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Muscle shoals sound studio museum3/17/2023 ![]() ![]() It looks just as it did in 1969 when Cher put it on the cover of her album “3614 Jackson Highway,” named after the studio’s address. It’s hard to believe some of the most iconic pop, rock and country songs of the 20th century sprung from this unassuming, concrete block building. When the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section (bassist David Hood, keyboardist Barry Beckett, guitarist Jimmy Johnson and drummer Roger Hawkins) defected from FAME to produce their own music, they started the studio in 1969 with a loan from Wexler. Three miles away in the town of Sheffield, the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio reveals another chapter in the region’s music history. It’s still very much a working studio where contemporary artists including Jason Isbell, Alicia Keys and Bob Dylan come to record.īut FAME isn’t the only game around. Studio president Rodney Hall, Rick Hall’s son, says it “dives into more of my dad’s life.”įAME Studios is a microcosm of America’s musical history, but it’s no dusty museum. A new VIP Backstage Tour provides access to previously off-limits areas of the studio, including Hall’s office and the publishing office teeming with hundreds of music awards. 13.įortunately, most of the recording sessions that took place at FAME were far less dramatic.Ī general admission tour of Studios A and B reveals how a blend of state-of-the-art technology and low-tech, vintage equipment produces that funky, one-of-a-kind Muscle Shoals Sound. The whole story is dramatized in the Franklin biopic, “Respect,” starring Jennifer Hudson, opening in theaters Aug. The atmosphere became so tense that halfway through recording “Do Right Woman Do Right Man,” the session was cancelled.Īfter a shot or two of courage, Hall went to White’s hotel room hoping to work things out, but the situation devolved into a drunken brawl, and by the end of the day, Hall had made enemies not only with White, but Wexler.įrom the rubble of that alcohol-fueled session and an aftermath fraught with bitterness and contempt emerged Franklin’s soul-stirring first hit album, “I Never Loved a Man (the Way I Love You),” galvanizing the career of the woman that would one day be revered as the Queen of Soul. He demanded that Hall fire band members he thought were flirting with his wife. Ted White, Franklin’s manager and husband, had been drinking. ![]() She and the Swampers clicked in Studio A, and the music came together smoothly, but behind the scenes, a storm was brewing. ![]() In 1967, legendary record producer Jerry Wexler brought Franklin, then an unknown 24-year-old singer, to FAME. Several FAME instruments represent pivotal moments in 20th-century music, like the Apollo baby grand piano in the new VIP room that was played by Aretha Franklin on her first chart-topping single, “I Never Loved a Man (the Way I Loved You).” The center of the room is a maze of music stands and microphones. The original Wurlitzer electric piano stands in the corner, and a Danelectro baritone guitar waits for a player. Today, Studio A looks much as it did then. ![]()
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