Travis Wammack inspires through his guitar
Travis Wammack is an Alabama Bright Light. (Karim Shamshi-Basha/Alabama NewsCenter)
At age 8, he started playing a guitar his father brought home.
At age 10, he was discovered by Eddie Bond, a DJ in Memphis who asked him if he would open shows.
At age 11, he recorded his first single and wrote both sides of the record.
At age 15, he became a session guitarist for the legendary Roland Janes at one of the top studios in Memphis.
And at age 17, he hit the American charts with his most famous song, “Scratchy,” at No. 80.
Travis Wammack inspires through his guitar from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
By now, some of you may have guessed who this is. If you have not, read on.
“I was born in Mississippi but grew up in Memphis, and started playing the guitar when my dad brought one home. I was about 8,” Travis Wammack says. “I was part of a large family so he asked my brothers and sisters and I if we wanted to learn to play. I picked it up and started playing.”
Dubbed by Rolling Stone magazine as “the fastest guitar player in the South,” Wammack started recording at FAME studios in Muscle Shoals in the late 1960s, and released his first solo album with hits like “Easy Evil” and “Love Being Your Fool.” Then he was the band leader for Little Richard in the ’80s and ’90s. Now, at age 71, Wammack continues to inspire and help others through his music.
When music legend Percy Sledge was dying from cancer in 2014, Wammack and others held a benefit concert at the Shoals Conference Center to help with his medical costs. Tickets were $35 a pop, and the concert was a sellout. Sledge died the following year.
There are many other instances when Wammack came through for others. When tornadoes ripped through Alabama on April 27, 2011, he held a concert to raise money for victims in the Muscle Shoals area. And in 2015, he held a benefit concert at the W.C. Handy Festival to help restore The Shoals Theatre in Florence.
“I love using my gift to help people, we should all do that,” Wammack says.
In addition to all of his charity work, Wammack is still playing gigs in the Shoals or wherever he can drive.
“I will go anywhere wheels will take me, but I will not get on an airplane,” he says. “I do a lot of festivals around town and various production work.”
Of playing the guitar, he says: “I don’t know how I’m playing what I’m playing. I’ve never had a lesson. If you ever watch me play, I don’t know what I’m doing or where I’m going, but it’s there. I have 13 albums out and will keep on going.”
The night I met Wammack, he played last at an open mic night at Stefano’s Pizza in Florence. There was an ease about him when he played, and the flow of things was enthralling. There was no list or a plan, he just played his guitar, and others followed.
Travis Wammack: “I love using my gift to help people, we should all do that.” (Karim Shamshi-Basha/Alabama NewsCenter)
Wammack helps many in the Shoals area put on concerts, and leads efforts to promote music in the area. He works with Muscle Shoals Music Marketing and has added producer to his list of titles. Inspiring and helping young musicians follow their dreams is one of his priorities.
Wammack’s guitar work can be heard on albums that have sold over 60 million copies. He is a member of the Memphis Music Hall of Fame. In 1999, he received the Professional Musician Award from the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.
He was inducted into the Southern Legends Entertainment and Performing Arts Hall Of Fame in 2005. He continues to earn honors, but his love is just playing, and helping others.
“It’s been a great run and I’m glad that I’m still able to do it,” Wammack said.
At age 8, Travis Wammack mapped out a life that included the good old guitar.
Alabama Bright Lights captures the stories, through words, pictures and video, of some of our state’s brightest lights who are working to make Alabama an even better place to live, work and play. Award-winning photojournalist Karim Shamsi-Basha tells their inspiring stories. Email him comments, as well as suggestions on people to profile, at karimshamsibasha@gmail.com.
