Harvey Thompson, Jr. , but Beth came down to Swampers and we got to talk a while. After dinner me and Ricky went to our
room. Man it was nice. Two big ol’ giant, super-comfortable beds. And the pillows were so soft. I could get spoiled easily. One of the channels on the TV plays the Muscle Shoals documentary 24/7, so I flipped that on for a while. There was a balcony, and from the 6th floor, the view was quite nice. The pool and fountain were directly below us, so we left the balcony door open all night. The summer breeze was blowing cool air in, and the sound of the water was like a combination of hearing the ocean at the beach and hearing rain on the rooftop. Either way, it put me out like a light. Sweet dreams, Buffalo.
around 2PM. But before that, we rode around and checked out the sites. We pulled over at 3614 Jackson Highway, in front of the origi- nal Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, and took a few photos.. Soon it was time to go back down to Avalon Ave. and meet Dick Cooper, who had agreed to give us the nickel tour. But first, the three of us would lunch at Sweet Pepper’s Deli. I caught up a bit with Cooper as we ate,
and then we headed back to FAME Studios, where, as fate would have it, Rick Hall was holding a book signing for his new memoir. As we walked the hallowed halls of FAME, I flashed back to the days many years ago when I brought my family down to the Shoals, and Cooper and Jay Johnson showed us all around. My step son Ben was visiting Ol’ Miss, and was considering going there, so the Shoals was our side trip. We had a blast. Rick (Cash, not Hall) had never been there
before, so I was happy he was getting to expe- rience the history. I went up and bought a copy of Hall’s book, which includes a DVD of the movie Muscle Shoals, and got it signed by Rick and his co-author, Terry Pace. They were set up in Studio-A, and once again I could feel the vibes from that room, standing right on the spot where Duane Allman stood. Thinking of all the artists who had recorded there, from Wilson Pickett to The Osmond Brothers and everyone in between. Sweet. I got to see Rodney Hall, Rick’s son again.
The original Muscle Shoals Sound Studio. (Rick Cash Photo)
Saturday morning we were up and Adam
early, showered and hit the Swampers break- fast bar. Then it was off to Muscle Shoals. Rick needed some batteries for his camera, so we went looking for a drug store. There’s a CVS right there on the main drag, so we stopped in. When we came out, I had to laugh. I already knew it from before, but had forgotten that FAME Recording Studio sits right behind CVS. We would be visiting there
We originally met during the aforementioned family visit. Rodney runs the place these days, and does an outstanding job. I stepped over to another familiar face, Jimmy Johnson. Jimmy was the producer, engineer and gui- tarist in “The Swampers.” Those guys played on about a zillion hit records. They had started at FAME, later breaking away to start Muscle Shoals Sound Studio on Jackson Highway. I really enjoyed catching up with Jimmy a
bit. Of course, his son Jay is a long time friend since the days of the Southern Rock
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