Photo by Gregg Roth
Teresa Williams and Larry Campbell
Teresa Williams and Larry Campbell
Guitarist-singer Larry Campbell and vocalist Teresa Williams have been at the forefront of blues, country, and American roots music for more than three decades with their studio recordings and live shows. The couple have been happily married for 34 years; soul mates bound together by their shared love of music. Williams met fellow singer-songwriter Campbell in 1986 when he was hired to play pedal steel guitar in her show at New York's Bottom Line. They got married two years later.
Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams will perform at Shank Hall on Sunday, March 18. In a recent interview, both spoke candidly about performers that have influenced them as well as the joy of making music with each other as well as musicians they admire. This is one of those wonderful instances where the interviewer needs to get out of the way and let the subjects tell their story.
You’ve been married 34 years. Many people in your profession can’t sustain that commitment to a relationship.
Williams: Our love of the music is what keeps us together. Larry spent 15 years playing with Bob Dylan and the Never Ending Tour, and then he began working with Levon Helm. I didn’t want to be at home, so I started working too. That’s just one of the reasons why we’re still married!
Larry, what was spending that time with Levon and Bob like?
Campbell: Bob was doing whatever he felt like then, and he could do that because he’s Bob Dylan. From him I learned that it’s OK to do a song the way you want to. As for Levon Helm, his music always revealed who he was. It was impossible for him to be anything else. His music taught me to be totally honest in the way I expressed myself. Teresa and I might not have gotten this far without Levon’s philosophy.
Williams: Levon and I shared a cultural background, and for me, that was working in the cotton fields. He loved visiting my parents because it was like going home, you know? The cotton fields are where all the music we play originated.
For many years, Black people weren’t recognized for their contribution to modern music.
Williams: Don’t get me started! I worked alongside rednecks and crackers (laughs). We barely survived. My grandparents lost half their land because they couldn’t pay their debts. You nailed it on the music. I feel like white people took it ran. I’m happy to be giving it back.
It seems you both have sidestepped headlining big shows.
Campbell: That’s never been our goal. We’d rather make the best music we’re capable of. If that leads to stardom, great, but right now we enjoy doing what we do on our own terms.
Williams: The only way we could achieve stardom now is to become TikTok sensations. On social media you’re judged by how many followers you have. That’s scary, but that’s the way it is. I feel bad if I can’t respond to a fan, but it’s overwhelming. I’d have to be online all day long and I’m too old for that (laughs).
During your 2015 show at the Riverside with Jackson Browne. I noticed the lack of egos in your band. Instead, there was active listening between the musicians, like you were playing to each other.
Campbell: Thank you. For us, it’s about connecting with the musicians onstage. The audience feels that, and the energy comes back to us. That’s the big payoff.
Can one of you talk about influential performers?
Williams: My father brought me to music he loved, especially Hank Williams and Jimmie Rodgers, people like that. Jimmie Rodgers’ country-blues was real. He didn’t know how to be dishonest with that. The old-time stars like Ralph Stanley, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, or Bill Monroe just delivered music without any pretense. They shared experiences, friendships, and personalities through music. That was a very good foundation for me.
Like talking to an audience with a voice or a guitar?
Campbell: The need to communicate is human. It’s a part of who we are.
Williams: We’re all telling stories. Johnny Cash’s cover of “The Long Black Veil” is a standard for me. I love the story in that song.
Campbell: Even if you’re soloing on an instrument, that’s part of the story. And Teresa naturally conveys her feelings to the listener. Her life force and her emotions come out.
Your version of “Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning” is one of my favorites. That’s a Reverend Gary Davis classic.
Williams: Larry and [legendary gospel singer] Marie Knight recorded Gary’s songs in 2007. That one’s on there… “Twelve Gates,” “You Got to Move” and it’s a tribute to him. When Larry and Marie were going teach at the Fur Peace guitar camp, Marie got sick, and Jorma Kaukonen asked me to pinch-hit for her. People were expecting a legend, and here comes this chirpy little white girl. I was raised on gospel, but I was thinking, “What did I just get myself into?”
If you don’t record a performance, the music vanishes into the ether. Does the audience still absorb your missives?
Campbell: Oh yeah! I believe they’re received on a subliminal level and come to rest in the subconscious. Music has an uplifting and healing effect.
Can you talk about learning to play the “The Last Time?”
Campbell: (laughs) When I was 11 and started playing the guitar, I had a record player that could slow the music from 33 1/3 to something like 16 rpm. That enabled me to learn what I loved. I learned the various guitar licks and solos the way I thought they were played on the album. When the Stones were on Ed Sullivan, I saw that Keith Richards and Brian Jones played higher on the fretboard. Still, I was close!
People think you’re a musical prodigy because you can play virtually any stringed instrument.
Williams: They have no idea!
Campbell: For me, it’s always been about the work, the hours put into learning.
Williams: He’s practicing on those instruments before I even wake up. Every single day.
Campbell: I know there are people who can put in an hour a week and play brilliantly. That’s not me. I get back what I put in. It’s a labor of love.
