Aretha Franklin using the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section but recording in New York. Around that same time the Swampers de-
Much of the movie centers around the life
of Fame Studios founder Rick Hall, who is credited as the man who started what would come to be known as the “Muscle Shoals sound.” Throughout the movie, we get to learn a good deal of history about Hall, a man who walked through quite a bit of fire on his way to becoming the legendary recording pro- ducer that he is today. The movie does an outstanding job of
telling the story of the Muscle Shoals rhythm section, also known as “the Swampers – bassist David Hood, drummer Roger Hawkins, keyboard man Barry Beckett, and guitarist Jimmy Johnson. Other great Shoals musicians are also given their due including Spooner Oldham, Dan Penn, Donnie Fritz, and more. The story of Aretha Franklin coming to
Muscle Shoals to record is now the stuff of legend. But this movie fills in the gaps with great detail in relation to why and how there was a blowup in the studio between her then husband and one of the guys in the horn sec- tion. That blow up caused Rick Hall to fire the horn player rather than lose Aretha after her husband threatened to take her away. Of course, the fallout from all that was that At- lantic records executive Jerry Wexler got so mad at Rick Hall that he said he would never set foot back in FAME studios again. Wexler went on to record many great records with
45 Back at Muscle Shoals Sound, Alan Walden
had introduced a new band to Jimmy John- son known as Lynyrd Skynyrd. Ed King tells the story in the movie. Jimmy goes on to talk about all of the other great artists who recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, in- cluding Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Paul Simon, Linda Ronstadt, John Prine, Joe Cocker, the Staple Singers, Dire Straits, Cat Stevens, and one of Johnson’s favorite artists
cided that they wanted to have their own stu- dio, so they set up shop at 3614 Jackson Hwy. which became the home of Muscle Shoals Sound Studios. Things were a little slow going at first, but they soon caught fire. Before they knew it, the Rolling Stones came to the Shoals to record their Sticky Fingers album, record- ing great songs such as “Wild Horses”- which featured Jim Dickinson on the piano, by the way – and “Brown Sugar.” Meanwhile, back at Fame, Rick assembled
a whole new house band known as the Fame Gang. Huge success followed for Hall as he recorded artists such as Bobbie Gentry, Mac Davis, Joe Tex, Alabama, and Donnie and the Osmond Brothers.
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