Muscle Shoals Sound Studio facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Muscle Shoals Sound Studio
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Original studio at 3614 Jackson Highway, Sheffield
Location	3614 Jackson Hwy., Sheffield, Alabama
Architectural style	Early commercial
Website	muscleshoalssoundstudio.org
NRHP reference No.	06000437
Added to NRHP	June 2, 2006

The studio's second home from 1979 to 2005, at 1000 Alabama Avenue in Sheffield, Alabama.

The Muscle Shoals Sound Studio is a famous recording studio in Sheffield, Alabama. Four talented musicians started it in 1969. They were known as the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. These musicians left another studio, FAME Studios, to build their own place.

Many famous artists from the United States and Great Britain came to record here. Some of the well-known musicians who recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio include The Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, Duane Allman, George Michael, Wilson Pickett, Willie Nelson, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Joe Cocker, Paul Simon, Bob Seger, Rod Stewart, Cher, and Cat Stevens.

History of the Studio

The Founders: The Swampers

The four musicians who started the studio were Barry Beckett, Roger Hawkins, Jimmy Johnson, and David Hood. They were all session musicians at Rick Hall's FAME Studios. They were officially called the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. People also knew them as "The Swampers." They helped create the special "Muscle Shoals sound" with Rick Hall.

The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section was the first group of musicians to own their own studio. They also ran their own companies for publishing and producing music. They played music and helped arrange songs for many recordings. This included big hits by Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, and the Staple Singers. Many other popular artists recorded hit songs and full albums at their studio.

They first started working together in 1967. Before FAME, they played sessions in New York and Nashville. Their early success in soul music and R&B brought more rock and pop artists to the Muscle Shoals Sound Studios. These artists included the Rolling Stones, Duane Allman, Traffic, Bob Seger, Elton John, Willie Nelson, Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, and Julian Lennon.

The First Studio: 3614 Jackson Highway

The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section teamed up with Jerry Wexler. He gave them money to start Muscle Shoals Sound Studio. It was located at 3614 Jackson Highway in Sheffield. The building was made of concrete blocks and built around 1946. Before it was a studio, it was a showroom for coffins.

Cher's sixth album, released in 1969, was called 3614 Jackson Highway. This became the unofficial name for the studio that year.

The first big hit recorded at this studio was R. B. Greaves' song "Take a Letter Maria". In December 1969, the Rolling Stones spent three days recording there.

The Second Studio: 1000 Alabama Avenue

The studio's second location from 1979-2005, now called Cypress Moon Studios.

The studio at 3614 Jackson Highway closed in April 1979. It moved to a bigger, more modern building at 1000 Alabama Avenue in Sheffield. This new location operated until 1985. Then, it was sold to Malaco Records. This company also bought the music publishing rights from Muscle Shoals Sound.

Malaco Records used the Sheffield studio for its own artists, like Johnnie Taylor and Bobby Bland. In 2005, Malaco decided to close the studio on Alabama Avenue. It was hard to compete with newer studios that had better technology.

After the 1000 Alabama Avenue location closed, a movie company took over the building. In 2007, it became Cypress Moon Productions and Cypress Moon Studio. It still had working recording equipment. It operated as a recording studio and offered tours.

Recent Studio History

Even though the Jackson Highway location wasn't a working studio in 2009 and 2010, it was rented for recording parts of two albums. Both albums were nominated for a Grammy Award. Band of Horses' album, Infinite Arms, was partly recorded there. It was nominated for Best Alternative Album.

Ten songs from Black Keys' album, Brothers, were also recorded at 3614 Jackson Highway. This album was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album in 2011. Two songs from the album, "Tighten Up" and "Black Mud", were also nominated for Grammys.

In December 2018, Chris Stapleton recorded his Grammy-winning song "Cold" at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio. He won the Grammy for it in 2022. This shows the studio is still producing hit records.

Restoring and Reopening the Original Studio

The first studio building on Jackson Highway had been an electronics store and then an appliance store. It changed owners, and the new owner started fixing it up. They kept the old recording equipment. This allowed people to take tours of the building. In June 2006, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

In 2013, a movie called Muscle Shoals made people more interested in fixing up the studio. In June of that year, the owner sold the building to the Muscle Shoals Music Foundation. This group wanted to create a music museum in the historic building. A big donation of $1 million from Beats Electronics helped a lot. The state tourism director said the 2013 film had a big impact. Other groups and people also made donations.

The building closed for major restoration work in September 2015. It reopened as a tourist attraction on January 9, 2017. The inside looks like it did in the 1970s. It has old recording equipment and other items from that time. A journalist who visited said the restored studio is amazing. It looks much like it did when it was busy. There are guitars, amps, a Hammond organ, and a Wurlitzer electric piano. The control room has a recording console and an analog tape machine.

The Alabama Tourism Department named Muscle Shoals Sound Studio the state's top attraction in 2017. This was even before the Jackson Highway studio fully reopened. Over 62,000 people from many countries and every U.S. state have visited since it started offering tours again in 2013.

The studio is still a working recording studio at night. Dan Auerbach from the Black Keys recorded a solo project there in March 2017. Grammy-winning producer Dave Cobb recorded the band Rival Sons in April 2017. Actor Kiefer Sutherland recorded with Swamper David Hood in May 2017. In 2018, Bishop Gunn released the first recording from the restored studio, "Shine."

Documentary Film

Filmmaker Greg Camalier showed his documentary film Muscle Shoals for the first time in January 2013. This film is about the Muscle Shoals sound. It features Rick Hall, FAME Studios, and the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section (The Swampers). The film includes interviews with famous artists like Percy Sledge, Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Steve Winwood, Bono, and Alicia Keys.

Famous Recordings Made Here

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See also

In Spanish: Muscle Shoals Sound Studio para niños

• List of music museums