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Still Drippin’ Wet - Jimmy Hall Keeps On Rockin'

© Michael B. Smith

When the stage is his, Jimmy Hall, the dynamic, Mobile-born singer transforms himself into one righteous medium who melds the blues, rock and R&B into a steaming exorcism that can cleanse any listener's soul.
Among the many highlights in Hall's career were touring with acts such as Aerosmith, The Allman Brothers Band, Grand Funk Railroad and The Grateful Dead. His Grammy nomination for Best Male Rock Vocalist, as a featured performer on Jeff Beck's "Flash" album, is an honor he still considers a personal best. Hall's fruitful career began with the birth of Wet Willie and has been a non-stop musical joy ride since their move from Mobile to Macon in 1970 to record for Capricorn. The birth of the band and the potency of the time are forever etched in Hall's mind.

Many people think Wet Willie formed in Macon, Georgia,but it was really in Alabama, right?

We were in Mobile in '68 and '69, putting the band together, and then in '70 we headed for Macon.

Do you think there will ever be a full scale Wet Willie reunion?

We've played a lot together between 1990 and last year. We've had some good experiences, but right now we're in a holding pattern.

Is your sister Donna, from the Wet Willie band, doing any recording right now?

She did a local project in Mobile, a live thing with a friend down there. She was also doing some work with The Beat Daddies, and working on some solo stuff.

What's your take on the seventies, and your time as lead singer of Wet Willie?

I wouldn't take any amount of money for the time in which I was born, and the time in which I grew up. I wouldn't take anything for the situation I was in. Doing what we did - rocking in the '70s - it was the best of all worlds. It was like being indestructible. I was in a rock band, we had records and we were on the road playing with everyone we'd ever idolized. How can you beat that?

What was the vibe like around Capricorn Studios during the seventies?

It was a real cooperative atmosphere. Almost like a workshop. People were interacting and learning from each other. If you were recording your record, you didn't close your doors and lock out other musicians. The bands encouraged the bands and the other Capricorn artists to drop in and listen to what was going on and give some feed back, maybe contribute to a song. It was a real community feeling. We were in a place that you wouldn't think that kind of music, or that much music would come out of, tiny little Macon, Georgia. A town with only one recording studio at the time. It was that community spirit-brother helping brother, that I loved. All of us being down there, getting our studio chops together.