Tuscaloosa-raised Chuck Leavell plays with Rolling Stones on Hackney Diamonds tour

Chuck Leavell is off the farm again, at least for most of the next couple of months, as the Birmingham-born, Tuscaloosa-raised pianist joins the Rolling Stones on its 2024 tour.

He's been with the Stones for 42 years now, on the road, and often on record, but in between, still manages Charlane Plantation in southeast Georgia, plays solo, writes on conservation and other issues, and fits in outside gigs.

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Over the decades his pantheon of partners has included the Allman Brothers Band, Eric Clapton, Chuck Berry, Aretha Franklin, George Harrison, David Gilmour, Gov't Mule, Col. Bruce Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue Unit, John Mayer, the Indigo Girls, Train, the Black Crowes, Blues Traveler, and Sea Level, the Allman Brothers-spinoff group he fronted, among others.

After launching to national prominence during a decade with the ABB, stamping his own sound with the sunlight-on-water piano solo in "Jessica," from "Brothers and Sisters," Leavell joined the Stones in 1982. He serves as its principal keyboardist on tour, and music director, helping Mick Jagger decide each show's set list. In his role keeping the others happy, Leavell began long ago taking notes for more than six decades' worth of music, keeping the keys and changes and such readily to hand.

Though up to his elbows in Stones, Leavell took the time to answer some e-mailed questions.

"We had a fantastic rehearsal time. It is always my favorite time with the band. We play all sorts of numbers," he said, "this time, especially the new material."

That new stuff stems from fall 2023 release "Hackney Diamonds," the Stones' first disc of original material since 2005's "A Bigger Bang." It's also their first without drummer Charlie Watts, who died in 2021, though some of Watts' playing, from 2019 recordings, appear on "Mess It Up," and "Live by the Sword."

Steve Jordan, who has played with the Stones through the years, sits behind the kit for the rest of the album. Long-retired Bill Wyman returned to play bass on "Live by the Sword," and a sky full of stars joined on various tracks, including Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Lady Gaga and Benmont Tench (keyboardist for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers).

"We can’t bring all of what we rehearsed to the stage, obviously," Leavell said. "We’d be doing a five-hour show! But it is great to have the options to change some numbers in and out.

"One of the priorities on this tour is to play three to four of the new songs every night. Yes, we’re going to do a good many of the iconic ones, and try to get a deep track or two in there, but it’s really important to do some of the new ones, and so far, they have been really well received."

Set lists for the Stones at earlier May gigs indicate a heavy lean on classics, from "Tumbling Dice" to "Paint it Black" to "Gimme Shelter" to "Sympathy for the Devil" to "Jumping Jack Flash" to "Beast of Burden" to "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," colored with fan-voted-picks such as "Monkey Man" and "You Got Me Rocking," alongside three songs from "Hackney Diamonds," in "Angry," "Mess It Up," and "Sweet Sounds of Heaven."

The last of those, a gospel/soul-flavored balled, featured keys by Wonder, with vocals by Gaga. Covering for her on tour is the band's newest member, Chanel Haynes.

"She sat in with us on the last tour on a night when Sasha Allen couldn’t make it, and did a fantastic job. Sasha is pregnant now, and Chanel was available, so we signed her up. She is an amazing vocalist," he said, a New Orleans native and former lead singer of gospel group Trin-i-tee 5:7. After that band broke up, she turned to acting, and the title role in "Tina: The Tina Turner Story" in London's West End. "And she is a really great and fun person to be with."

Leavell can't say whether any of the disc's guest superstars might pop up on stage one night or other.

"It’s quite difficult to arrange schedules with these kinds of artists, but sometimes things can work out," he said. "No official word on anyone at this point, and we just focus on what we need to do to make the best show possible. We are really hitting a stride, now that we are five shows into the tour."

Gearing up to touring speed isn't tough as you might think for Leavell, who operates Charlane Plantation, a 2,500 acre tree farm and hunting preserve, with his wife of 51 years, Rose Lane White Leavell.

"Whether at home or on tour, I keep a physical routine going, which helps me to stay fit and gives me the energy I need for doing whatever the task may be. And it’s fairly easy for me to shift gears. There are some breaks in the current tour here and there that allow me to make little trips home," he said.

"When I do get back, I’m usually on a tractor the day after I arrive! I love the work, and it helps to keep me balanced."

The fingers don't get overlooked, either. As legendary cellist Pablo Casals said, when asked why, at 80, he continued to practice four to five hours per day: "Because I think I am making progress."

"I also make sure I get piano practice in both on the road and at home, usually at least an hour a day," he said.

And his life goes on, even outside the Stones. "There are always other issues to deal with, communications concerning business, lining up my own solo shows and presentations in-between tours, looking after issues to do with managing our land. But I don’t find it difficult to take care of these things and devote the time necessary to keep it all going."

For what he'd once hoped might be a five or so year gig, Leavell feels blessed.

"I find it truly remarkable that we are still doing this at juncture at this level," he said, "and that the folks still want to come see the band in these numbers." The venues the Stones are playing for the 2024 tour, mostly stadiums, range in capacities from about 52,000 to 60,000, with many of them reporting early sell-outs.

"When I first got this gig back in 1982, when I was 30 years old, I thought to myself: 'Well, this is pretty darn cool. I’m playing with the Rolling Stones. Wouldn’t it be great if I could get maybe three, four or even five years out of this?'

"That was 42 years ago. And in between all those years, playing with Eric Clapton for a good while, touring with David Gilmour, Gov’t Mule, doing records with the Black Crowes, Train, John Mayer and others, and having opportunities to do my own music, all of it has just been such a blessing.

"And I don’t take any of it for granted!"

The remainder of the Rolling Stones tour, extending into July, includes dates in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Colorado, Illinois, California, and in Vancouver, Canada. The closest to Tuscaloosa will be June 7, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. See more here: www.rollingstones.com/tour.

Reach Mark Hughes Cobb at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Tuscaloosa-raised Chuck Leavell tours with Mick Jagger and the Stones