Muscle Shoals, Alabama keeps calling our names. It is where Dan Penn became part of Rick Hall’s Fame Studio family. His songs include “The Letter,” "Dark End of the Street" and "Do Right Woman." He wrote the last two with Chips Moman. Spooner Oldham from Center Star, Alabama, made his way to Muscle Shoals, too. They wrote these classics together; “I’m Your Puppet,” "Cry Like A Baby," and "Out of Left Field." Chasing down these two seminal rock and roll and R&B songwriting icons is your assignment today, if you so choose.
Today’s song is one of their compositions. We last met up with Willy and Cody Braun from Reckless Kelly in January at The MusicFest in Steamboat Springs. We thought this song from our recording session would be a good one to shine a light on the upcoming 3rd Annual Reckless Kelly's Celebrity Softball Jam, happening this Sunday, May 1st at Dell Diamond in Round Rock, TX. Artists performing this year in addition to Reckless Kelly, include Ray Benson, Heidi Newfield, Bo Bice, Micky & the Motorcars, Hayes Carll, Dale Watson, Muzzie Braun, Charlie Robison, Wade Bowen, Bruce Robison, George Devore, Mary Cutrafello, and Django Walker.
If you are coming to the event, you can join in the “Reckless Recycling Program” by bringing new, outgrown and gently used baseball gloves, bats, shoes, catcher’s equipment and other baseball-related items, which will be donated to youth players and leagues in need. Reckless Kelly has already donated more than $65,000 from the first two Celebrity Softball Jams, with proceeds going to benefit area youth baseball groups. So here is today’s song, which was made famous by Percy Sledge. It’s “Out of Left Field” featuring Willy and Cody Braun.
-Jessie Scott