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Muscle Shoals Sound Studio
Muscle Shoals Sound Studio is an American recording studio in Sheffield, Alabama, formed in 1969 by four session musicians known as the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. They had left nearby FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals to create their own recording facility.
They attracted noted artists from across the United States and Great Britain. Over the years, artists who recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio included Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Percy Sledge, the Rolling Stones, Duane Allman, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Joe Cocker, Levon Helm, Paul Simon, Bob Seger, Rod Stewart, Cat Stevens, Bob Dylan, Jimmy Cliff, Cher, George Michael, and the Black Keys.
The four founders of the studio, Barry Beckett, Roger Hawkins, Jimmy Johnson and David Hood, were session musicians at Rick Hall's FAME Studios; they were officially known as the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section but widely referred to as "The Swampers", who were recognized as having crafted the "Muscle Shoals sound" in conjunction with Hall.
The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section was the first group of musicians to own a studio and to eventually run their own publishing and production companies. They provided musical backing and arrangements for many recordings, including major hits by Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, and the Staple Singers; a wide range of artists in popular music also recorded hit songs and complete albums at the studio. They had first worked together in 1967 and initially played sessions in New York and Nashville before doing so at FAME. Their initial successes in soul and R&B led to more mainstream rock and pop performers who began coming to record at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, including the Rolling Stones, Dr. Hook, Millie Jackson, Boz Scaggs, Paul Simon, Bob Seger, Bob Dylan, Duane Allman, Traffic, Glenn Frey, Elton John, Willie Nelson, Elkie Brooks, and Julian Lennon.
The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section partnered with producer Jerry Wexler, who provided start-up funding, to found Muscle Shoals Sound Studio at 3614 Jackson Highway in Sheffield. The concrete block building, originally built around 1946, was previously a coffin showroom.
Cher's sixth album was titled 3614 Jackson Highway (1969) and this became the informal name for the studio in 1969.
The first hit to the studio's credit was R. B. Greaves' "Take a Letter Maria". By December 1969, the Rolling Stones were recording at this new location for three days.
The studio at 3614 Jackson Highway closed in April 1979, relocating to a larger updated facility in Sheffield located at 1000 Alabama Avenue. This location operated until it was closed and sold in 1985 to Malaco Records, Tommy Couch's Jackson, Mississippi-based soul and blues label, which also bought the publishing rights held by the Muscle Shoals Sound. Malaco used the Sheffield studios for its own artists, including Johnnie Taylor, Bobby Bland and Little Milton, while continuing to operate its original facility in Jackson. The Rhythm Section, minus Beckett, worked with other studio musicians at Malaco Records and at other studios. In 2005, Couch decided to close the Malaco studio on Alabama Avenue because he was having difficulty competing with more technologically advanced studios.
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Muscle Shoals Sound Studio
Muscle Shoals Sound Studio is an American recording studio in Sheffield, Alabama, formed in 1969 by four session musicians known as the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. They had left nearby FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals to create their own recording facility.
They attracted noted artists from across the United States and Great Britain. Over the years, artists who recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio included Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Percy Sledge, the Rolling Stones, Duane Allman, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Joe Cocker, Levon Helm, Paul Simon, Bob Seger, Rod Stewart, Cat Stevens, Bob Dylan, Jimmy Cliff, Cher, George Michael, and the Black Keys.
The four founders of the studio, Barry Beckett, Roger Hawkins, Jimmy Johnson and David Hood, were session musicians at Rick Hall's FAME Studios; they were officially known as the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section but widely referred to as "The Swampers", who were recognized as having crafted the "Muscle Shoals sound" in conjunction with Hall.
The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section was the first group of musicians to own a studio and to eventually run their own publishing and production companies. They provided musical backing and arrangements for many recordings, including major hits by Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, and the Staple Singers; a wide range of artists in popular music also recorded hit songs and complete albums at the studio. They had first worked together in 1967 and initially played sessions in New York and Nashville before doing so at FAME. Their initial successes in soul and R&B led to more mainstream rock and pop performers who began coming to record at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, including the Rolling Stones, Dr. Hook, Millie Jackson, Boz Scaggs, Paul Simon, Bob Seger, Bob Dylan, Duane Allman, Traffic, Glenn Frey, Elton John, Willie Nelson, Elkie Brooks, and Julian Lennon.
The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section partnered with producer Jerry Wexler, who provided start-up funding, to found Muscle Shoals Sound Studio at 3614 Jackson Highway in Sheffield. The concrete block building, originally built around 1946, was previously a coffin showroom.
Cher's sixth album was titled 3614 Jackson Highway (1969) and this became the informal name for the studio in 1969.
The first hit to the studio's credit was R. B. Greaves' "Take a Letter Maria". By December 1969, the Rolling Stones were recording at this new location for three days.
The studio at 3614 Jackson Highway closed in April 1979, relocating to a larger updated facility in Sheffield located at 1000 Alabama Avenue. This location operated until it was closed and sold in 1985 to Malaco Records, Tommy Couch's Jackson, Mississippi-based soul and blues label, which also bought the publishing rights held by the Muscle Shoals Sound. Malaco used the Sheffield studios for its own artists, including Johnnie Taylor, Bobby Bland and Little Milton, while continuing to operate its original facility in Jackson. The Rhythm Section, minus Beckett, worked with other studio musicians at Malaco Records and at other studios. In 2005, Couch decided to close the Malaco studio on Alabama Avenue because he was having difficulty competing with more technologically advanced studios.