Referencing Larry Campbell’s impressive resume is an easy task; after all he’s played with more BIG NAME musicians than has anyone of this era, and his studio and touring credentials reach deep and wide.
Doing so without appearing to be awestruck and given to absurd levels of hyperbole is another matter, but here are a few highlights: From 1997-2004 he toured as a member of Bob Dylan’s band, an experience he describes as “otherworldly,” was later the musical director for Levon Helm’s entourage (as well as delivering the eulogy at Helm’s funeral) and has appeared on stage or worked in the studio with artists including Mavis Staples, Rosanne Cash, Phil Lesh, Elvis Costello, Garland Jeffreys, Cyndi Lauper, the Black Crowes, Emmylou Harris and Shawn Colvin. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Campbell has won multiple Grammy Awards and is largely celebrated as one of the most talented and dependable go-to musicians around, equally adept on guitar, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, pedal steel, dobro and any number of stringed instruments. While his solo work has been largely under the radar, it is no less notable.
Campbell, born in New York in 1955, benefitted from his parents’ eclectic record collection.
“Seeing the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 was a life-changing experience,” he tells me.
“I was also a sports nut, and one day in 1966, while playing baseball, I saw a kid with a guitar walk onto the field and play a couple of Beatle songs. All the girls flocked over to him so I figured that was the way to go. I went home, grabbed my father’s old guitar, and my life was pretty well set.”
Campbell began learning songs not just from the current artists (“I was a huge Rolling Stones fan”) but also from American folk, blues and country masters including Hank Williams, Jimmie Rodgers, the Rev. Gary Davis and Doc Watson. He also taught himself to play other instruments, discovering early on a “natural affinity to play anything with strings.”
By age 16 he’d graduated high school and moved to Los Angeles, “crashing on couches and taking whatever gigs I could come up with. I often joke I’ve never had an honest job in my life.” Two years later Campbell found a gig with obscure country singer Ben Marney, who had a deal with Playboy Records. The group secured a long club engagement in Mississippi, where Campbell remained for more than a year before returning to New York.
While visiting Woodstock, he encountered folk musicians Happy & Artie Traum, who would become friends as well as mentors; often playing with their Woodstock Mountain Revue. As the first wave of commercial country swept the nation, fueled by the success of the movie and soundtrack Urban Cowboy, Campbell moved to NYC.
Owing to his diverse skills, he quickly got a steady gig in the house band at the Lone Star Cafe, backing musicians such as Kinky Friedman, Doug Sahm, Buddy Miller, Willie Nelson and more. It was there in 1986 he first crossed paths with his future wife and musical partner Teresa Williams, a country and R&B singer and stage actress who hired him for her backing band after hearing his work.
“Sure part of it was his talent,” she tells me. “But I’d be lying if I didn’t say his looks and charm won me over.”
Never one to turn down a steady paycheck Campbell also began doing television soundtrack work and playing on commercials. His session career took off as he began his long run of studio work, playing on records by everyone from Colvin to the Backstreet Boys. He even played in the pit band for The Will Rogers Follies on Broadway.
It was during that time he met bassist Tony Garnier who suggested him to Bob Dylan. Campbell played guitar on Dylan’s celebrated Time Out of Mind album and reluctantly accepted an offer to join the band.
“My only hesitation was the time away from Teresa,” he says. “I knew then and there I wanted to be with her.”
After eight years Campbell left the band to concentrate on solo work. In 2005 he released the instrumental Rooftops and toured with Phil Lesh and Friends. He also contributed to the Brokeback Mountain soundtrack, did a slew of session work, and moved to Woodstock. It was there he met Helm, producing, arranging and playing on Helm’s Dirt Farmer, which won a 2008 Grammy Award, as did the subsequent Electric Dirt and Ramble at the Ryman, both of which featured the guitarist. Were that not enough, Campbell also won the Americana Music Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Campbell continued to direct Helm’s band at the famed Midnight Ramble sessions in Woodstock until the drummer’s death in 2012. In 2015 Campbell produced and played on Amy Helm’s debut album Didn’t It Rain. It was during that time the groundwork for the long anticipated Campbell/Williams album was laid.
Released last year (and very favorably reviewed in Rapid River Magazine) the self-titled effort aptly displayed their mutual influences and ease at melding them together. It’s a top contender for my album of the year. In late summer the pair toured with Jackson Browne, taking a brief detour to play The Grey Eagle here in Asheville. It was during this time I had the opportunity to meet and briefly talk with them.
James Cassara: I know you get this question a lot, but what was it like touring with Bob Dylan?
Larry: It was very businesslike. Bob doesn’t say much so you have to quickly pick up on his cues. During the bus rides the band would be in the back fiddling around with ideas, and Bob would be up near the driver. It was on the bus I wrote a lot of the songs that ended up on our album.
JC: You’re often compared to June Carter and Johnny Case but I think of you more as the Delany and Bonnie of our era.
Teresa: I LOVE that comparison! Bonnie (Bramlett) was one of the first singers I worked with and she’s a good friend and absolute doll. When I made enough money to buy my first decent car we took it for a spin. She dropped her joint and burned a hole in the seat. There are not a lot of people I’d forgive for that but she’s one. Yeah, that Delany and Bonnie vibe is definitely one we work towards.
JC: You both play some pretty high profile shows. How does it feel to turn around and play a smaller venue to maybe 150 people?
Larry: Leaving out the economics it’s all the same. You scale the show to match the audience and remind yourself how lucky you are to do this for a living. The bottom line is we love to make music together.
So there you have it. Two musicians and their band who love to play music to crowds big and small; which is why their return to The Grey Eagle promises to be such a treat for fans of Americana, country and all points in between.
If You Go: Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams (sharing the bill with Peter Mulvey) on Sunday, January 24, 2016. Tickets for this all-ages, seated, 8 p.m. show are $15 in advance and $18 day of. The Grey Eagle, 185 Clingman Ave., Asheville. For more details, call (828) 232-5800 or visit www.thegreyeagle.com.