Motorists zipping across the four lanes of Court Street heading into and out of Florence’s active downtown area are getting their first look at a shiny new attraction on the roadside – an 18-foot-high aluminum jazz musician joyfully playing a trumpet.

The figure is not meant to be a specific person, but it evokes the spirit of jazz musician and “Father of the Blues” W.C. Handy, who was born in Florence. The city hosts the W.C. Handy Festival each July. The aluminum figure, the third in the series of planned Singing River Statues, was erected earlier this month after a long hiatus caused by the pandemic and other delays. The modern, geometric-cut design by artist Eric Nubbe was approved by the City of Florence in 2019.

The statue is 18 feet high and weighs nearly a ton. It was erected in a park on South Court Street near the Bluff Street intersection.

“Overall, I’m very happy with the location and hope the sculpture serves as a good welcome to the city,” Nubbe said. “I had to build the sculpture laying down, so seeing it installed was the first time I could see it as I had designed it, so that in itself was good. The City of Florence did a great job with the landscaping and the pedestal so I was thrilled how that all came together.” Nubbe says he is working on smaller projects in Tuscaloosa now. Visit Eric Nubbe Art Instagram page for updates on his work.

A plaque at the Florence site celebrates musicians and producers with connections to the area, including some of those who have recorded at FAME and Muscle Shoals Sound Studios – W.C. Handy, Aretha Franklin, Bob Seger, James Joiner, Tom Stafford and the original Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section.

It reads: “Dedicated to the world-renowned musicians, recording executives, writers, producers and performers who made Florence and the Muscle Shoals area the ‘Hit Recording Capital of the World’ in the 1960s and 1970s and to those who continue that legacy.”

Just a few additional big names of the era who recorded in the area are Cher, The Rolling Stones, Percy Sledge, Dwayne Allman, George Michael and Willie Nelson.

Florence’s jazz musician is the third to be erected of the Singing River Statues, so named because Native Americans said the Tennessee River would “sing” as winds blew across it and believed the river is a musical muse.

The bigger meaning to the name is that the area in northwestern Alabama along the Tennessee River known as The Shoals and the Quad-Cities – Muscle Shoals, Florence, Sheffield and Tuscumbia – have rich musical histories. In addition, the sculptures are made of aluminum in a nod to the area’s history in aluminum manufacturing.

The first two statues honor rock and roll and pop music and were erected in Muscle Shoals in 2012 and Sheffield in 2014.

The 20-foot-high Muscle Shoals statue is located in front of the public library at 1918 Avalon Avenue. It was created by sculptor Audwin McGee, who said he modeled it after local bassist David Hood, who is in the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.

In Sheffield, the sculpture depicts a 1950s-era singer. It was also created by Audwin McGee. The 18-foot-high sculpture is located at the intersection of Alabama and Montgomery streets.

A fourth sculpture was planned for Tuscumbia featuring a Native American musician using traditional instruments to honor the city’s heritage. Tuscumbia Mayor William Foster said the community raised funds for the statue and an artist was paid in advance eight years ago. The city then built a base. The artist began the work using donated aluminum before later requesting more money and failing to complete the project, Foster said. He said he is continuing efforts to find the partially completed statue and have another artist finish the work.

“It’s sad that Tuscumbia and its citizens got taken advantage of on this,” he said.

Another seven to nine sculptures were listed in the original plans, to be set along the river’s banks. Their future is also uncertain. The Singing Rivers Sculpture Facebook page is no longer updated.

The Singing River Sculptures were the idea of David Anderson and the late Bill Matthews.

The statues, which cost between $10,000 and $15,000 each, are funded by private donations and donations of aluminum from Wise Alloys, a company now owned by Constellium, which continues to support the project.