard a Mickey Newbury song on the radio. That he somehow ended up befriending his songwriting hero when Newbury found his way to a welcoming Flora-Bama in the early 1990’s was a blessing he mentioned often.
“I was lucky enough to become friends with Mickey Newbury, Rock Killough, Red Lane, Sonny Throckmorton – all these great country Hall of Fame writers,’’ Larry T said. “I was blown away that they all believed in what I was doing. So basically everything that I’ve learned came from guys like that.’’
The fact that Mickey Newbury’s son, Chris Newbury, considers Larry T a musical hero and one of the reasons he decided to move to Perdido Key in 1999 brings that story full circle.
Chris Newbury, who covers Larry T’s songs while playing solo and with his own band, the Newbury Syndicate, said he kept Larry T’s debut CD (The One And Only You) on the five disc CD player in his Honda Accord for about eight years.
“As he has with so much good music, Bo Roberts turned me onto it, and then I was hooked. It was just a great CD,’’ he said. “I know it’s been said before, but Larry T told me to make sure you are the worst player in the band if you really want to get better, and that’s what I did when I was able to get on stage with all of those guys. I never thought I’d be able to do that.’’
And why was Larry T able to co-write all those beautiful songs that made such an impression on him?
“I have no idea. If I knew, I’d steal it from him,’’ Newbury said. “Nobody knows the secret recipe. But he had it. And that was totally separate from the music he played with Big Muddy. Some of my best memories are of Big Muddy playing in the dome when that was still the main stage. He always had killer players in that band, totally top shelf.’’
Big Muddy & The King Sized Boogerman (Harold Floyd, Robbie Fleming, Les Linton and TK Lively) will play at Larry T’s memorial.
Sammy Kershaw made noise with “Too Far Gone to Leave.” But Larry T only had limited success in Nashville. “The House at the End of the Road” was a hit for 4-Runner. Marty Rabon cut “Take Jesus As Your Lawyer” and David Frizzell had success with “Charlie Loves Hazel.”
But it was Larry T’s crooning on ballads – songs like “No More Chasing Rainbows,” “I Know How To Love You By Heart,’’ and “Hey Moon’’ – delivered in that soulful voice on top of notes that he held forever that produced those magical moments that will last his fans a lifetime.
“I look back on the wonderful humans that I’ve met, and the wonderful level of talent that I’ve been blessed to be a part of, and to write with some of these wonderful people,’’ Larry T said. “My life couldn’t have been any better. How lucky I was, to be exposed to people like that. I wouldn’t trade it for all the hits in the world.’’
Larry T. Wilson first found his way to the Flora-Bama in the late 80’s sitting in with after working all day in the parts department at Orange Beach Marina. He was living with Joiner and his family in a big spread on the bay in Ft. Morgan at the time.
“God has got himself a great lead singer and harmonica player,’’ said Joiner, who met Larry T at Boots Lounge in Bay Minette in the early 1980’s when, after working his shift at Southern Aluminum, Larry T would come by and sit in with Joiner’s band.
“I’ve been married for 32 years and it was before that,’’ Joiner said. “He would play a few songs on harmonica. We’d have a few drinks and we got to become friends over a period of a few years.’’
“The Eye of The Beholder’’ was the first song they wrote together, but Joiner can’t remember the lyrics and melody. He does remember that they wrote “No More Chasing Rainbows’’ in about 10 minutes in their home’s utility room.
“John called me up at work and said ‘Look I got this title. It’s called ‘No More Chasing Rainbows.’’’ And it hit me. Just boom. Right then and there,’’ Larry T said. “Fortunately, he’s only about twenty minutes away from where I was working at the time. So I just went straight to his house, and we wrote it in about an hour. It just started flowing.’’
They knew the song was special as soon as they put it in front of an audience.
“It has got this vocal thing where at the end of the song I go into this real high note and I can’t hit it unless I close my eyes. You know? It’s just that demanding,’’ Larry T said. “And I had my eyes closed and I was doing this thing and I heard this roar after the song was over with. I opened my eyes and everyone was standing up. And it was such a great feeling. There’s no feeling that approaches it. It’s probably the main reason I do what I do.’’
“I Know How To Love You By Heart’’ started with a late night phone call from co-writer David Johnson (who has also passed). “He was tore up, but there was something about that line. So, I grabbed a pen and we came up with a few hooks,’’ Joiner said. “Larry T finished it with me the following day.’’
“The One and Only Me” was another song Johnson, Joiner and Larry T. wrote together.
Joiner said Larry T and Chris Penese had already scored a slot at the Flora-Bama when he started sitting in with them. After suffering a brain aneurism, Penese dropped out of the music scene.
“Joe (Gilchrist) ended up putting us on the schedule and that was the start of Hurricane Warning,’’ Joiner said.
Joiner and Larry T were playing on as a duo when Rick Whaley, who was splitting time between Nashville and a Boystown camper, joined the band.
“Darrel (Roberts) played on and off with us,’’ Joiner said. “It’s hard to remember exactly how it all transpired. But at one point, Whaley came in and said he was staying next door while doing some work for Joe and heard us through those old open windows at the ‘Bama. He said he liked what he heard, and he started sitting in and hanging out. One thing led to another and we formed Southwind, which was the name on the camper trailer Whaley was living in.’’
“I’d been listening to them for two days and I knew the songs. So I played a set with them and the next thing you know we started Southwind,’’ Whaley added.
Southwind played all over the Gulf Coast and every Friday night at the Flora-Bama for more than five years. Their tenure included a trip to France and Monaco as part of a cultural exchange organized by Gilchrist and the artist Nall.
“We were definitely a staple at the Flora-Bama,’’ Whaley said. “We always had a great crowd. and Larry T just sang his a!# off. He was a great vocalist. I’m sure I have a couple handfuls of good stories, but just having a blast every time we were on stage is what stands out.’’
Joiner said he never thought about whether he and Larry T were part of any kind of musical renaissance at the Flora-Bama. “I just poured my heart into it,’’ he said. “I loved every minute I was on stage. The band worked a lot, and I was working a lot with everybody else. But that was what I lived for. I can’t put into words what a great time of my life that was. I think about it a lot. When I hear tapes from back then, it still blows me away.’’
Larry T was feeling that energy as well.
“I remember clearly leaving my gig and just being so amped up on the music that I’d sit down as soon as I’d get home,’’ he said. “I’d write down songs that I was actually writing in my head on the way home. I’d just sit down and write what I was already singing over and over in my head. A lot of times, I’d come up with six or seven songs a week. Now I might get five or six a year. I used to joke about it. I used to say, ‘Boy, I really used to write a lot more songs before I knew how to write.’’’
“Life demands more of me now or maybe it was just me being younger. Sometimes you neglect the things you shouldn’t,’’ Joiner said. “But I wouldn’t take a million bucks in exchange for those wonderful memories. If I could have picked a brother, it would have been Larry T.
“I haven’t really wrapped my mind around him and some of the other (songwriters) being gone. But I just have to move ahead and try to use everything I learned from them. That’s all we can do.’’
Any son raised right wants to make his father proud, and Larry T was no different. He knew for sure he did just that during a visit over coffee during the time his dad was dying of cancer.
“He said, ‘Son, Sammy Kershaw’s coming on Crook and Chase.’ By that time we all knew that I had a song on his newest record. And he said, ‘Do you think he’ll do it?’ I said ‘Well dad probably not. It’s not slated to be a single. And that’s what usually they do.’ Well, boom, here he comes. What song do you think he did? He did my mine and Rock Killough’s song. And I cried like a baby. I couldn’t stop it. You know? I was trying to be all tough.’’
That moment with his dad was Larry T’s epiphany. “It doesn’t matter how little or how much money I made. The whole thing was worth it for that one moment. It really was. So it was a pretty amazing journey for me.’’
Darrell Roberts played his first gig, reluctantly, at the Flora-Bama in 1981, and he never really left. He remembers hanging some with Larry T around 1990, but it was not until he recruited him into the Dixie Flyers, Rock Killough’s three piece that also included guitarist Jimmy Grubbs, that he started writing songs with him.
“We played together for about two years when I got us booked at the Bluebird Cafe and someone hired Jimmy right off the stage,’’ Killough said.
“Yeah, Jimmy got pirated by one of those big acts and I don’t blame him,’’ Roberts added. “He was a great guitar player, singer and writer. We brought LT in to help with harmonies and he brought John in to form the second reincarnation of the Dixie Flyers.’’
The Dixie Flyers started writing together in different combinations, Roberts said. “That’s what musicians do when they have an idea and they are sitting around with other musicians. Larry T and I wrote a good six or eight songs, and we put many, many miles on the road together.’’
Roberts still plays twice a week with Joiner. “John and I play together and we both do songs we wrote with Larry T. He is still part of the deal and always will be.’’
He said “That’s What Tears Are For’’ and “There’s No Future In The Past’’ are probably the most requested among the songs in his catalog he wrote with Larry T.
“We wrote that in about 20 minutes and that’s the way it is. The good ones come fast, and the ones you struggle with are not as good,’’ Roberts said.
Killough’s co-writes with Larry T included two Larry T ideas that led to “Charlie Loves Hazel” and “Too Far Gone.’’ They also co-wrote “House At The End Of The Road.’’
Larry T’s recollection of meeting Killough: “I first heard Rock here [the Flora-Bama] and I was amazed. Here’s this guy with these soulful songs that’ll just tear you apart to listen to them. So I approached him. I said, ‘Hey look, I know you don’t know me from Adam. But I wanna write with you.’ I sent him three or four songs and gave him my number at work. And about two days later the phone rings, and it was him. He sounded like he was bouncing about three feet off the ground. He said he was already working on “Charlie Loved Hazel.’’’
Larry T said they played the song for the first time at the 1991 songwriters fest, with Killough reading the words from sheets Larry T was holding. Just by chance, Mickey Newbury was in the audience, and just by chance, Larry T was eating dinner with the Killoughs in Greenville when a rep from BFE Records called for a copy of the song on Newbury’s reference. David Frizzell ended up cutting the song and releasing it as a single.
“Take Jesus as Your Lawyer” is another song with credits to Killough, Joiner and Larry T.
“I actually woke up one morning at about 5 and I had this melody in my mind. And the original name of the song was “The Beast You’ve Never Known.” I’ve really never written anything in the Gospel vein. But I couldn’t get rid of it. It kept haunting me and finally I sat down and wrote, I guess two verses,’’ he said.
“I called John up on the phone and said, ‘What do you think about this?’ I sang it over the phone, and he says, ‘I got a line for that. Take Jesus as your lawyer or you’ll face that judge alone.’ And I said, “Oh my goodness. What a great line. So I went ahead and wrote the chorus around that. I took it to Rock and we got him to write the final verse.’’
Killough and Larry T have stayed close friends and part-time bandmates for 30 years.
“He was a big old guy with a big old heart,’’ Killough said. “If you read any of the things on facebook, you’ll see. He was always pleading for civility, and calm and the word of God. He could be hard to deal with when he got his head set on what he wanted. But he was a brother. I loved him and I’m sad to see him go so soon.’’
Killough said Larry T was always willing to practice. “Say that to a bunch of musicians and they’ll know exactly what I am talking about. You call the band about going over a new song, Darrell and John will not be there. But Larry T will always show up.’’
“When you are together for that many years, you stay close. You butt heads and you fuss and you do everything friends do who are locked up together all the time,’’ Roberts said. “Being on the road is not glamorous. You see us up there playing our hearts out on stage, but you didn’t see us in a van together for 20 hours to get there. We went through all that together. It makes us closer than family. We dealt with each other’s problems and health concerns and helped each other deal with parents dying and God knows how many relationships.’’
“As I’ve gotten older and have dealt with losing close friends, I’ve learned not to let it drag me down under,’’ Killough added. “I’ve tried to put it all in a can and store it in my memory bank where I can dial it up once in a while. I’ve got to keep moving on. So many miles. My goodness. What great memories.”
The man holding the needle and thread tying all of that musical creativity together was, of course, FBISF founder Joe Gilchrist.
“None of us would be here doing what we’re doing right now without Joe,’’ Larry T said. “Joe’s helped a lot of people, me included, over the years. He’s a great guy still to this day. Joe’s a rare kinda’ guy to be found operating a honky tonk. Most of them could care less about their musicians. Joe loves musicians. So you know he’s a rare find when it comes to that.’’
“I don’t see Joe out as much as I’d like to. But he has the biggest heart and the best spirit maybe of anybody I’ve ever met in my life. There was no end to his faith in all of us,’’Joiner said. “When something wasn’t going well, he always had this little glimmer that let us know it will work out. He was our best friend, our brother, and a father figure to most of us during that time.
“I think life would have been much different for all of us if we hadn’t played there,’’ Joiner added. “Maybe we would have hit the same mark. But so many doors opened up for us because of the people we met there. I didn’t think about it back then. But as I’ve gotten older and look back, I think, damn, most people don’t get to meet the kind of people we met there. Joe created a place and a format that allowed us do that for all those years.’
As usual, Gilchrist chalks it up to exposing good people to good music in a welcoming atmosphere.
“They started coming into the club to sit in and they were obviously excellent musicians,’’ he said. “I was glad to have them, as Jimmy Louis and Ken Lambert both traveled and were gone for different times. We had bits and pieces of all kinds of music, and everybody played together. They were always adding players.
“It was an extraordinary time,’’ Gilchrist added. “As a bar owner, I felt like it was my job to make it fun for all of us. The music was so good, and it was such a pleasure to bring people together with these great musicians. Everybody learned from each other and shared the stage and worked together.’’
“We went from getting fired for doing our songs to being hired for doing our songs in a matter of a couple of months,’’ Larry T said. “This whole area is so conducive to songwriting. It’s just inspirational. Without Joe’s help, and all the other musicians around here, I don’t think I would have come nearly so far as I have in my writing. There’s something about having somebody that appreciates what you’re doing enough to keep you around. It makes it all worthwhile.’’
Larry T added that he never failed to gain inspiration from his audience.
“A singer without an audience is just a singer. If you can’t make people listen, you might as well lock yourself in the shower and sing to yourself,’’ he said.
“When you have this idea, and that’s where every song starts, an idea. There’s no greater feeling really in this world than having finished what you feel like is a really good song and you get to play it for people and they enjoy it. That’s when you know that ‘Yeah okay, we’re doing something worth doing.’
“That’s what keeps me doing it. The fact that they still come to see me,’’ Larry T added.
Like those who were playing at the Flora-Bama prior to Larry T. and John Joiner, those two have raised the bar for musicians currently working to keep the Alabama Gulf Coast a musical maven.
Surely, Larry T left this earth satisfied that he contributed to the Gulf Coast musical legacy.
And just as surely, even manly men who don’t tell other guys they love them, would make an exception for Larry T.
••••••••••
Memorial set for Jan. 26 at ‘Bama

The Flora-Bama and the Frank Brown Songwriters Festival will co-host a musical memorial for one the Gulf Coast’s most revered home grown musicians on Sunday, January 26 from 2 – 6 p.m. Larry T. Wilson, a Baldwin County High School grad and Flora-Bama mainstay for more than 30 years, died on Dec. 5.
“His music helped to make the world a better place,’’ said Frank Brown Songwriters Fest Director Andy Haynes. “We will remember and honor Larry T. and all he meant to so many of us.’’
The tentative schedule for the memorial has Doug Gill and Lynn Langham kicking off at 2 p.m., with Gove Scrivenor and Stephen Lee Veal to follow. The Dixie Flyers with special guests Mac Walter, Augie Savage and Holly Shelton, are schedule to go on at 3 p.m. Sonny Throckmorton, Rusty Budde and Rhonda Hart will then play. The Leavin Bro’s (Evans and Charles Davis, David Trice, and Scott McPhearson) will play at 4 p.m., and friends will tell Larry T stories after that. Big Muddy (Robbie Fleming, Les Linton, TK Lively, Harold Floyd) will close out the day’s musical remembrance.

••••••••••
In Larry T’s own words….

– On connections with Nashville writers
“They were coming down, of course, for the vacation, and the beach and the beauty of it all. But they also brought with them the creativity, and the encouragement, which is a big deal.’’
-On Songwriting
“The biggest thing that I learned is that a good song is written. And great songs are re-written. And that’s a direct quote from Mickey Newbury right there.”
– On the ‘Bama in the early ‘90’s
“There was a magic happening here that, I mean, I got swept up in it. I think it made me sing better. I think it made me perform better. It’s hard to explain. There was a vibe that everybody could feel. All the creative souls here, everybody was writing great songs, and everybody fed off of it. And it was just a magical time. I don’t know any other way to say it.’’
– On Songwriting
“Sometimes I feel like I’m just holding the pen, and it’s coming from up there. And that’s the way it felt then. And I think it felt that way for everyone. It was just this big ole melting pot of creativity.’’
– On playing at The ‘Bama
“We actually had people coming up tipping us to do our songs. And some tipping us not to do Jimmy Buffet and all the obvious cover songs that were big that every other bar wanted you to do. It made this place special.’’
– On Songwriting
“I write songs quite selfishly. I write ’em for me. And if I get enjoyment out of ’em, and really love ’em, I feel like other people will really love ’em as well. If anybody else can use that song, and it makes me money, fine. And if nobody else wants to do that song, fine. I didn’t write it for them. I wrote it for me. It’s always a wonderful blessing, and a great compliment, when other people record your work. But I don’t need it for an ego. I just want to be pleased with what I’m doing. And that’s the bottom line.
– On Songwriting
“I wish I had a couple of platinum hit songs. You know, money-wise. But in terms of writing to fit a certain program, no. That’s not me. If I tried to do something like that it would probably just mess me up. Because at that point, it’s not your art, it’s someone else’s.’’
– On taking the stage
“I don’t care how awful you feel, when you get on stage and the music starts happening, and it’s really special, all of that goes away. It’s immediate relief from anything that may have been bugging you. And what you feel is what I would call a joyful release. And it makes you feel like smiling. It does me anyway.’’
– On his fans
“I’m gonna do this as long as God’ll let me. I pray that I can still do it on a level that’s professional for the rest of my life. I’ve made some pretty big hurdles in these 60 years. And you know 60 years doesn’t sound like a lot, but dog years don’t have nothing on musician years.’’