If you drive around The Shoals region in Alabama, you're going to notice a few very large, very aluminum musicians in some of the cities. Imagine the Tin Man has cousins in Alabama who can rock.
I don't have to tell you about the musical influence the region has had, from blues and country and R&B and rock and roll. Duane Allman, Lynyrd Skynyrd, FAME Studios, the Swampers, Aretha, the Rolling Stones. Percy Sledge recorded "When a Man Loves a Woman" right here in Alabama.
"Father of the Blues" W.C. Handy was born in Florence. Even the Tennessee River was called the "the singing river" by local Indians because of the sound the wind made as it blew across the water.
AL.com's Kelly Kazek reports that the statues are a project called the "Singing River Statues" to pay homage to musical heritage with a nod to the area's history of aluminum production.
So far, you can see a 20-foot electric-bass guitarist in Muscle Shoals, an 18-foot 50s-era singer in Sheffield, and the latest, an 18-foot jazz trumpet player in Florence.
There was supposed to be a Native American musician playing traditional instruments in Tuscumbia, but after it was started, local officials and the artist seemed to have disconnected over a money issue, and so they've had to regroup and look for another artist.
And the original plans included several more statues along the river. When and whether those might be commissioned is still up in the air.
