Chuck Leavell talks doc, next Stones album, Bama roots
In a posh hotel room in Copenhagen, Keith Richards pulls out a cigarette.
Richards is wearing a denim jacket and Rasta headband.
He looks the camera dead in the eye and offers his assessment of Chuck Leavell, the Tuscaloosa raised virtuoso whose been The Rolling Stones’ keyboardist since 1982.
“The man’s a gentleman,” Richards says. “The man’s a real man, you know? And I don’t think I can say anything better about any guy in world.”
Richards, The Rolling Stones guitarist and coolest human to ever exist, then lights his cig and asks, “You get me?” before flashing a switchblade grin.
So concludes a compelling new documentary film titled “Chuck Leavell: The Tree Man.” The doc is a deep-dive into Leavell’s three-sided life: The plutonium grade music career that’s seen him tour and record with The Stones, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, David Gilmour, John Mayer, Dr. John, Black Crowes and other greats.
But just as central to Leavell’s arc is his wife Rose Lane. “To me the most important thing was the love story between Rosie and me,” Leavell says of the film about his life. He’s calling from the Bullard, Georgia tree farm where they reside. “It’s now been 47 years that we’ve been together and it’s just been an incredible partnership and journey for both of us.”
Thirdly, “The Tree Man” takes a close look at Leavell’s offstage work as a tree farmer/environmental activist. (Hence the doc’s title.) “When you look at the lifestyle differences,” Leavell says, “between touring and rock & roll and all of that, and then the side of being in the outdoors and working with your hands, growing trees and managing forestland, it’s a 180 degrees from each other. But that’s what keeps me balanced and prioritizes the important things in life.”
With a running time of an hour and 43 minutes, “The Tree Man” is built from 80 interviews director Allen Farst filmed over three years. In addition to Richards, whose closing compliments Leavell says “brought tears to my eyes,” Farst interviewed Stones singer Mick Jagger, drummer Charlie Watts and guitarist Ron Wood. Farst found it endearing before their individual interviews, each Stone took time to chat with him for a few minutes, to make a connection. “Not one other artist on the whole film did that,” Farst says.
Chuck Leavell, right, with Mick Jagger, in a circa-1994 press photo. (File photo)
For the doc, Farst captures warm insights from practically everyone from Leavell’s to-die-for musician rolodex. Clapton, Gilmour, Dickey Betts, Bonnie Raitt, Mayer, Miranda Lambert. Farst found Gilmour particularly friendly. During a follow-up interview at the Pink Floyd guitar legend’s home, Farst and Gilmour even shared an apple for a snack, before Gilmour drove Farst back to the train station in his Tesla.
There’s also insightful interviews with the likes of pianist extraordinaire Bruce Hornsby and Black Crowes singer Chris Robinson. Leavell played keyboards on The Crowes’ breakthrough Otis Redding cover “Hard to Handle” and several other songs off the rockers’ hit 1990 debut album. And did you know Leavell played on Blues Traveler’s jammy 1994 smash “Run Around”? Or Train’s 2001 mom-rock anthem “Drops of Jupiter”?
“The Tree Man” contains footage of Leavell’s stunning piano work on Clapton’s Grammy-magnetized “Unplugged” album. And a super-cool backstage Stones jam on “Tumbling Dice.” But after six weeks of editing, Farst wisely allocated most of the screen time for his interviews instead of archival clips. “If you’ve got Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, David Gilmour and all these people, why are we cutting away from that?” Farst says. “They’re as much of the story as Chuck. Let’s let them tell their story and we’ll listen.”
For the documentary, Farst also spoke with actors Billy Bob Thornton and Kevin Bacon and even former U.S. president Jimmy Carter. Turns out Thornton was trying to make it as a musician on Capricorn Records back when Leavell was on that Macon, Ga. label’s roster as a session musician and then Allman Brothers Band member. “I was very thankful for his voice in this,” Farst says of Thornton, He interviewed Thornton on the set of the actor’s Amazon TV series “Goliath.”
As staggering as all those interviews are, the most endearing scenes may be Leavell and Rose Lane hanging out together at their farm. Leavell in their kitchen, cooking her some frittatas. Or seated at his grand piano in their den, playing a song just for his wife instead a stadium full of Stones fans. They first met in the early ’70s when she was working in the offices of Capricorn Records. Chuck and Rose Lane remain adorable to this day. Laidback Southern sweethearts.
In addition to music related work, Farst filmmaking background is in action sports. And even commercials, for high-end products such as Google Glass. He’s cagey about saying which previous rock docs he’s fond of, although he does cop to liking films grunge icons Pearl Jam have put out.
Of course, “The Tree Man” digs into Leavell’s melodic playing with the Allmans. The Southern rock instrumental song “Jessica” could serve as Leavell’s musical epitaph – it’s the rare wordless rock track to become a hit. “The thing about ‘Jessica,’” Farst says,” is Chuck hadn’t been in the band that long. You think of him being 19, 20 years of age at the time, it’s so sophisticated what he did. It stands the test of time”
“The Tree Man” also addresses Leavell’s Alabama roots. Including time spent waiting outside Muscle Shoals Sound Studios to get in on a session, and eventually playing on a song by R&B singer Freddie North titled “She’s All I’ve Got,” that ended up getting radio play. Leavell was just 15 at the time.
In the doc, Leavell travels back to Muscle Shoals Sound, present day. Back to that same backdoor he passed through to launch his career. “That was emotional,” Leavell tells me. “So much great music went through that little building.” Leavell also recounts in the film a proud moment on The Stones’ “Steel Wheels Tour” when he sent a car for his mom in Tuscaloosa to come see a 1989 Legion Field concert in Birmingham. There’s a great photo from that night of Mama Leavell meeting The Stones right before they took the stage.
Leavell decided he was game for a film about his life, in order to have a document for his grandchildren (and eventual great grandchildren) to know what he did. And what the times were like in which he did what he did. Leavell gets in some great stories in the doc. Like the time he was on tour with New Orleans funk musician Dr. John, aka Mac Rebennack. Upon visiting a smacked-out Rebennack’s hotel room one night, Leavell found Rebennack was in possession voodoo dolls representing each member of the band, including Leavell. Gulp.
After a limited theatrical run, “The Tree Man” hits video streaming services Dec. 1. For more info, visit chuckleavellthetreeman.com. Leavell remains floored so many high-wattage friends said yes to being interviewed for the project. “I did not see any of the interviews until the film was done, by the way,” he says. With such an impressive resume already, who would Leavell fancy working with he hasn’t yet? He says he’d love to get a call from Van Morrison, Sting or Tedeschi Trucks Band. “The answer would certainly be yes.”
Since The Stones have been working on a new studio album in spurts for a few years now, I ask Leavell about the nature of those tracks. “You have to understand I haven’t been involved in all the recordings,” Leavell says, “so there’s a lot of things that I haven’t even heard that I know they’ve worked on. But what I have worked on I think is quite diverse. There’s stuff that’s rockin’ and hard-drivin’, and there’s stuff that’s ballad-like. And there’s some quirky fun ones – the Stones are always known for not being afraid to try things. My contributions have been 95 percent on the piano, which I really love doing.”
For “The Tree Man,” Farst weaves in footage of Leavell working on his farm, which keeps the film from drowning in talking heads, however sincere. There’s Leavell driving a tractor. There’s him using a chainsaw. There’s him conducting a controlled burn to prevent wildfires and unwieldy undergrowth. Combined with the thread of his life with Rose Lane, Leavell comes across as an actual person and not just some dude who’s awesome at boogie-woogie licks.
“I thought it if we could capture all that on camera with emotion, well we’d have something,” Farst says. “Because Chuck doesn’t have the story of drugs, down and out, comeback. He’s just a solid guy that’s like this magical man that’s that good at playing and creates his own luck, so he’s always there.”