Muscle Shoals Sound Studios
Did you know that Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers? And that they’ve been known to sing a song or two (yes, they do) Lord, they get me off so much. They pick me up when I’m feeling blue now how about you?
Music History Made in Alabama
Ever onwards, we drove back to Sheffield, about 10 minutes away, to the world-famous Muscle Shoals Music Studio. It is a small, non-descript, gray building originally made to showcase caskets. There are no windows in the main room so that the lights could shine on the coffins to better effect. Wow. Anyway. Eventually this little hole in the wall in some small backwater, hick town in Alabama no less, became a production studio for the biggest names in music and made the biggest names in music who they were. As the motto goes, “Where history made music…then music made history.”
One Take
An amazing thing about this place is that a lot of the hits like “When a Man Loves a Woman” by Percy Sledge and “Old Time Rock and Roll” by Bob Seger were done in ONE TAKE. Percy Sledge was a hospital orderly and had never recorded anything before. He sang the song once and it was a wrap. Jimmy Johnson said his performance was so “pristine.”
The year was 1966, and this put Muscle Shoals on the map. In fact, in some cases, an artist would come in after reserving 4 days at the studio, record the song in one hour, and have to figure out how to fill the next 4 days. This happened to Paul Simon. He ended up writing and recording “Kodachrome” in the leftover days.
The Lynyrd Skynyrd band was having difficulty writing “Free Bird”, they just couldn’t get it right so they went for lunch. When they returned, their roadie Allen Collins, had written the song. He wrote it in 9 minutes. Needless to say, he became part of the band after that.
The Stones
The Rolling Stones were at the studio for 3 days and recorded 3 songs including “Brown Sugar”. Keith Richards wrote “Wild Horses” in the bathroom of the studio. It’s an amazing thing when a guy known for snorting his own father’s ashes, thinking it was coke, can have the brain power to also record a song like “Wild Horses” in a small bathroom.
Whiny Heroin Addict
Jimmy Johnson, one of the Swampers, said to Mick Jagger at one point, “Stop whining. This is my place so no whining!” The Rolling Stones left their poor bodyguard to sleep on this couch instead of at the Holiday Inn. You know why? Because he had to guard the drugs hidden in this room (they were to the right when you walk in). I can’t imagine this would be weed or hash. Our tour guide said it was something else. Heroin.
Hey Baby, What’s Your Story?
I asked our guide why talent seemed to be so prolific in the ’60s, 70s, and part of the ’80s. He said it was because of men like Jerry Wexler who were visionaries. They were not musicians but they knew what sounded good and they promoted and nurtured the talent. Raw talent is good but it doesn’t take you to the people. You need a little help. Our guide said that nowadays the music business is run by accountants. It’s only money that matters. In the photo below, Jerry Wexler is the big guy in the sunglasses and bandana. When our guide first met Wexler, Wexler said to him, “Hey baby, what’s your story?” He talked like that to everybody.
The South is Full of Swamps That’s Why
The Swampers were the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. They were Barry Beckett (piano player from Birmingham), Roger Hawkins (drummer from Sheffield), David Hood (bassist from Sheffield), and Jimmy Johnson (guitarist, sound engineer, and producer from Green Hill). Leon Redbone’s producer Denny Cordell, a bigshot from London, nicknamed them “the Swampers” because the other name was too long.
They had a funky, southern, bluesy sound that helped a lot of artists “find” their sound. They rarely read music, they would meet the artist and just felt how to play. Who can describe how magic is made? Jimmy Johnson said in 2014. “But we were honored to be a bunch of southern rednecks who were able to play so many different types of music.” Our guide insisted that it was Memphis and Muscle Shoals, not Nashville who were the main players in the music industry during that time.
David Hood, who is 80, was just leaving when we got there. He is the only Swamper still alive. The Swampers were well known in the music business, but after Lynyrd Skynyrd mentioned them in “Sweet Home Alabama” (see lyrics at beginning of this story), they were brought to the attention of the public.
The Rolling What? Lynyrd Who?
The town had no interest in these people. The most famous people ever, I mean artists who you would die to get a glimpse of, could be walking by and the townsfolk wouldn’t know who they were and they didn’t care. Mick Jagger was at the Holiday Inn and a woman told him, “Boy, yo hair is too long!” I don’t think that was the only thing wrong with Jagger.
Sonny Bono was so obnoxious that one day Jerry Wexler had finally had enough of his know-it-all attitude and said, “You know what, Sonny? I signed Cher, not Sonny and Cher.” Then he told him to leave and locked the door after him.
Aforementioned Robin’s Egg
This poor little egg fell out of a very tall pine tree on the shores of the Tennessee River also known as “The Singing River”. I put it in a small nest that I happen to have. It wasn’t cracked when we picked it up. But, when we got home I noticed the crack.
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