Muscle Shoals, Alabama - in Music

In Music

Sister city Florence, Alabama is frequently referred to as "the birthplace of the Blues". W.C. Handy was born in Florence and is generally regarded as the "Father of the Blues". Every year since 1982, the W. C. Handy Music Festival is held in the Florence/Sheffield/Muscle Shoals area, featuring blues, jazz, country, gospel, rock music and R & B. The roster of jazz musicians known as the "Festival All-Stars", or as the W. C. Handy Jazz All-Stars, includes noted musicians from all over the United States, such as guitarist Mundell Lowe, drummer Bill Goodwin, pianist/vocalist Johnny O'Neal, vibraphone player Chuck Redd, pianist/vocalist Ray Reach and flautist Holly Hofmann.

Rolling Stone editor David Fricke wrote that if one wanted to play a single recording that would "epitomize and encapsulate the famed Muscle Shoals Sound", that record would be "I'll Take You There" by The Staple Singers.

After hearing that very song, American songwriter Paul Simon phoned his manager and asked him to arrange a recording session with the musicians who had performed it. Simon was surprised to be told that he would have to travel to Muscle Shoals to work with the artists. After arriving in the small town, he was introduced to the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section ("The Swampers") who had recorded this song with Mavis Staples. Expecting black musicians (the original Rhythm Section consists only of white musicians), and assuming that he had been introduced to the office staff, Simon politely asked to "meet the band". Once things were sorted out, Simon recorded a number of tracks with the group, including "Loves Me Like a Rock", "Kodachrome" and "Still Crazy After All These Years".

Duane Allman, later of Allman Brothers Band fame, once pitched a tent and camped out in the parking lot of FAME studios in an effort to be near the recording sessions occurring there. He soon befriended the studio's owner, Rick Hall, and Wilson Pickett (who was recording at FAME at the time). During a lunch break, Allman taught Pickett The Beatles' song "Hey Jude". Duane and Wilson's version of the song was eventually recorded with Allman on lead guitar. On hearing the session, people at Pickett's label (Atlantic Records) asked who had played the guitar solos. Hall responded with a hand-written note that read "some hippie cat who's been living in our parking lot." Shortly afterward, Allman was offered a recording contract. Auditions for the Allman Brothers Band were later held at FAME Studios. Duane Allman loved the area, and frequently returned to The Shoals for session work throughout his life.

When Bob Dylan told his record label that he intended to record Christian music, the initially dismayed label executives insisted that if he planned to pursue the project, he must, at least, record the work in Muscle Shoals, as they felt it would provide the work "some much-needed credibility". (Dylan was not previously known for his overtly religious pronouncements, and many worried that his efforts would be taken as satirical; recording in the Bible Belt, it was thought, might avert a disaster.) Dylan was happy to oblige the label, and recorded not one, but two genuine Christian albums in The Shoals. The resulting albums (Slow Train Coming and Saved) were recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios. The records were, at first, received poorly by critics (perhaps because of their sincerity).

In the song "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd, a verse states that:

"Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers
And they've been known to pick a song or two
Lord, they get me off so much
They pick me up when I'm feelin' blue."

The Swampers, a local group of first-call studio musicians who were available if back-up was needed, were given this name by jazz artist Leon Russell and pretty much constituted the Alabama version of The Wrecking Crew in Los Angeles.

When Lynyrd Skynyrd recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios once early in their career, they saw the various gold and platinum records on the walls bearing the words "To The Swampers", and later included it in the song as a tribute. By definition, a "swamper" is a helper, such as a waitress or truck driver's assistant. The musicians were "hired guns", hence the nickname.

Muscle Shoals Sound was one of the hottest tracking rooms of the day, while FAME was a full production studio working on entire projects to completion.

The members of the Muscle Shoals Sound Rhythm Section were Pete Carr (lead guitar), Jimmy Johnson (guitar), Roger Hawkins (drums), David Hood (bass guitar) and Barry Beckett (keyboards).

More recently, Florence native Patterson Hood, son of "Swamper" David Hood, has found fame in his own right as a member of the alternative rock group Drive-By Truckers. The top two finishing finalists on the 2007 season of country-music singing competition Nashville Star, siblings Zac Hacker (second place) and Angela Hacker (winner), are from Muscle Shoals. In 2008, State Line Mob, a Southern rock duo group formed by singer and songwriters Phillip Crunk (Florence native) and Dana Crunk (Rogersville native), released their first CD, Ruckus and won two Muscle Shoals Music Awards for 2008 for (Best New Artist) and Best New Country Album) of the year.

Although Muscle Shoals has receded somewhat from its 1960s and 1970s status as "Hit Recording Capital of the World", (as a sign near the airport once read), there is a group of young, local musicians that are making waves again in the musical world. These include Drive-By Truckers, The Civil Wars, Dylan LeBlanc, Hannah Aldridge, Gary Nichols, Jason Isbell, State Line Mob, Eric "Red Mouth" Gebhardt, Fiddleworms, Jamie Barrier and The Pine Hill Haints, Sons of Roswell, Lauderdale, Barrelmouth, Angela Hacker, Zac Hacker, Mike Pyle, The Ugli Stick, Jami Grooms, James LeBlanc, Scufflegrit, Archie Hubbard and BoomBox.

In 2006, the group Heartland recorded their number-one award winning song "I Loved Her First",produced and penned by Shoals' legend Walt Aldridge.

In 2007, Bettye Lavette's Grammy nominated CD "The Scene of the Crime" was recorded at FAME Recording Studios, produced by Patterson Hood and Drive-By Truckers. The Truckers also backed Lavette on the record, with contributions from David Hood and Spooner Oldham.

In 2010, two Grammy nominated albums were recorded in the Shoals at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios. Band Of Horses' third CD, Infinite Arms was recorded in part at the studio. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Alternative Album category. The Black Keys' sixth album' Brothers' was also recorded at 3614 Jackson Highway. The album was nominated for a 2011 Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album. Two songs from the album, "Tighten Up" and "Black Mud", have been nominated for Grammys; "Tighten Up" for Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and Best Rock Song;. "Black Mud" for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. Rolling Stone magazine placed the album at #2 on the Best Albums of 2010 and "Everlasting Light" at #11 on the Best Singles of 2010. The album was also featured on Spin (magazine)'s Top 40 Albums of 2010.

The second Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, located at 1000 Alabama Avenue in Sheffield, closed in 2005 and now houses a movie production company.

The original Muscle Shoals Sound Studios building at 3614 Jackson Highway is now open daily for tours as a historic museum. It has been restored to its 1970s state.