Two for Tuesday
Providing background information on music from popular genres like Country, Classic Rock, Southern Rock etc.
Two for Tuesday
The Rise of FAME Studios
In tiny Muscle Shoals, Alabama, Rick Hall’s FAME Studios gave birth to a new soul sound. Hear how a scrappy rhythm section nicknamed “The Swampers” and Atlantic Records producer Jerry Wexler transformed FAME into a hit factory. From Percy Sledge’s raw “When a Man Loves a Woman” to Aretha Franklin’s electrifying “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You),” this episode shows the Queen of Soul finding her voice.
Well, hello friends, and welcome to the Two for Tuesday podcast brought to you by Second Round Music. I'm your host, Michael Present, and today we're going to take a ride on the soul train to a small town in North Alabama and southwest Tennessee for a three-part journey into the Muscle Shoal Sound. Now, part one will be a deep dive into Fame Studios. Part two will continue into the Muscle Show Sound Associate Studio. And part three will end our journey in Memphis at Stax Records. Now there will be some differences in these episodes in that I'll not be performing all the songs that I'll discuss. And for good reason. I mean, could you hear me trying to cover an Aretha Franklin song? Yeah, that ain't gonna happen. These songs deserve better than that. Now in the mid-1960s, an unlikely hit from a tiny studio in Northwest Alabama put Muscle Shoals on the musical map. And in nineteen sixty-six, soul singer Percy Sledge recorded When a Man Loves a Woman in Sheffield, Alabama. Now that's a stone's throw away from Muscle Shoals. And the passionate ballad shot to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. That was the first number one hit recorded in the Muscle Shoals area, signaling that something special was brewing on the banks of the Tennessee River. And at the center of it was producer Rick Hall and his fledgling enterprise, FAME Studios. Now that was an acronym for the Florence, Alabama Music Enterprises. Now Hall had battled poverty and personal tragedy to establish fame in 1959, and he was determined to make hit records in an unlikely place. So now in this episode, we're going to dive into how Rick Hall and the Muscle Shoals Rhythm section, a group of local session players Hall had recruited, crafted a signature muscle shoals sound at Fame Studios. We'll explore Hall's partnership with legendary producer Jerry Wexler of Atlantic Records and recount the creation of two Hallmark Soul Recordings. Percy Sledge's When a Man Loves a Woman and Aretha Franklin's I Never Loved a Man the Way I Loved You. Each song's journey reveals how the tiny Southern studio became a crucible of pop, soul, and RB music. But before we get started, let's listen to this sponsored message and I'll catch you on the other side. My name is Michael Pazent, a certified master coach, and I created Second Round Financial to provide personalized financial coaching based on the proven principles of Dave Ramsey's Seven Baby Steps. Our services include, but are not limited to one-on-one financial coaching through Zoom conference or face-to-face, budgeting strategies, debt reduction plans, emergency fund creation, retirement planning, and investment guidance. But why choose us? Because we believe in empowering our clients with the knowledge and tools they need to achieve financial peace. With our guidance, you'll gain clarity over your financial situation, develop a realistic and achievable plan, and experience hope and confidence in your financial future. I have over 15 years' experience teaching and guiding families in the Ramsey Principles, along with a degree in finance and work experience in the banking and insurance industries. So let's get started today. Go to secondroundfinancial.com and click Book Now to schedule your free consultation today. Rick Hall's story is one of grit and vision, and in 1959 he co-founded FAME with partners in the small town of Florence, Alabama, above a drugstore. Now, before taking the sole ownership and moving the studio to nearby Muscle Shoals in 1961, Hall's early instincts proved to be right when Fame scored its first hit in 1961 with a local singer, Arthur Alexander, and his hit You Better Move On. Now it was a soulful ballad that caught fire nationally. Hall invested the proceeds to build a proper studio facility at 603 East Avalon Avenue in Mussel Shoals, which remains fame's home even today. From the unassuming building, Rick Hall fostered an integrated environment rare for the deep south at that time. Black and white musicians creating music together. Now that was unheard of in the 1960s. The studio's first house band included talented local musicians like Norbert Putnam and Dave Briggs, who helped craft the early RB Gym. Now as the 1960s progressed, Hall's roster and his reputation grew. Singer Jimmy Hughes gave fame another hit with Steel Away in 1964, and Hall began drawing notable artists from across the region. Even before the world at large knew Muscle Shows, insiders recognized that Hall had tapped into the heart pounding, soul shaking sound, as one writer later described it. One of Hall's early successes came via a partnership with a local DJ turned producer, Quinn Ivy, and that collaboration yielded When a Man Loves a Woman. Percy Sledge, an unknown hospital orderly turned singer from Alabama, poured raw emotion into this ballad. And the song was initially worked out at fame studios and muscle shows with Hall's session players, including organist Spooner Olden and drummer Roger Hawkins, before being re-recorded at Ivy's nearby studios in Sheffield, Alabama. Hall facilitated a deal with Atlantic Records to distribute the track nationally, and when released in spring of 1966, When a Man Loves a Woman became an instant classic, hitting number one on both the pop and RB charts. It was the first chart topping record ever to come out of Muscle Shoals, a milestone that announced the arrival of the Muscle Shoals sound to a wider world. Atlantic's producer Jerry Wexler was impressed. However, the road to number one wasn't without hiccups. Wexler initially asked for the horn parts to be re-recorded in tune, and Hall obliged. Yet through a mix-up, Atlantic ended up releasing the original tape, out of tune horns and all. And that became the hit. Such quirks only added to the lore. With its impassioned vocals and deep soul grew, when a man loves a woman, epitomized what could be known as the muscle show's ethos. Authentic blues drenched feeling captured live in the studio. The song's success gave Rick Hall's operation credibility that money couldn't buy. And more hitmakers soon came calling to fame. By the mid-1960s, Hall had assembled a crack team of session musicians at fame. A group of young white Alabama boys who could play R and B with irresistible feel. Guitarist Jimmy Johnson, bassist David Hood, keyboardist Barry Beckett, and drummer Roger Hawkins became known as the Muscle Show's Rhythm Section and later earned the nickname The Swampers for their steamy, deep grooving sound. These musicians had an almost telepathic tightness, and under Hall's demanding guidance, they churned out hit after hit. Fame quickly became a hit factory for soul and R and B artists. Wilson Pickett, the gritty soul shouter from Atlanta Records Roster, was among the first major stars Jerry Wexler brought down south. And in 1966, Wexler drove down to Muscle Show with Pickett, seeking to capitalize on the region's soul streak. The result? A string of smashes produced by Hall of Fame, including Pickett's incendiary Land of a Thousand Dances, Mustang Sally, and Funky Broadway. Backed by the Mussel Show's rhythm section, Pickett fused his tracks with raw energy. Mustang Sally cut in late 1966 remains a soul anthem propelled by the Swamper's infectious group. The success of the Pickett sessions solidified the fame Atlantic partnership and Wexler became convinced that Rick Hall studio had the magic. Indeed, Wexler later said that he viewed fame as the secret weapon in recording Southern soul hits. Hall, for his part, prided himself in being an impresario who could unite talent across racial lines to make great records. In the deep south of the 1960s, this integrated work environment was extraordinary. Fame sessions routinely featured black artists and white musicians collaborating at a time when segregation was still the norm outside the studio walls. Hall's insistence of chasing excellence above all else helped foster this progressive bubble in Muscle Shoals. Now in January of 1967, Fame Studios hosted a session that would change music history, but it nearly ended in disaster. Aretha Franklin, a twenty four year old gospel trained singer from Detroit, arrived in Muscle Shoals with Jerry Wexler. Franklin had spent years at Columbia Records without a hit, and Wexler had just signed her to the Atlantic, convinced that recording in the South could unlock her potential. Rick Hall admittedly had never heard of her at that time, but welcomed the challenge. And on January twenty fourth, nineteen sixty seven, Aretha walked into fame's modest studio A, sat down at a piano, and began working on a slow bluesy number title I'll Never Love a Man The Way I Loved You. As the session got underway, keyboardist Spooner Ullman started tinkering with a catchy Wurlitzer electric piano riff, and Aretha's own piano playing set the mood. When Aretha's voice finally soared into the refrain, you're no good heartbreaker. I never loved a man the way I loved you. Everyone in the room felt the electricity. It was as if the queen of soul was born right then and there. The normally hard to impress Rick Hall later admitted that he had doubts at first about the song's unusual waltz like feel. But Aretha's talent was undeniable. We're gonna make it happen, Hall resolved, determined to deliver Wexler a hit. Indeed, what they captured was magic. A never loved a man had a deep, slow burning groove. Aretha's voice, supported by the muscle shoals players and pleading brass, came alive with unprecedented passion. It would become her first major hit, reaching number nine on the Billboard Hot one hundred chart and number one on the R and B chart, and effectively launching Aretha Franklin's reign as the Queen of Soul. Yet even as the music soared, chaos was brewing behind the scenes. Aretha's husband and manager Ted White accompanied her to Muscle Shoals, and his volatile jealousy nearly derailed the session. White brought a bottle of vodka into the studio control room and began drinking heavily, even sharing liquor with some of the horn players, and as the day wore on, tensions rose. At one point, White stormed into the control room and insisted to Rick Hall, I want you to fire that trumpet player. He's making passes at my wife. Startled, Hall sent the trumpet player home to placate White. But White wasn't satisfied. Soon he accused another horn player, and that saxophonist was dismissed as well. The atmosphere had turned toxic. Musicians grew nervous as the word spread that something was amiss, and Wexler, sensing the session was unraveling, finally halted the proceedings midway through this recording of a second song, Do Right Woman, Do Right Man. Aretha had only managed to fully record I Never Loved a Man with Do Right Woman still unfinished when the sessions came to an abrupt stop. The plan was to resume the next day after Tempers cooled. But that night, however, Hall made a fateful decision. He drove to the hotel to confront White and try to smooth things over despite Wexler's warning, please don't go. It'll be trouble. Hall's intervention backfired spectacularly, and an argument exploded between Hall and White, escalating into a physical fist fight in the motel corridor. When Wexler had arrived, he found his artist's husband brawling with his producer. Furious, Wexler pulled Aretha and White out of muscle shoals that very night, and he was quoted as saying, I'm leaving this town and I'll never be back. I'll bury you, Rick, which is what Rick reportedly stated after he left. Hall fired back in the heat of anger, and a bitter feud ignited between Fame's boss and Atlantic's top producer. The Aretha sessions at Muscle Shows were almost over as soon as they had begun. Just one song completed amid the chaos. Now despite the turmoil, that one song was historic. I never loved a man the way I loved you became Aretha Franklin's breakthrough single. A million seller that won her a Grammy and defined her sound going forward. Critics and fans alike could hear the difference. This was the moment Aretha's unparalleled vocal power met the sanctified southern soul groove and struck goal. As bassist David Hood, one of the session players later reflected, working with her was one of the highlights of my career. Hood noted that Aretha's shy, reserved demeanor in person melted away once she sat at the piano and started singing. Her piano feel guided the whole band. Indeed, it was Aretha's own musicianship meshing with the swamper's instinct that saved the song. And after a slow start, according to Hood, Spooner Ollman's whirl it's a rift fell into place, and the horns answered, and Aretha's voice took flight. The result was a track for the ages. Now ironically, Aretha Franklin never returned the muscle shows to record. The bad blood from the fist fight ensured that. Jerry Wexler determined not to lose the muscle show sound entirely, though, and he solved that dilemma by flying the famed musicians up to New York to finish Aretha's album. There at Atlantic's New York Studios, the same Alabama boys cut the remainder of Aretha's first Atlantic album with her, including Do Right Woman, Do Right Man, replicating the fame studio Chemistry in a new setting. The album title, I Never Loved a Man the Way I Loved You, became a smash and won the 1967 Grammy for the best R and B recording. And it was clear that Muscle Shoals had been the catalyst for Aretha's rebirth as the Queen of Soul. But for Rick Hall, the triumph was bittersweet. He had midwifed an era defining hit, only to see his relationship with Atlantic collapse in the wake. The Aretha Franklin episode sent shock waves through the muscle show's camp, and Jerry Wexler indeed stayed true to his word. In the short term, he boycotted Fame studios and took his projects elsewhere. Rick Hall suddenly found Atlantic's steady stream of top tier R and B clients drying up. But to Hall's credit, to keep fame thriving through sheer hustle and new partnership. And in the late 1960s, he recorded Edder James's fiery Tell Mama album, another career highlight for that legendary singer, and he developed local talent like Clarence Carter, who scored hits with slip away and patches under Hall's production. Hall even branched into pop and country. Notably, he attracted the Osman Brothers to record at Fame in 1970, and that yielded a number one pop hit, One Bad Apple, among others. But a significant change was brewing within Fame's walls, and by 1969, Rick Hall's ace rhythm section, The Swampers, decided to break away and start their own studio. The Aretha incident had exposed Fishers. Some say the musicians resented the conflict with Wexler and wanted more control and share of the studio's prosperity. And with encouragement and financial backing from Wexler, Barry Beckett, Roger Hawkins, Jimmy Johnson, and David Hood left Fame to found the rival Muscle Show's Sound Studios across town. Now this marked the end of an era at Fame and the beginning of another chapter, which we're going to explore in the next episode. Now Rick Hall never wanted to be outdone, simply retooled his new players and kept making hits. He famously landed a distribution deal with Capitol Records, and he even produced the Osmond to multi-platinum success in the early 1970s. Now the rivalry between Hall and the Departed Swampers remained largely under the surface, but it spurned both camps to even greater heights. Hey guys, thank you for listening today, and I hope you're enjoying this podcast. If you are, please subscribe or follow the podcast, click the like button, share it with other music lovers, and please consider giving it a five-star rating so we can reach a bigger audience. Now back to the show. A place where, quote, through these doors walked the finest musicians, songwriters, artists, and producers in the world, end quote. As a sign above Fame's entrance proudly proclaims. And in the 1960s, Rick Hall's relentless drive and vision built a studio that transcended racial barriers and economic limitations to produce era-defining music. Songs like When a Man Loves a Woman and I Never Loved a Man the Way I Loved You captured lightning in a bottle, the pure soulful sound of muscle shoals, and proved that a small town studio could revolutionize pop music. By bringing black and white musicians together in Alabama during a time of segregation, Hall and his team at Fame also provided a quiet but powerful example of unity through music. The muscle shoals sound would go on to influence countless recordings and attract superstar artists to Alabama. But it all started with Rick Hall at Fame. His legacy is heard in every chord and every chorus that came out of that humble studio. As Hall himself later reflected on those years, quote, any discussion about American music that doesn't include muscle shows isn't really a discussion at all, end quote. The hits and the history made at FAME studios ensures that muscle shows will forever hold a place as a small town with a big sound, where a handful of people, implored by a generation of musicians, to travel south in search of that magic. And indeed, the magic was just the beginning. The next chapter of the Muscle Shoals Saga would see the famed rhythm section force their own path studio, taking the shoals sound to new heights. So there you have it. And thank you for joining me today for the Two for Tuesday podcast where Mike will present second round music. I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know your thoughts. I'd love to hear from you. Type a comment below if you're listening on YouTube or drop me an email. Give me your recommendations for future artists or songs. Don't forget to subscribe, follow this podcast, click the like button, and share it with all your music loving friends. So just remember we love you and we need you. And tune in next week for part two as we continue to explore the stories behind the music we love. God bless you.