Photo by Allen Farst.
Songwriters at the Lake, a three-day outdoor music festival at Lanier Islands Resort, celebrates the art of tunesmithing set against a backdrop of rippling waters and vibrant, fall flora. This combo platter of music and nature hits serious personal notes for Rolling Stones keyboardist and headliner Chuck Leavell, the Georgia-based globetrotting rocker who leads a double life as a tree farmer.
With a musical career spanning more than 60 years, Leavell knows his way around a song with a piano man pedigree few can compare. The longtime touring keyboardist and musical director for the Rolling Stones—who will headline the festival on November 14—holds the rare distinction of snagging songwriting credit alongside Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. As a collaborator and sought-after side man, Leavell has one of the most coveted contact lists in rock ‘n’ roll. Scroll through and you’ll spot Eric Clapton, John Mayer, and David Gilmour of Pink Floyd among the many.
Environmentally speaking, Leavell and Mother Nature remain unwavering besties. He and wife Rose Lane manage Charlane Woodlands & Reserve in Dry Branch, located just outside of Macon. The couple inherited the property in the early 1980s and have since developed it into an acclaimed sustainable tree farm and wildlife habitat.
The convergence of songwriting and the great outdoors comes naturally for Leavell. “I’m in the woods quite often,” he says over the phone from Charlane, “and sometimes the wind or the rustling of leaves or songbirds can suggest a melody. And nature in general can be inspirational.”
His muse appears in a variety of ways, and Leavell credits being a child of the South for giving both his songwriting sensibility and fingers “a southern accent.” As a child in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, he would get equal appreciation from sneaking into a Mississppi Fred McDowell blues gig as he would from soaking up gospel music’s Sunday best. Country twang, Little Richard’s rock architecture, the genre-jumping of Ray Charles, and a slathering of 1960s southern fried R&B seeped into Leavell’s psyche.
“It was just such a great place to grow up and have all of those influences,” he explains. “At some point in time, each and every one of those styles touched me.”
Photo Courtesy of Chuck Leavell
In 1970 that passion led a teenage Leavell to Macon, where he found his way into Phil Walden’s Capricorn Records and studio scene. By the time he turned 20, he was recruited to join the Allman Brothers Band in time for the group’s post-tragedy comeback album, 1973’s Brothers and Sisters.
Brothers and Sisters proved to be an accelerated exercise in music making for Leavell, from contributing to the band’s Top 10 single “Ramblin’ Man” to providing the signature piano runs on the instrumental “Jessica.”
The creation of “Jessica,” written by Allman Brothers Band guitarist Dickey Betts, gave Leavell a strong perspective on what constitutes a songwriting credit. Although he played a part in its arrangement by interpreting the melody and enhancing it, Leavell said the song’s genetics rightfully belong to Betts.
Yet arranging or reworking someone else’s song, he says, can often have unexpected results. As musical director for the Stones, Leavell wrangles tunes from the band’s storied catalog and shapes their live presentation, which stokes his own creative fire.
“I love to play around with arrangements,” he says, “and how songs can be dissected and put back together. It’s a lot of fun. As a musician, it’s a little brain exercise I do from time to time anyway. When playing around with those things, sometimes you’ll stumble into something that turns out to be your own song.”
Leavell has a wealth of self-penned tunes to his credit, and he says some will find their way into the Chuck Leavell & Friends set at Songwriters at the Lake. Additionally, expect a dash of Allmans, a bite of Clapton, and a sprinkle of Stones. Helping him deliver will be a backing group including former Sea Level bandmate Randall Bramblett, Wet Willie’s Jimmy Hall, and singer Joanna Cotten, best known for her work with Eric Church.
If the muse does its job, Lake Lanier’s surroundings might help provide Leavell with more opportunities to make magic. “I enjoy painting colors and telling stories instrumentally,” he says. “Most of my songwriting comes from those kinds of places, experiences, and feelings.”
Songwriters at the Lake, a three-day festival featuring hit songwriters performing on eight stages. November 13–15. Chuck Leavell & Friends headline Saturday, November 14, at 6 p.m. $49–$129 plus fees. Lanier Islands Resort, 7000 Lanier Islands Parkway, Buford. songwritersatl.com.
