The many surprises of Muscle Shoals, Alabama
Percy Sledge — Aretha Franklin — Rolling Stones — Bob Dylan — Paul Simon — Bob Seger — Staples Singers — Linda Ronstadt — Cher — Willie Nelson — Lynard Skynard....are just a few of the artists who composed and recorded hit songs in the studios of Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
It's a really small town, in a largely agricultural area. We won't try to tell you why and how this all happened there — there's a great documentary for that. (Stream it on Netflix!) If you want to experience a bit of the place, we think this song, by Aretha Franklin best captures the sound the studio, producers, and musicians brought to the music.
Muscle Shoals Sound Studio today
We toured the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, which was formed in 1969 by four studio musicians who split from the producer and owner of Fame studios, where early hits by the likes of Percy Sledge, Aretha Franklin, and Etta James were composed and recorded.
We got there early and were the only two on the tour — so we kind of got the run of the place. Get a peek below!
The blue address logo on the front of the building is courtesy of Cher's graphic designer. He put it on her album cover and the studio ended up copying it and putting it on their building.
The Lounge. Much cleaner today than it was back in the day, so we were told.
A million dollar grant from Beats Electronics (Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine) allowed the nonprofit that now runs the tours to refurbish the studio with period furniture. In the recent past, the building had been an appliance store.
The Recording Console.
The equipment in the studio is from the period, but not original to the place. (It is apparently much fancier than what they had at the time.) They have recently started recording in the studio again.
The bathroom where Keith Richards composed, "Wild Horses".
The piano parts for Kodachrome, by Paul Simon, were composed on this piano. The piano had been given to a backup singer when the studio closed. She kept it in working condition for decades and donated it back to the nonprofit that now runs the studio.
Over the River to Florence
The Tennessee River
When the artists came to town to record, they stayed in nearby Florence, Al, just across the Tennessee River from Muscle Shoals and Sheffield where the studios were located.
Florence is home to the University of Northern Alabama and also a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. So, of course we checked that out.
The Rosenbaum house is one of his usonian homes, which were designed to be affordable for middle-class Americans. However, he charged the family $15,000 to design a 1,500 sq. ft home in 1938 — which was not cheap. Mrs. Rosenbaum lived in the house until the mid-1990's, when she moved to a nursing home. At that time, the City bought and restored the house.
Rosenbaum House. Front. The overhang to the right is the carpark.
Rosenbaum House. Back.
Rosenbaum House, Japanese Garden.
Back home to Nashville
The Natchez Trace, a 444 mile trail that runs from Mississippi to Nashville, is now a parkway managed by the National Park Service. We could pick it up nearby, so, we took the slow road back home to Nashville, following the trade route used for centuries by many American Indian nations.
Overlook
Original Trail (this was detour..the road home was not THIS slow!)