For over 30 years, guitarist/singer Larry Campbell and vocalist Teresa Williams have been at the forefront of blues, country and American roots music with studio recordings and live shows. The couple has been happily married for 34 years. Soulmates bound by a shared love of music. Williams met her fellow singer-songwriter Campbell in 1986 when she was hired to play pedal steel guitar at her show at The Bottom Line in New York. They got married two years later.
Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams perform at Shank Hall on Sunday, March 18th. In recent interviews, the pair openly talk about their influences, their joy in making music for each other, and the musicians they admire. This is his one of the great examples that an interviewer should get out of the way and let the subject tell their story.
Married for 34 years. Many people in your profession are unable to maintain commitment to relationships.
Williams: Our love of music unites us. I live in Tennessee and Larrys lives in New York City, so we don’t see each other often. I have lived in my grandmother’s house next door to my parents for 20 years. It can get complicated. My friends are trying to convince him to move here, but he doesn’t have one (laughs). After 15 years of playing with Bob Dylan on the Never Ending Tour, Larry began working with Levon Helm. He didn’t want to stay home, so he started working as well. That’s just one of the reasons we’re still married!
Larry, how was your time with Levon and Bob?
CAMPBELL: Back then Bob was doing whatever he wanted and he was able to do it because he was Bob Dylan. I learned from him that he can sing whatever he wants. As for Levon Helm, his music has always revealed who he is. It was impossible for him to become anything else. His music has taught me to be completely honest in the way I express myself. Without Levon’s philosophy, Teresa and I might not have made it this far.
Williams: Levon and I share a cultural background, and for me it was working in the cotton fields. It was like coming home, so he liked visiting my parents, didn’t he? The cotton fields are the birthplace of all the music we play.
For many years, black people were not recognized for their contributions to contemporary music.
Williams: Don’t start! I worked with rednecks and crackers (laughs). we barely survived. My grandparents lost half their land because they couldn’t pay off their debts. You nailed it to music. I feel like the white people ran away. I will be happy to give it back.
It sounds like you both have avoided headlining big shows.
Campbell: That was never our goal. We want to make the best music we can. If it leads to stardom, that would be great, but right now we’re having fun doing what we love to do.
Williams: The only way we can achieve stardom right now is to become a sensation on TikTok. On social media, it is determined by the number of followers. Scary, but that’s how it is. It’s frustrating that I can’t respond to my fans, but that’s a big deal. I have to be online all day and I’m too old for that (laughs).
At a show with Jackson Browne at Riverside in 2015. I realized your band lacked ego. Instead, they were actively listening, like musicians playing to each other.
Campbell: Thank you. For us, it’s about connecting with musicians on stage. The audience feels it and the energy comes back to us. That’s the big payoff.
Can you tell us about an influential performer?
Williams: My father took me to his favorite music, especially Hank Williams and Jimmie Rogers. Jimmie Rodgers’ country blues was the real deal. He didn’t know how to be unfaithful to it. Old-time stars like Ralph Stanley, Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs and Bill Monroe delivered their music without pretense. They shared experiences, friendships and personalities through music. It was a very good foundation for me.
Do you like speaking to an audience with your voice or guitar?
Campbell: The need to communicate is human. it’s part of us.
Williams: We all tell stories. A cover of Johnny Cash’s “The Long Black Veil” is a staple of mine. I love the story of that song.
Campbell: Even if you’re playing an instrument solo, it’s part of the story. And Teresa listens to her nature and her feelings and conveys them to her hands. Her vitality and emotions come out.
Your version of “Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning” is one of my favorites. It’s a Reverend Gary Davis classic.
Williams: with Larry [legendary gospel singer] Marie Knight recorded the song for Gary in 2007. The songs are… ‘Twelve Gates’, ‘You Got to Move’, a tribute to him. Larry and Marie were teaching at Far Peace’s guitar camp when Marie fell ill and Jorma Kaukonen asked me to hit for her. People expected legends. I grew up on gospel, and I was like, ‘What the hell am I into?
If you don’t record your performance, the music will disappear into the sky. Is your audience still absorbing your message?
Campbell: Oh yeah! I think they are received on a subliminal level and take root in the subconscious. Music has an uplifting and healing effect.
Could you tell me how to play “The Last Time”?
Campbell: (laughs) When I started playing guitar at 11, I had a record player that could slow the music down from 33 1/3 to about 16 rpm. Thanks to that, I was able to learn what I love. I learned various guitar licks and solos the way I thought they were played on the album. I saw Keith Richards and Brian Jones playing higher on the fretboard when the Stones were using Ed Sullivan. It was still close!
People think you’re a musical genius because you can play virtually any stringed instrument.
Williams: They don’t know!
Campbell: For me, it’s always time spent working, learning.
Williams: He practices on those instruments before I wake up. every day.
Campbell: I know there are people out there who can put in an hour a week and play great. that’s not me return what you put in. It’s a labor of love.