As Huntsville Music Month comes to a close, longtime local musicians are looking back on what they describe as a golden era of live music in the city—when nearly every bar had a house band and the music scene thrived with talent from all backgrounds.

Jim Richards, now in his 70s, began playing music as a teenager after running away from his Tennessee home at age 14. For him, music was a matter of survival.

“I’d get in a cardboard box and it was freezing cold and spend the night in a cardboard box so I’m looking to eat, I’m looking to get in a house that’s got heat,” Richards said.

But during the 1960s and 1970s, North Alabama’s booming music scene made it possible for musicians like Richards to not only survive—but thrive.

“Musicians here made money, you could make a living, pay your b

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