Thanks to a fluke vehicle breakdown north of Ada on State Route 235 last summer, a rising star on the national country music scene will soon release an album featuring one song about Ada.

That rising star is Sal Walker and his band April Shortbread.

Late Sunday evening last July 21, Jamie Hall stopped to help a group traveling in a Tuscany Thor Motor Coach stalled near the Hardin-Hancock county line.

Assessing the situation, Hall drove to the Beaverdam travel center. There he explained the breakdown problem to a mechanic who returned with Hall and repaired the stranded vehicle.

It turns out that the band was on its way to a recording session in Nashville. The quick-thinking response by Hall made it possible for the musicians to make their recording appointment.

One of the songs recorded in that session, ”This Will Be Fun Until Mom Comes Home,”  has since moved up on the country charts and this week should hit number 12.

Hall, who admitted that he had forgotten about the entire incident, said that Walker called him last week, identifying himself as the “stranded motorist,” noting the band’s appreciation.

“I had no idea who was in the motor coach last summer,” Hall told the Icon. “Sal told me that the van breakdown was a turning point for the band.”

He said that Sal recorded a song about Ada that will be in the band’s next album called “Just Off Lincoln Highway.”

Prior to the recent nationwide ban on live concerts, Sal and April Shortbread had hoped to perform on stage at the South by Southwest Music Fest, Austin, Texas. 

“The best part of this story,” said Hall, “is that the band may perform in Ada this coming summer. I can’t wait.”

For more information on the band read below:

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