I bought the latest issue of Mojo and thumbed through only nine pages when I saw Brittany Howard’s photograph on the All Back to My Place page. Three entertainers are asked what they are listening to, what they like to sing in the shower, who their favorite artists are and so on. Brittany’s favorite artist is Nina Simone, the first record she bought was Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers’ “Rock ’n’ Roll With the Modern Lovers,” and her all-time favorite album is “No Time for Dreaming” by The Menahan Street Band.

The singer with Athens’ Alabama Shakes, Brittany is getting lots of attention. Their album “Boys and Girls” is a big seller — the No. 12 album of 2012 in Mojo’s Top 20 readers’ poll.

A few more pages into the magazine and I came across an article about Alicia Keys, hailed as the New Priestess of Soul. In a sidebar, Keys talks about recently delving into the music of Bob Dylan. She notes that she recorded “Pressing On” from his Muscle Shoals Sound-recorded “Saved” LP. She recorded it in 2012 in a whirlwind visit to FAME Recording Studios, employing two members of the Swampers, Spooner Oldham and others for the session.

A couple of dozen pages deeper into Mojo, the album reviews section contains lots of music I’m curious about hearing. Then, at the bottom corner of a page is a Now Streaming mini-review. One of them is a recommendation for an online-only recording of Candi Staton’s “I’d Rather Be An Old Man’s Sweetheart (Than A Young Man’s Fool).” The song can be found on Spotify.

Today’s column isn’t intended as a promotion for Mojo, but is meant to illustrate the influence Muscle Shoals music continues to exert far and wide. And it’s not just the classic music that is making an impression; it’s the youngsters who are carrying the torch now.

What continues to frustrate me and others is the lack of suitable venues here for live music. Several restaurants have made great efforts to provide live settings, but there are no dedicated music halls.

There are lots of Shoals-based bands that are worthy of plunking down money to hear perform. And it would be great if there were better places to hear them, as well as a way to spread the word about performances outside the immediate area.

Robert Palmer’s column is published the first Friday of each month. He can be reached at 256-740-5720 or robert.palmer@TimesDaily.com.