REMEMBERING WYKER
KUDZOO asked a few of Johnny’s friends to share a few words about him. Sincere thanks to those who responded.
Chuck Leavell: Musical Director, The Rolling Stones; former member The Allman Brothers Band Johnny Wyker was a visionary. He was al-
ways thinking "outside the box" and coming up with incredible concepts. Stories, songs, operas, book ideas. He was one of the first of that kind of person that I ever knew, and he made a huge impression on me from day one. Johnny also wrote one of the first songs I ever recorded with a band - my first band, The Misfitz. The song was called "Things Are Look- ing Up," and was a really fun song with a positive attitude. I don't know what ever happened to the tape. I do hope it will surface some day. His work with The Rubber Band and other groups from Alabama in the mid 60's was very inspiring to me and to fellow musicians that were my age. He was quite like a big brother that I wanted to be like. Johnny was always very good to me per-
sonally…. encouraging me, complimenting my playing and even my singing. He was also responsible for getting me on my first LP - an album! That was with John Buck Wilkin. He
(Photo Courtesy John Townsend)
and Bucky had met and were working to- gether, and Johnny had this concept for a band that would be called The American Ea- gles. We pursued it, eventually moving up to Nashville and recording tracks in both Muscle Shoals and Nashville for the concept. At the end of the day, it became Bucky's solo project and the idea of it being a band fell short. But it didn't matter - Bucky became a friend and remains so today. But the fact that Johnny thought I was worthy of being involved meant more to me than I can ever say. It was the summer of 1969 when we were living in Nashville I was barely seventeen years old at the time, and it was a huge experience for me. I felt that I had "made it". We had a house on Richland Ave there for about three months. We played music to- gether in that house - recorded in studios in Nashville and hung out
there until the record was finished. We never got to tour behind it or put a band together, but I was in heaven being with Johnny and Bucky and working on the project. Johnny also introduced me to the first "posi- tive thinking" book I read. It was called Three Magic Words, and played on the positive side of life, encouraging the reader to be creative, always look on the bright side of life and to not be afraid to experiment, try new things, not be afraid to fail. That book meant a lot to me way back then, and that attitude has al-
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