MUSCLE SHOALS TIMES DAILY - March, 2005

TRAIN OF SORROW
Shoals' Southern Rock Allstars bid bittersweet farewell to legendary drummer

The Southern Rock All-Stars' most recent recording project has proved to be a fitting but sadly unexpected farewell to a trailblazing musician who gave the thundering band much of its hard-rocking heart and soul.

Fans around the world are listening to the All-Stars' newest release -- "Trouble's Comin' -- Live!" -- with a more attentive and affectionate ear for the passionate percussion licks of one of the band's founding fathers, legendary Southern-rock drummer Jakson Spires.

"As far as I'm concerned, Jakson was as great as it gets -- he was an icon in our kind of music," according to All-Stars co-founder Jay Johnson, who was by his bandmate's side when Spires died in his sleep at Lawnwood Regional Medical Center and Heart Institute in Ft. Pierce, Fla., on March 16.

The 53-year-old Spires -- best known for his work with the Southern-rock band Blackfoot ("Train, Train," "Highway Song") -- had been in a coma since suffering a cerebral hemorrhage three days earlier.

"It's been a tough one, man -- we're all just in a state of shock," Johnson remarked. "There's been an outpouring of emotion from all over the world. It's just gratifying to know that people look at Jakson and his music with so much love and respect."

A native of North Carolina, Spires -- known by friends and fans as "Thunderfoot" -- first rose to musical fame when Blackfoot, Lynyrd Skynyrd and other long-haired, guitar- riven bands of the 1970s helped define the rowdy and rebellious Southern-rock movement.

"I'd say he was probably in the top 5 rock 'n' roll drummers of all time -- he did some things that I've never seen any other great session drummer do,"  says Johnson's father, Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section guitarist Jimmy Johnson, who produced Blackfoot's first album, "Flying High," at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in Sheffield.

"Later on, when he and Jay would write songs together, Jakson wrote the lyrics -- that was unheard of for a drummer to do lyrics," Johnson recalled.  "Being the writer of the song, he knew where he wanted everything to be in the arrangement. So he would go in and lay the song down -- drums first -- with a click track, then go from there. It was amazing, but it worked."

Jay Johnson was 10 years old and a regular visitor to Muscle Shoals Sound when Blackfoot recorded "Flying High" in 1976.

"Strangely enough, Jakson's really the one who inspired me to become a guitar player," Jay Johnson explained. "When Blackfoot came here to record, I was planning on becoming a drummer. But just as soon as I saw Jakson play, I knew there was no way I would ever be able to play anywhere near that good. So I decided, 'Forget it -- I'll start playing guitar.' "

In their element.

Jay Johnson followed through on that goal -- and in his father's footsteps -- through his guitar work with the Rossington Band as well as his own Muscle Shoals group, Radio Tokyo. He and Spires formed the Southern Rock All-Stars in the 1990s, joining up with original Molly Hatchet guitarist Dave Hlubek and Muscle Shoals bassist Charles Hart Jr. for high-voltage recordings and grueling cross-country tours.

"The greatest thing is, between our hair, our clothes and our gear, we look like the crew," Spires wryly observed in a 1999 TimesDaily interview. "Fifteen minutes after we arrive at a gig, people are still on the lookout. While we're unloading our stage gear, they're saying, 'Where's the bus?'  They're still waiting for the band to arrive."

The All-Stars' two-disc "Trouble's Comin' -- Live!" showcases the band in its natural element, performing gutsy, full-tilt versions of Southern-rock anthems and All-Stars originals before screaming crowds of rock-hungry fans.  Highlights include cuts from a memorable "Muscle Shoals Rocks!" concert presented in 2003 at Jay Johnson's alma mater, Muscle Shoals High School.

"Now that I can sit back and actually listen to it and be objective, it's one of my favorite things we've done as a band," Johnson observed. "These 26 cuts are drawn from four years of live shows. They feature some of our friends and fellow players, plus the Muscle Shoals High School Chorus and Horn Section. Those kids really knocked us out -- it's great to be able to have them on there."

In spite of its retrospective nature, "Trouble's Comin' " doesn't mark the end of the All-Stars era. In recent years, the Muscle Shoals-based band has survived the departure of guitarists Hlubek and Mike Estes and the death of bassist Pete Geddes. The loss of Spires brings the All-Stars to a crossroads, but Johnson says there's no doubt in his mind which turn the band will take.

"We're bringing in two guys this weekend to do our first show without Jakson -- Paul Kettering from Radio Tokyo and Ace Allen from the Marshall Tucker Band," Johnson explained. "After that, Ace will join us on the road on a permanent basis. I have no doubt in my mind what Jakson would have wanted -- to forge ahead and keep the band going."

Musical memorials.

In the meantime, Johnson says there are several unreleased All-Stars tracks in the can featuring Spires. Southern-rock fans can also look forward to an upcoming project that the renowned drummer was working on with guitarist, singer and fellow All-Stars musician Scott Mabrey in North Carolina.

"It's not over yet -- I imagine we'll see more of Jakson's work coming out in the future," Johnson remarked. "For instance, we're in the midst of finishing up a big Southern Rock All-Stars DVD project that's going to be pretty spectacular. His death makes it that much more important for us to get back in and finish that and get it out."

Johnson and his current All-Stars colleagues -- Hart, Mabrey, Allen and vocalist Jimmy Farrar -- are taking leadership roles in musical farewells to the multi-talented drummer, songwriter and singer. The world of Southern rock will stage a memorial for Spires on Sunday, April 17, at the Shrine Auditorium in Orlando, Fla. A similar tribute will be presented Sunday, May 1, in Ann Arbor, Mich.

"Jakson was like a brother to me, and he touched an awful lot of lives everywhere he went for a whole lot of years," Johnson concluded. "If you ever met him, you instantly just loved the guy -- he had that effect on everybody. Music can be a tough and bitter business, but I never heard a soul say a bad word about Jakson -- ever."

Terry Pace
Entertainment Editor