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Sam Phillips (left) with Jay Leavitt

Jay Leavitt has owned and operated Deep Groove Records in Richmond’s Fan district for almost 10 years. He’s originally from northern Alabama, where he met an older Sam Phillips (who discovered Elvis and Johnny Cash) and a young Patterson Hood (frontman and chief songwriter for the rock group Drive-By Truckers). Though he still calls Alabama home, in the mid-80s, Jay moved to Richmond. Since moving to the capital, he has sold lots of records, while also promoting cool music–especially the Truckers.

Colin talks with Jay about his early years in Alabama, blowing Patterson Hood’s mind, opening a business in a tough financial time, and some recent music he’s excited about. It’s some straight talk from a Richmond fixture and a diehard music fan.

Listen here: http://americanrambler.libsyn.com/podcast/episode-109-jay-leavitt

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About

Colin Woodward is a writer, historian, archivist, and recovering podcaster. His latest book is Country Boy: the Roots of Johnny Cash, winner of the Ragsdale Award for best book on Arkansas history, 2022. He has also written for the Civil War Times, Civil War Monitor, Arkansas Times, Style Weekly (Richmond, Va.), and other publications. He is a frequent contributor to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas. He lives in Richmond.

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