I Discovered Alabama's Coolest Legacy On The Muscle Shoals Music Studio Tours
By Lisa Battles|Published April 01, 2024
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Lisa Battles
Author
Lisa has traveled the U.S. for over a decade, seeking out and sharing the stories of its most interesting places, people, and experiences. A journalism graduate of Auburn University, she has been a content strategist, editor, and writer for more than 25 years. Lisa has worked in community news, PR, and marketing with a focus on tourism, hospitality, and economic development. Besides following her curiosity around every corner, she's a devoted dog mom of two and advocate for animal welfare.
A funny thing happened on the way to a sandwich shop I hoped to try. While the sandwich didn’t happen, I instead got lost and made the most of it with my first of two Muscle Shoals music studio tours. When I realized I was on the wrong highway and headed toward Florence, I checked the time. “Why not catch the last scheduled tour of the day at 3614 Jackson Highway?” I thought. This was the first location of Muscle Shoals Sound Studio and one of three studios there I had been meaning to visit.
A tip: If you do the tours, don't be like me and instead start at FAME Recording Studios, where the "Muscle Shoals Sound" originated. That's not because I think one is better than the other; I just like to do history tours chronologically. Circumstances and scheduling for me that Saturday only allowed me the option of starting at the first Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield. FAME tours were over after 2 p.m., but there was a 3:30 still open at 3614 Jackson Highway. So that's where I went, and it did not disappoint.
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This studio opened in 1969 when the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section players (a.k.a. the "Swampers") spun off from FAME and launched their own enterprise. Artists who recorded here included Cher, The Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, Paul Simon, Willie Nelson, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Duane Allman, and many more.
When you step inside this tiny space, it's hard to wrap your head around the fact some of the biggest hits of the '70s and '80s were recorded in that room. Perhaps the best known is The Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses." A couple of my other favorites are Paul Simon's "Kodachrome" and Bob Seger's "Old Time Rock & Roll." You'll hear wonderfully detailed stories about these songs and others on the tour. While there's not a lot to "tour" at this tiny studio, the storytelling is gold and worth every penny of the tour fee.
Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, 3614 N Jackson Hwy, Sheffield, AL 35660, USA
Lisa Battles
In 1978, the Swampers moved Muscle Shoals Sound to a new location on the river in Sheffield. Bob Dylan, Julian Lennon, Bob Seger, and Steve Winwood are among the artists who recorded there. Today it's called Cypress Moon Studios and it's next on my list to visit.
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Of the three music studios that offer tours in the Shoals, FAME Recording Studios in Muscle Shoals is where it all started – and where most people go first if they plan things better than me. I took the first chance I got to roll back over and tour this one and brought a friend. (By the way, FAME stands for Florence Alabama Music Enterprises, in case you wondered!)
From the 1960s on, FAME was the site of recording for epic hits by artists including Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Duane Allman, Greg Allman, Otis Redding, Jason Isbell, Alicia Keys, the Osmonds, Paul Anka, Band of Horses, Steven Tyler, and many others. Over 350 million copies of recorded or published music have come out of FAME Studios.
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FAME continues to operate as a working studio and therefore only has two tours daily during the week and three on Saturdays. The studio began above a drugstore in 1959 with three partners. One of them, Rick Hall, took over the next year, moved to another location, and had his first hit with Arthur Alexander’s “You Better Move On." That success helped him move into this current location in 1961, where FAME has been since.
Lisa Battles
We opted to take the new-ish Backstage Tour option, which is double the usual ticket price yet takes you through parts of the studio you wouldn't see otherwise. My favorite aspect of that was seeing the late Rick Hall's office, which is a delightful step back in time. Hall passed in 2018 at age 85.
A small room next to Hall's office holds cases of memorabilia, tapes with handwritten labels, and various notes. Just the usual kinds of things that accumulate in the average office, right?
Lisa Battles
One thing that drew my attention was a framed, hand-drawn area map with Hall's notes. When you look closely, you'll see it lays out the most important local places that impacted his life. There are notes about places he lived, towns where he played dances, and the sites of different tragic accidents in which his father and first wife were killed.
Fame Recording Studios, 603 Avalon Ave, Muscle Shoals, AL 35661, USA
Lisa Battles
If you haven't, I highly recommend watching the acclaimed 2013 documentary, "Muscle Shoals." In the film, Hall recounts these stories and more, so seeing the events plotted on a simple map of land I know was especially compelling. Well, I only kind of know the land. As I noted earlier, getting lost led me to my first Shoals studio tour.
The Muscle Shoals music studio tours are definitely doable in a day if you choose. You can even add a couple more Muscle Shoals music attractions – the Alabama Music Hall of Fame and the W.C. Handy Home & Museum. Another note: you can use Viator to book the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio Tour ahead of time. Beyond these attractions, there are great restaurants, nature trails, and so many other things to do in Muscle Shoals. You’ll want to stay at least a night or two.
You can find detailed histories and other information about each of the studios and tours on the websites of Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, FAME Recording Studios, and Cypress Moon Studios. Have you done any or all of the Muscle Shoals Music studio tours? We’d love to hear about your experience and favorite stories from the tour.
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