A Trip to Muscle Shoals (Part 2 - Muscle Shoals Sounds Studio and Alabama Music Hall of Fame)

After our first day's adventures in Muscle Shoals, I wasn't sure if the trip to FAME Studios could be topped for a great musical experience, but our second day's visit to Muscle Shoals Sounds Studios came mighty close.  It's just amazing that so much great music has come from this small area in Northwest Alabama.......music that has shaped not just my listening pleasure, but so many other people's.  It's just astonishing.

For some background as to how this studio came into existence, you need to go back a few blocks down to FAME, where the second rhythm section - Barry Beckett, Roger Hawkins, Jimmy Johnson, and David Hood were gaining a reputation as one of the finest groups around, helping to craft the Muscle Shoals Sound with FAME Studios owner Rick Hall.  They had provided backing for artists like Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, and anyone else who passed through the studio.

During the 1967 Aretha Franklin session at FAME, things were going great until some tension developed between Franklin's husband, Ted White, and a trumpet player, who he accused of making a pass at the singer.  It later escalated to Hall having to fire the trumpet player and a sax player who was also accused of making a pass (White had been drinking with the horn session during the recordings).  The session ended and, shortly thereafter, Hall went to the hotel where Franklin and White were staying, in hopes of making peace, but instead a fight erupted between Hall (who was also drinking) and White.

Franklin recorded with Atlantic Records and Atlantic's Jerry Wexler had brought her down to FAME to record, inspired by the success enjoyed by Wilson Pickett (also with Atlantic).  Wexler was angry about the fight (he had told Hall not to go to the hotel) and pulled everyone out of Muscle Shoals, vowing to never work with Rick Hall again.  He summoned the rhythm section to New York to record at Atlantic Studios and they completed the album with Franklin there, which produced "Respect" and "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man," two of her biggest hits.

The Swampers (L to R) Beckett, Johnson, Hood, Hawkins

In 1969, the rhythm section, later known as The Swampers, had a financial disagreement with Hall and decided to go out on their own, purchasing an old coffin showroom on 3614 Jackson Highway in Sheffield.  Wexler helped the group out by arranging a loan to buy equipment that was compatable with Atlantic's equipment.  Wexler then sent Cher down to record an album in 1969, also called 3614 Jackson Highway, which inspired the sign that now hangs over the front door (it was added graphically to the album cover).  The album wasn't a big seller. Boz Scagg's self-titled album, also recorded there in 1969, included the extended version of Fenton Robinson's "Somebody Loan Me A Dime," with Duane Allman on guitar....Robinson later had to go to court to regain composer credits. By the end of 1969, the first hit from the studio was released, R.B. Greaves' "Take a Letter Maria."

At the end of 1969, the Rolling Stones secretly flew into Muscle Shoals and recorded for three days.  At that time, overseas bands could either get a performing visa or a recording visa.  The Stones were on tour and had heard about the studio, so they flew in under the radar, mostly unnoticed and cut three tracks for their Sticky Fingers album, "Wild Horses," "Brown Sugar," and Mississippi Fred McDowell's "You Got To Move."  Upon initial release of the album, the Muscle Shoals sessions were not listed, but Jimmy Johnson did receive credit for his work behind the sound board although they placed him in their London studio instead of Muscle Shoals on the original release.  

There were many other songs recorded at the studio during that time that received attention, including the Staple Singers' "I'll Take You There," Paul Simon's "Kodachrome" and "Loves Me Like a Rock," Bob Seger's "Night Moves," "Mainstreet," "Katmandu," and "Old Time Rock and Roll," Dr. Hook's "Sharing The Night Together," "When You're In Love With a Beautiful Woman," and "Sexy Eyes."  Rod Stewart recorded his Atlantic Crossing album there in 1974, Lynyrd Skynyrd recorded their first album there in 1971 (which went unreleased until after the band's tragic plane crash), and Seger recorded in Muscle Shoals for over a decade.

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Other artists who recorded at the studio included Pickett and Franklin, Traffic (the rhythm section actually backed Traffic on their subsequent tour), Big Joe Williams, Linda Ronstadt, Percy Sledge, Willie Nelson, Etta James, Joe Cocker, Bob Dylan, Jimmy Cliff, Leon Russell, and Levon Helm.  

In 1979, the studio at 3614 Jackson Highway closed and operations were moved to a larger facility, also in Sheffield, which operated until 1985, when it was sold to Malaco Records.  Malaco continued to record there, with albums from Johnnie Taylor, Little Milton, and Bobby "Blue" Bland among the highlights, with most of The Swampers still providing support.  That location is now known as Cypress Moon Studio, and although they do offer tours, we weren't able to work it into our schedule this time around.

Several artists have used the 3614 Jackson Highway studio in recent years, such as the Black Keys and Chris Stapleton.  Each won Grammys for their recordings from the studio, so there's still musical magic present within those walls.

The Muscle Shoals Sounds tour was not as long as the FAME tour because there was only one recording studio, but it was a very informative tour and we learned a lot of things that we didn't previously know, especially about the Stones' three-day visit (Richards finished writing "Wild Horses" in the bathroom attached to the studio) and also Linda Ronstadt's session....her backing band, later known as the Eagles, got rowdy during the session since they were not recording and were booted from the premises.

One of the coolest things I got to hear was the original demo version of "Old Time Rock & Roll."  It was initially recorded as a demo by George Jackson, who also wrote at FAME and later Malaco Records, but wasn't released.  While I still prefer the more popular Bob Seger version (Seger altered some of the lyrics, but kept the music track from the Jackson demo for his version and left composer credits to Jackson and Thomas E. Jones III...he and the band really didn't care much for the track, so he didn't even consider adding his own composer credit, a move I'm sure he regrets now), Jackson's own take has its funky charms, too.

Here are a few pictures that I took during the tour.

The white board has autographs and other writings

Keith Richards sat here to listen to the "Wild Horses" playback

We also toured the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, which is also in the Muscle Shoals area, in Tuscumbia (right across from the hotel where we stayed).  It's still sort of a work in progress but there were some pretty cool items from many of the blues and soul artists from Alabama, such as Johnny Shines, Clarence Carter, W.C. Handy, Percy Sledge, Jerry McCain, Wilson Pickett, Eddie Floyd, and Microwave Dave.  There's also a nice section devoted to the Muscle Shoals area musicians and composers.  If you're in the neighborhood and a music fan, whether blues, soul, country, rock, or jazz, it's well worth a visit.

Displays for Clarence Carter and Johnny Shines

That's Jerry "Boogie" McCain's harmonica case at bottom right

Displays for Eddie Floyd and Wilson Pickett

W.C. Handy's trumpet

Spooner Oldham's keyboards

It was a great couple of days spent in the Muscle Shoals area.  If you're a music fan, it needs to be a future destination.  As stated above, it's just amazing to consider the amount of great music that has come from this area since the late 1950's.