The Hit Recording Capital of the World — where Aretha, the Stones, and Dylan found their sound
Muscle Shoals is a small city in northwestern Alabama that somehow became one of the most important recording sites in music history. The Muscle Shoals Sound — a warm, funky groove created by a house band called the Swampers — defined major recordings by Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Paul Simon from the late 1960s through the 1980s. Two studios sit within three miles of each other: FAME Studios and Muscle Shoals Sound Studios.
Rick Hall founded FAME Studios in 1961. His breakthrough came in 1967 when Aretha Franklin recorded her first major hit here. The Swampers later broke away to form their own studio in 1969, recording the Rolling Stones' 'Wild Horses' and 'Brown Sugar' there. The documentary 'Muscle Shoals' (2013) brought global attention to this unlikely musical epicenter.