I finally made my way to a small North Alabama town called Muscle Shoals. It's SO crazy how much legendary music and history came out of this small town. For my visit, and due to this nice fall weather, I threw on my black felt hat and fringe leather jacket. I present my alter ego, "Mustang Sally."
Most importantly, some tunes to get us started:
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| Waiting for my band to arrive in Studio B control room. Wink. |
The "Swampers" were one of the MOST prominent American studio house bands from the 1960's to the 1980's. The band originally consisted of high school-aged white kids who would get out of school when the bell rang and head on over to FAME Recording Studios, located near Florence, Alabama in an area known as "the Shoals," to have fun and play some music with their funky, soulful, southern "swamp" sound. These young kids certainly didn't know at the time they were making history nor how their unique sound would influence generations to come.
Originally, The Swampers were called the "Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section,"...that is, up until Lynyrd Skynyrd famously coined their esteemed name in the famous southern rock anthem, "Sweet Home Alabama."
Let's pause here to give it a listen:
“Now Muscle Shoals has got The Swampers,
And they’ve been known to pick a song or two, (yes they do)
Lord they get me off so much,
They pick me up when I’m feeling blue, now how bout you?”
And they’ve been known to pick a song or two, (yes they do)
Lord they get me off so much,
They pick me up when I’m feeling blue, now how bout you?”
The Swampers had such a unique musical swagger and the ability to create a "southern take" on R&B music. They recorded, engineered, and produced hits by Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Percy Sledge, The Rolling Stones, Paul Simon, Rod Stewart, Bob Seger, The Staple Singers, and Lynyrd Slynyrd, just to name a few. By the time their career was all over, The Swampers had over 500 recordings of which 75 went platinum or gold.
NOTE: It is important to understand that while The Swampers got their start at FAME, not all of their hits and history came out of FAME. Keep reading...
Naturally, my day began at FAME Studios. FAME is short for Florence Alabama Music Enterprises. I snagged a VIP Back-stage Pass to get the full experience. There is an amazing 2013 award-winning documentary called "Muscle Shoals," in which lauded, world-renowned music producer and song writer Rick Hall is featured and relives the amazing history of his recording studios, FAME. This documentary is what piqued my interest in FAME. If you have not watched it, it's on Amazon Prime.
The VIP tour takes you up some creaky wooden stairs with amazing memorabilia and pictures from the 60's, 70's, and 80's. The first room is the publishing office where many memorable and remarkable poetic lyrics were published at FAME. Next is Rick's office (which is like a time capsule) with a random barber's chair next to his desk. Rick had seen a barber's chair in another office and found it "intimidating," and therefore he set his mind to having a barber chair in his office. It's crazy that right outside his window is a Pizza Hut, as the town has grown up around the studios.
There is a speakeasy lounge (notably added during a time when Muscle Shoals was a dry county) connected to Rick's office where a lot of partying took place. Studios A and B, and one of the control rooms are part of the tour. I love how they kept the authentic vibe going with little to no updates so you could get the feel of how it looked back in the day. While in Studio B, I got to rub on one of the sound absorbers that had been in the studio since the 60's. I stood on sacred musical grounds where Duane and Greg Allman had crashed and slept on the floor. I learned how Rick originally got his music out by networking with the radio stations with his record with an entire bottle of vodka. Rock n' Roll and potato liquor does it every time.
FAME is still an active recording studio. In fact, Studio A was recently booked for an entire month by the Midwest band, the Turnpike Troubadours. They walked into FAME on day one with just one song. However, over the course of 30 days, this band both wrote and produced an entire album. That's the magic of FAME, according to many musicians who graced these recording studios. To get a rough idea of how much a 30 day's session would run the average musician...upwards of twenty grand. If you haven't listened to the Turnpike Troubadours, I highly recommend it. They sound a lot like Blackberry Smoke.
Here is a list of the most notable hits to come out of FAME Recording Studios:
Mustang Sally, Wilson Picket
Hey Jude, Wilson Pickett
I Never Loved a Man the Way I Loved You, Aretha Franklin
Tell Mama, Etta James
Slip Away, Clarence Carter
Do Right Woman, Do Right Man, Aretha Franklin
I'm Your Puppet, James and Bobby Purify
I'd Rather Go Blind, Etta James
Lane of 1000 Dances, Wilson Pickett
Sweet Soul Music, Arthur Conley
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The music legends who have walked through this door is enough to send chills. I loved the quote above the hallway...also, I LOVE my fringe leather jacket. I wanted to dress like "Mustang Sally" which is one of the most famous songs to come out of FAME. |
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| Studio B had the hippie vibes with the multicolored lighting and signs.... |
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| Studio A |
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| These Scottish bikers legit photo bombed a good majority of my photos. As you can see I had some admirers... |
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| This is Rick Hall's legendary office where many music deals went down. Rick purchased the barber chair to the left of his desk after seeing it in a window in Nashville, TN. He always wanted one after seeing a barber ch |
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| Right off the office, to the left of the barber chair, is the old speak easy. Muscle Shoals used to be a dry county, but Rick Hall had an exception in his office. The bar was where the piano now sits. |
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| Legend has it, if you rub the exposed wood on this guy, you get some of the legends' mojo. Of course I rubbed it. Yes, I did. |
FAME wasn't the only studio The Swampers performed in. Jerry Wexler stole the Swampers out of FAME to work with Aretha Franklin in a New York studio after Aretha's husband had a spicy altercation with Rick Hall. Punches were thrown. Despite the Swampers working with other studio producers, Rick wanted the Swampers all to himself. He presented them with a contract to become the exclusive rhythm section at FAME. Unfortunately, on the same day, and due to some similar "fallings out" with band members, the Swampers informed Rick they were starting their own studio right across town (literally a seven-minute drive away).
That's where my next stop was: The Muscle Shoals Recording Studio. Unlike FAME, Muscle Shoals Recording Studio had some significant updates to its original studio from the 70s. Dr. Dre, after hearing about The Swampers, donated a considerable amount of money into renovations of this studio. Great hits like “Free Bird,” “Wild Horses,” and “Old-Time Rock n' Roll” were written and produced at the grand piano which is showcased as you first walk in.
The Muscle Shoals Recording Studio was closed by the time I got there. However, one of the employees saw me outside snapping photos. Eventually, I made my way to the window to peer in. He came out to the lobby to unlock the door for me and gave me an after-hours tour. I even saw the infamous toilet where "Free Bird" was written, and I saw the tab given to the Rolling Stones to record "Wild Horses.” Later, as I was leaving, he said, "I let you in because you looked cool." Mustang Sally for the win.
Some of the most notable songs to come out of Muscle Shoals Recording Studio:
Brown Sugar, The Rolling Stones
I'll Take You There, The Staple Singers
Wild Horses, The Rolling Stones
Respect Yourself, The Staple Singers
Old Time Rock and Roll, Bob Seger
Loves Me Like Rock, Paul Simon
Paul Simon booked out Muscle Shoals Recording Studio for four days and unexpectedly wrote his entire “Kodachrome” album on the piano shown below!
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| A much smaller and humbler studio after touring FAME.... |
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The Rolling Stone’s tab for “Wild Horses”
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| Songs written and recorded at this legendary piano include Free Bird by Lynard Skynyrd, Wild Horses by the Rolling Stones, Old Time Rock n' Roll by Bob Seger. Paul Simon also wrote and recorded Kodachrome on this very piano. |
Perhaps bad timing after dropping a blog about a visit to Alabama, but HOW ABOUT MY TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS!????
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Until we meet again,
CK
