I’m not musical. As a matter of fact, I wasn’t even selected for our 7th Grade choir at Central Junior High. But, Cath and I have a small connection to the Grammys.

Cathy’s mom passed away 5 years ago. About 15 years before that she moved back to Alabama, from Illinois. When she arrived, she wanted to build a new house. Mom never wanted to inherit “other people’s problems”, and that included houses. She talked to her brother Russell, who is a builder, and he agreed to build her house. She selected an eight acre lot near Athens.

She gave him her plans, and he started working. For some reason, there was confusion about how deep the basement should be. Uncle Russell dug, and dug some more. When all was said and done, the basement was almost 20 feet from floor to ceiling. Mom wasn’t happy and let Russell know, but it was now too late to change and he finished building the house. Over the years, we’d visit mom and it was always an adventure going into the basement. The homemade stairs went straight down, and you’d almost have a sense of vertigo descending. Even later in life, mom’s face had a look whenever the basement was discussed.

In her last couple of years, mom decided to sell the house, but it never sold. Some folks thought she might have asked a bit to much, but in the back of my mind, I always suspected the basement. I mean, the height of the basement was that strange.

Mom passed away in 2010, and a year or two later, Cathy, Cindy, and Bonnie decided to sell the house. It was on the market for awhile. Several people looked, but there were never any offers.

And then one day it sold. It turns out that a large basement with a 20 foot ceiling is a selling point…..If you want to build a sound studio in your home. And your name is Brittany Howard. And you are the lead singer for the Alabama Shakes, based in Athens, Alabama.  

So that’s our connection. Brittany and Alabama Shakes won three Grammys this year. If you watch one of Alabama Shakes last videos, you can see some of the support posts and beams from mom’s basement in the background. I like that connection – mom and Alabama Shakes. Yet another way that she is still with us.