![]() ![]() ![]() In case you were in any doubt about its contribution to music history, the plucky studio’s hit records have sold a staggering 350 million copies worldwide. Muscle Shoals Sound Studio was established in 1969 by Jimmy Johnson, David Hood, Barry Beckett and Roger Hawkins.All four owners were studio musicians and had been members of the FAME rhythm section before parting ways with producer Rick Hall and striking out on their own. Knowledgeable guides walk you through the padded booths where Aretha Franklin recorded her finest work to a clandestine speakeasy bar where Willie Nelson may or may not have partied (this was once a dry county). In 1975 the Muscle Shoals Music Association was formed. Studio owners recognized the need to work together in order to further their needs for local and state support. Above the doorway to the studio where Franklin recorded I Never Loved a Man a sign reads, through these doors walk the finest musicians, songwriters, artists. This unassuming spot is the birthplace of the Muscle Shoals sound - that heady combination of Southern soul and R&B. Muscle Shoals was recognized worldwide well, everywhere in the world, but in the Quad Cities of northwest Alabama. ![]() More than 75 RIAA Gold and Platinum records came out of their studio. From here, it’s a short drive over the snaking Tennessee River (known locally as ‘the river that sings’) to FAME Studios. According to The Muscle Shoals Sound Studio website, from 1969 to 1978 alone, The Swampers played on more than 200 albums and had hundreds of hit songs with artists including Bob Dylan, Bob Seger, the Staples Sisters, Willie Nelson, and Cat Stevens, just to name a few. That’s set to change once more as Muscle Shoals (and the wider Shoals area, including Florence, Tuscumbia and Sheffield) reclaims its place on the musical map of America, with the opening of a new musical hotel and tours showcasing why this one-time ‘hit recording capital of the world’ has a lot to shout about.įirst stop should be the W C Handy Home & Museum, where you’ll find a micro-gallery paying homage to the Father of the Blues, plus a rustic replica of his log cabin childhood home. ![]()
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