6/29/2023 0 Comments Muscle shoals sound studioFor all three, it was the financial promise of catching Nashville’s eye that attracted them. This regional success drew the attention of small town players like Hall and his friend Billy Sherrill – who played bass and sax in rival dance bands, The Country Pals and The Rhythm Swingers, and before joining forces for rock & roll band The Fairlanes – and the surly but ingenious singer-songwriter Dan Penn, who briefly fronted The Fairlanes. This was the beginning of many firsts for the “Muscle Shoals Sound.” Tune was one of the first Alabama-based publishing companies with a demo studio, and Joiner wrote the first big hit to come out of The Shoals, “A Fallen Star,” launching the singing career of local high school student Bobby Denton, who was later christened “The Singing Senator” during his 22-year run in the Alabama senate. In the same year that Presley released “Blue Suede Shoes,” James Joiner founded Tune Records and Tune Publishing in the back of his family-owned bus business in Florence. The success of singles such as Johnny Cash’s “Get Rhythm” and Elvis Presley’s “Blue Suede Shoes” are widely attributed to Jud’s flair for promotion. Jud himself founded the short-lived Judd record label in Florence and would go on to be a monstrous force on behalf of Sun Studios. Jud Phillips was the brother of Sam Phillips, who set up the legendary rockabilly and rock and roll incubator Sun Studios in Memphis, TN, where Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis cut their teeth. "There's just something special about this weird little room.Hall wasn’t the first music business impresario in the region, though. "I still get goosebumps every time I walk in here," he says. On the way out, Benton pauses and steals one last glance back inside. The Black Keys and Australian band the Soul Movers have both recorded here since it reopened. Perhaps more importantly, the venue is once again a working studio. "There was one guy from London who cried the whole way round," says Benton. For many it's a poignant reminder of their youth. Since the tour started in January 2017, more than 40,000 people from 40 countries have visited. Benton points out the toilet where Keith Richards locked himself away to finish writing Wild Horses and the outdoor porch where Rod Steward would listen to his first cuts. Much of the furniture is original as are the monitors and the baby grand piano. "Originally, the building had a tin roof," says Benton, "so bands had to stop playing whenever it rained." We head upstairs into the '70s-era studio, whose walls are still lined with blocks of polystyrene for sound insulation. Not only did they have a unique, soulful Southern style, but they happily played with black artists at a time when the state was still fiercely segregated. Known as the Swampers, the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section comprised keyboardist Barry Beckett, drummer Roger Hawkins, bassist David Hood and guitarist Jimmy Johnson. Seventy-five of them went gold and 14 reached multi-platinum.Ĭlearly, it wasn't the dilapidated venue that lured artists from all over the world instead, it was the distinctive sound produced by the four session musicians who owned it. In the late 1960s and early '70s, more than 200 albums were recorded in this unassuming concrete building on the outskirts of Muscle Shoals by stars including Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan and Paul Simon. By the time they left they'd cut Brown Sugar, You Gotta Move and Wild Horses. Each evening they would arrive at 8pm and work for 12 hours straight, writing and recording through the night. In December 1969, the Rolling Stones flew to Alabama by private jet to spend three days in a former coffin factory. Dre donated $US1 million towards the refurbishment of the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio.
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