Roy Potter captures that T-Town Sound.

Roy Potter captures that T-Town Sound.

Jerry Henry

I interviewed Roy Potter back in July 2007. During that interview Roy told me, "I've been dying to put out a CD for a long time. I have been thinking about song material for a long time. There's a lot of strong material."

Roy Potter's dream has come true. His CD, Roy Potter, is now available at www.cdbaby.com and locally at OZ Music. This CD spans a variety of styles and features songs from several very accomplished songwriters.

Many talk about a special feel in early Tuscaloosa music or a T-Town sound. Roy has captured that sound better than anything I have heard from the hey day of original music in Tuscaloosa during the '60's and '70's. Every song is strong and the production is top notch. Mike Shamblin recorded, mixed and mastered the CD at his Shamblin Sound Studio on 96k/24 bit Pro Tools. Mike also played on several tracks.

This is not a full-on retro project. To me it seems that Roy found the songs with that feel I mentioned and brought them into today's world adding the nuances of the decades since. These songs are just as relevant today as they were back then. Original music from this area has been stymied by the cover song bands that play the bars (understanding that musicians have to make a living). There are a few, like The National Trust and Dexateens that seek that feeling in their music today, but very few.

Many have become national artists and call Tuscaloosa home; were here temporarily and launched their musical careers from here. Musicians based out of Tuscaloosa have been a part of many of the songs you hear everyday on classic rock radio.

Roy's roots run deep in the Tuscaloosa music scene. Coming to Tuscaloosa, to earn his chemistry degree at U of A, he played in several very popular bands which included Bacon, ButterBear, Rabbit Branch, Taxi and the very notable Lifters. He recorded some of the best songs from those early rock days using the musicians that played back then. 

My second interview with Roy happened after lunch at 15Th Street Diner. We sat on the outdoor bench on a warm, sunny winter's day. I asked him about each of the 10 tracks.

"Running With a Bad Crowd" came about because of an euphemism for his old band down in Florida. It was kind of a running joke that they were a "bad crowd." He said, "I wrote it. I wrote a story line around a teenage love affair kind of thing."

The second song is "Call The Doctor." Roy laughs and says, "The doctor is a ladies man, let's say. If you listen to the words closely, it carries that connotation. He's a doctor of love, pretty much." Call the doctor/He knows what you've got/He'll help you medicate that spot/Call the doctor.

Tippy Armstrong wrote Matters At Hand." Roy told me, "I asked Tippy for an explanation of that song, one time. What I got was, it was kind of a running stream of consciousness about two people getting married. He never elaborated on who it was or if it was about anybody in particular. The 'ave alle' part was his idea of a religious type connotation. But I am not aware of any actual religious connotations it carries. We have no idea of what it means or if it means anything. Of course Tippy died before he could explain it too much." When I asked about his memories of Tippy. He replied, "Tippy was a talented guy, as nice as he could be! He could always come up with just the right little phrase or sweetener to put into the music. He had such a knack for doing that. I guess that's why they loved him so much up in Muscle Shoals. He always had the right sound or that right guitar part that fit right in, it would make the song. He was like Paul Hornsby, they always knew how to add those special parts."

"Hey Anna" is a song written by Montevallo's Don Tinsley. Don is a very active part of Birmingham's music scene and is no stranger to Tuscaloosa. He has played in many bands, I remember him best as bassist for Topper Price. Bill Marshall and Don Tinsley were trying to work a deal in Muscle Shoals back in the late '70's. "Hey Anna" was one of the songs on that project. Roy commented, "I have always liked Don and the song. He has many more, so does all the other guys. I would like to do another CD and pull from the same resources."

"She's Just a Dream" is a Mike Duke song. Roy says, "I have no idea who that's about. We did that song with the Lifters back in '79 and '80. I fell in love with the song. That was one that didn't get picked up by Huey Lewis. I told Bill Connell that we had to include this one because I thought we could do it in a way that would make Mike proud." Roy first met Mike when he played a gig at the Union Town Rec Center. He explains, "I lived in Marion and went over to see Mike perform. I met him again later through Bill Connell. We all got to be good friends and eventually played together in the Lifters.....Mike is an incredibly talented guy. We were tickled when he went with Wet Willie. He had a lot of success writing songs. He got hooked up with Huey Lewis and wrote a bunch of hits for Huey and the News. He now manages Huey's restaurants out in California in the San Francisco area."

"Face The Music" is another song that Roy wrote. He talks about the song, "That's a song that is a exercise I did, taking lines from  Andy Devine westerns and mob movies. I put the lyrics to a Steely Dan kind of groove."

"Laid On The Line" is another Tippy Armstrong song. Roy says, "That was one of the songs we recorded with Brook Clement, Bill Connell, Tippy, Mary Anderson and myself. We recorded in a church that Brook had a 4 track in, in the late '70's. That was when Tippy was trying to get something going with Jerry Wexler. It's one of those Tippy songs that everybody liked. It's kind of a rock and roll love story with a roadhouse feel."

"I Can't Fight" was written by Roy. He reflects, "That was a song I wrote back in the early '80's. It's true story about being in love with somebody but realizing that you probably shouldn't live with them. You can't fight and you can't run. That's the story of my life." (laughing) He added, "It started out being rhythm and blues and ended up being reggae."

Locust Fork Band's Bill Marshall wrote "Overnight Success." Roy tells, "It's based on a friend of his first exploit into the land of cheating. Bill did a masterful job in telling the story. I always swore if I got the chance I was going to record it."

Last is another Mike Duke song, "Love That Woman Right." Roy told me, "We did that one in the Lifters back in the late '70's. Just a good R&B tune. It's meat and potatoes R&B."

Roy calls himself, Boy Hidey, and the rest of the players, The Bipolar Bears. That is the name they will be using when they start gigging to support this project. Roy plays guitars and sings all the tunes on the CD. Roy's voice is a Greg Allman/Eddie Hinton combination that is really effective. Mike's brother John Shamblin plays drums and percussion. He played with Roy in Bacon and Rabbitt Branch (John was also a member of Rock Killough). Tommy Gardner plays bass and sings back-up. Tommy played with Roy early on and has played with some of the southeast's best known bands including Bobby Whitlock (of Derek and the Dominos). Barry Anderson is on keyboards. Barry has worked on several projects with producer Paul Hornsby, including Randy Howard. Barry also played on a lot of Court Pickett songs. Patty Townsend sings back-up. She has sung with many Tuscaloosa area bands including the Jazz Babies. Patty and Tommy Gardner gig a lot as a duet. Mike Shamblin recorded, mixed and mastered the CD. Mike also played organ and piano on several cuts.

I asked Roy what he thought would have happened if this project had been released in 1978. He laughed and said, "I would be living in a very big house right now."

Watch for Boy Hidey and the BiPolar Bears. They will be bringing that T-Town sound to a venue near you.