Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are talking about the Southern portion of U.S. 41, but the bluesy testimony to the asphalt ribbon still arrived this summer appropriately enough for me personally. I have accepted a call to be pastor of Bethel Lutheran Church in Gurnee, Illinois. Where we live now in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is only a few miles from a northern portion of U.S. 41, and when we move, we’ll still be just a few miles from Petty’s highway of lore. It’s as if they wrote a song for our move that basically follows 41 south for 55 miles.
Of course after the U.S. 41 connection, Petty’s song loses all other similarity to us. It’s a song of antebellum, share-cropping, workin’, muddlin’ through blues. In fact, that’s what makes Mojo a great album–the way Petty and gang delve into Southern swamp blues rock. It isn’t authentic blues throughout, but it sure rings true on the backs of some strong grooves and blistering guitar work.
Meanwhile, Music Spectrum will take a short break and be back in September after we get settled. A band would invite you to the merch table during the break in their set. Since Music Spectrum doesn’t have a merch table, I’ll just invite you to drop an email or check out the Facebook page. Love to hear from you. God bless you on U.S. 41 or whatever road you’re on.
