set out to do with out it and I think one of the outstanding things to me are of course, the Panama Canal Treaties that he was able to ne- gotiate and if he had not had the tremendous tenacity to stick with something then it would never have happened. Five presidents before him had tried to have some sort of treaties to settle this Panama Canal problem, which was accelerating every year between the two coun- tries. So those things, determination, disci- pline and tenacity stand out to me. He is a, to me, he is a fun person to be around but he is very focused. You could irritate him if you re- ally wanted to by being frivolous about some- thing that was not important to him, but see, he wants you to know what you’re talking about when you have a conversation with him.
I understand that. I totally understand that. As you know, one of my things is being a Southern Rock historian and I just put out that book about Capricorn Records and all so I wanted to ask you, I had read in places that Jimmy was re- ally good friends with Phil Walden of Capricorn and the Allman Brothers and all that and credited them a lot with the campaign. I just wondered if he’d ever said anything about that con- nection to you in conversation or any- thing? He didn’t have to say it to me. I think every- one in the campaign was totally aware of what Phil Walden and Capricorn Studios had meant to his election, in particular, during the primaries. Even before that, even before we started the election process, Phil Walden had told him that he would have members of his bands … people that he was a manager for or I’m not sure that I’m saying this correctly, but people like Percy Sledge and Gregg Allman. And those talents that he had in those stars that he had, he provided the star talent that we needed so much to bring a fraction to you
56
know, fund-raising events and Phil of course, was responsible for that. But Phil Walden, I think personally, loved Jimmy Carter as a man. nd I think it’s evident if you ever talked to Phil that he absolutely loved Jimmy Carter as a person but his promises to help he never wavered on them. He was right there when Jimmy needed the help and he somehow knew exactly what to do and I am not talking about just little fundraisers, I’m talking about big events in huge auditoriums like in New Orleans at the Warehouse and other large places. So yes, Phil Walden was very, very im- portant to Jimmy Carter’s campaign and his efforts.
Phil Walder (left) and Jimmy Carter (right) at the annual Capricorn Picnic. (Photo courtesy Robin Fenter)
Yeah, back before Phil passed away, I got to meet him down in Muscle Shoals and some guy from Rolling Stonemag- azine was interviewing him on this small stage in a small theater and they asked him about Jimmy Carter and you could just see Phil light up - he spoke about Jimmy like he walked on water, you know. (Dot laughs ) You could tell they were really good friends. There are several good stories in my book about Phil Walden. One of them has a little
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77
