Hidden Wonders Along the Way

Article by Greg Rickman, Tiffin Ambassador

TODAY’S FEATURE  – THE ALABAMA MUSIC SCENE

Most of us who own Tiffin motorhomes have been to Red Bay, Alabama a time or two.  You need something repaired, want to add something or just need annual service, a trip back to the “mother ship” is in order.    The area has so much to offer and so many things to do in your downtime, from its friendly people to beautiful natural attractions, and many other things.  Northwest Alabama is truly a wonderful place.

But with all of these great things to do and see, it’s easy to skip some of the local history and cultural significance that this area is known for.  And famous for.  Really famous for.  I’m talking about the music.  The music of Muscle Shoals.

The music of “The Shoals”, as the locals affectionately call it, is deeply entrenched in history.  The Native Americans who arrived first to this area called the Tennessee River the “Singing River” from the sounds the water made.  Gospel music was, and still is, a large part of everyday life here.  The blues were popularized here as well as other genres.

THE HALL OF FAME

I have been coming to Red Bay for motorhome service for going on six years now.  Every time we are here, we try to experience something different.  So one lazy Saturday morning, my wife suggested we go to the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in Tuscumbia, a small town that is basically a suburb of Muscle Shoals.  This museum features the achievements of those born or raised in Alabama and their impact on music.

The Alabama Music Hall of Fame was created from a dream of the Muscle Shoals Music Association comprised of producers, songwriters, musicians, studio owners and other music professionals.  The 12,500 square foot exhibit hall opened in July, 1990 to the public and celebrates the lives and careers of fellow Alabamians and their contribution of music.

As you drive up, there is a huge parking lot and even space for RV’s to park and go inside.  At the entrance, you are greeted by a beautiful reflection pool and fountain with the names of the donors engraved in the bricks surrounding it.  You then step inside the large entry foyer to the Walk of Fame bronze stars engraved with the names of the Hall of Fame members.  The oil portraits of those members cover the walls and include world famous artists such as Tammy Wynette (from the Red Bay area), Lionel Richie and the country band Alabama. 

There are individual exhibits for each of the Hall of Fame members along with genuine artifacts collected or donated from the artists themselves or their families.  The legendary producer Sam Phillips, who recorded Elvis Presley at Sun Records, is featured there along with other famous artists such as Hank Williams Sr., and Hank Williams Jr., Nat King Cole, Jimmy Buffett, Jim Nabors (yes, he was also a great singer!), the Commodores, Shenandoah and so many more.  There is also an actual recording studio there used for studio tracks.

THE BUS

But the highlight for me was the bus.  Not just any bus, but an actual tour bus owned by the country group Alabama.  The entire bus is prominently displayed inside the museum and can be toured both on the inside and the outside.  You can walk through the bus with the front lounge, bunk house area and most of the rear lounge intact.  It is amazing to see how much has changed since the 1980’s.

This bus has a very special significance to me.  As a young police officer in the 80’s, I had the opportunity to provide security and accompany the band Alabama during two of their tours, one of which was with this same bus.  They were some of the nicest guys one could ever meet.  Boy, to say it brought back memories is an understatement!

We spent most of the day there before heading back to Red Bay.  But after reading about all of the famous artists that recorded their music in the Muscle Shoals area, we decided there was one more stop we needed to make:  Fame Studios.

THE SOUND OF FAME

Fame Studios is not only one of the most famous recording studios in the world, it is legendary.  Established in 1959 by Rick Hall, Billy Sherrill and Tom Stafford, the original studios was located above the City Drugstore in nearby Florence, Alabama.  Rick Hall became the sole owner in 1960 and in 1962, with some borrowed money and one recording hit under his belt, relocated the studio to its current location in Muscle Shoals.  The studio has had some alterations over the years but still looks much like it did in 1962.

We decided to take the VIP tour of both the recording studios and the personal offices upstairs.  The guide walks you through the hallowed hallways, lined with gold and platinum records from famous artists of all genres.  There are hundreds of signed photographs and   records from the last 60 years.  The two recording studios are appropriately named Studio A and Studio B.  Each studio has individual recording rooms for vocal or instrument tracks with a large room for an entire band.  The walls are lined to produce the best sound and to prevent that sound from bouncing around the room or back toward the artist.  A square wooden section of floor in Studio B was designed to change the sound of the artist’s voice as he stood on it, compared to a richer deeper sound elsewhere in the studio.  Everyone thought it was a dance floor until the guide demonstrated the difference in sound quality.

STORIES FROM THE STUDIOS

Perhaps the best part of the tour was the stories.  Our guide told many stories about some of the artists that recorded there, including Aretha Franklin, who recorded her first two songs there.  Wilson Pickett stood in the same room and recorded “Mustang Sally”.  And the time that Steven Tyler, of Aerosmith fame, while recording “Brown Sugar”, had to call Mick Jagger from the Rolling Stones to figure out a guitar solo.  The country band Shenandoah was discovered in Muscle Shoals and recorded several albums at Fame.

One of my personal favorites was about country music star Mac Davis, who was personal friends with Rick Hall and actually lived with him for a while.  Mac was an incredible songwriter and could pen a song on instinct effortlessly.  On one occasion, Rick Hall was poking fun at Mac about how he hadn’t written a song lately.  Mac sat down on the couch in Rick Hall’s office and wrote the famous song “Baby Don’t Get Hooked On Me”.  He wrote the song as a joke but when he sang the first few lines of the song, Rick knew immediately it would be a hit.  The song later went platinum.  Mac would record 12 albums at Fame Studios, the most of any artist.  The couch where he wrote that famous song is still in Rick’s office.

Fame Studios not only has recording studios, but also a song writing and publishing side as well.  The studio has published and recorded hit songs for Ronnie Milsap, Jerry Reed, Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney, The Osmonds and Alabama among so many others.  One of the most famous songs ever recorded was published by Fame Studios in 1994 by John Michael Montgomery.  The smash hit “I Swear” was #1 on the record charts for four weeks and won almost every possible award including a Grammy and ACM award for “Song of the Year”.  That song alone sold over 20 million copies.  It also earned Fame Studios the coveted “Publisher of the Year” award from American Songwriter Magazine.

A MUSICAL LEGEND

Rick Hall was a legendary record producer, songwriter, and was known as the “Father of Muscle Shoals Music”.  He almost single-handedly put the small Alabama town on the musical map.  The hit songs he produced there spanned almost 60 years and are still going.

Rick passed away in 2018 but his legacy lives on through his son Rodney, who is now the president of Fame Studios.  His wife Linda is still present from time to time, proudly talking about the history there during the daily tours.  The studios are still a very active recording facility and songwriting session space.  Daily tours are offered, like the one I took, and are guided by some of the young musicians and song writers.

Fame Studios was the beginning of the Muscle Shoals sound and was the inspiration of over a dozen other studios now operating in the area.  But this is the one where it began, it’s musical history oozing from every corner of the building and from every instrument being played.  There is a sign above the entryway door that reads “through these doors walk the finest musicians, songwriters, artists and producers in the world”, which is as true today as it was in 1961.  It is truly a music lover’s dream.  And, after all, who doesn’t love music?

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