Two for Tuesday
Providing background information on music from popular genres like Country, Classic Rock, Southern Rock etc.
Two for Tuesday
How Four Session Players Built A Studio And Rewrote American Music
After breaking from FAME, the Swampers’ own Muscle Shoals Sound Studio drew music’s unlikeliest pilgrims – from British rock stars to gospel legends. The Rolling Stones even rolled into Alabama to cut “Brown Sugar”, while The Staple Singers found a No. 1 hit, “I’ll Take You There,” backed by these hometown heroes.
Well, hello friends, and welcome to the Two for Tuesday podcast brought to you by Second Round Music. I'm your host Michael Pazin, and today we're still riding the Soul Train, but it's gonna get a little more eclectic on this trip. And we're gonna finish up part two of a three-part series of the Muscle Shoals Sound. And in this episode, we're heading across town to where Rick Hall's Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, aka The Swampers, struck out on their own and forged their own path in music history. Now in 1969, four Alabama musicians, already responsible for dozens of soul hits, decided to gamble on a dream of independence, and they had been the backbone of Rick Hall's fame studio band. But now they wanted a studio of their own. Thus was born Muscle Show Sound Studio in a plain storefront building at 3614 Jackson Highway in nearby Sheffield, Alabama. Now these musicians, nicknamed the Swampers, had honed a signature groove that artists from around the world were eager to tap into. And in this episode, we'll focus on the rise of Muscle Show Sound Studio and how the Swampers breakaway from fame led to a new wave of classic recordings. With funding and encouragement from Atlantic's Jerry Wexler, fresh off his feud with Rick Hall, the Swampers transformed their tiny studio into a hit factory that soon rivaled fame itself. And we'll explore two emblematic recordings from Muscle Show Sounds, Heyday, the Rolling Stone Swagger and Rock Anthem, Brown Sugar, and the Staples Singer's Jubilant Soul Groove, I'll Take You There. These deep dives will show how a scrappy Alabama studio attracted major rock, pop, and soul acts, and in the process solidified a legend of the muscle show's sound. But before we get too far into these stories, let's take a listen to this message and I'm gonna catch you on the other side. Are you ready to take control of your finances and build a brighter future? Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired, feeling broke all the time? 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Go to secondroundfinancial.com and click Book Now to schedule your free consultation today. Now by late 1968, the strain between Rick Hall and his rhythm section had grown difficult to ignore. The Muscle Show's rhythm section, which consisted of Jimmy Johnson on the guitar, David Hood on bass, Roger Hawkins on drums, and Barry Beckett on keys, were earning a reputation as world-class session players. And they helped craft hits for Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Edda James, and many more. But despite their success, the musicians were essentially salaried side men for fame, with no stake in the studio's profits or decisions. The Aretha Franklin incident the year before had also left its mark. And after Jerry Wexler pulled out of fame, the flow of top-tier sessions slowed significantly, impacting the players' opportunities. Sensing an opening, Wexler approached the quartet with a proposition. If they left Rick Hall and set up their own shop, Atlantic Records would supply financial support and steady work. But it was a bold move and a delicate one. Defecting from the father of the muscle show's music, Rick Hall, was not done lightly, but the guys were eager to spread their wings. And in early 1969 they pulled their resources and Wexler's startup loan of around ten thousand dollars, according to accounts, to lease a modest building, a former coffin factory, located at 3614 Jackson Highway in Sheffield, just across the river from Mussel Shoals. And Mussel Shoals Sound Studio officially opened its doors in April of 1969. And they were in business as independent studio owners. And that's a rarity for session musicians at that time. The Swamper's decision paid almost immediate dividends. Wexler ensured that Atlantic Records Axe would record at the new studio, essentially guaranteeing clients. And the studio's very first project was a major star, Cher. And in the summer of 1969, Cher, then a solo artist apart from Sonny, came down to Sheffield to record an album with the Swampers. And I titled 3614 Jackson Highway after the studio's address. The album wasn't a huge commercial success, but it did prove that the new studio could deliver a warm, funky sound outside of Fame's orbit. And more importantly, it attracted attention. If Cher would venture to Alabama to record, others might follow. And follow they did. The Swampert's rhythmic, alchemy, and easy-going Southern hospitality began drawing an eclectic range of artists from folk singer Joan Baez to rockers like Traffic and Leon Russell, all curious to capture that muscle show's magic for themselves. The studio owners were still in their twenties and running on a shoestring budget, but they had one invaluable asset, their sound. As drummer Roger Hawkins put it, we had this thing, an instinct, where we'd listen to a demo or hear an artist's idea, and we just find the groove. It always came down to the groove in Muscle Shoals, and that groove now lived at 3614 Jackson Highway. Now perhaps the most fable moment in the Muscle Shoals Sound Studios early history came back in December of 1969 when the Rolling Stones came to town. Now the British rock superstars were wrapped up in a US tour and needed a low profile location to do some recording, partly to evade contract disputes and the glare of publicity. Muscle Show Sound, barely eight months old, was about as off the beaten path as they could get. And over three days, the stone set up shop in the tiny studio with the Swampers assisting as engineers and hosts. The band's leader, Mick Jagger, and guitarist Keith Richards were keen to tap into the Southern vibe. And what transpired was a birth of several classic tracks. Chief among them Brown Sugar. In that cramp studio, reportedly with Mick Jagger singing in a$250 microphone, and Keith Richards wielding his guitar through a small combo amp, the Rolling Stones laid down an explosive take of Brown Sugar. And the song was a raw, raunchy rocker with a strutting group that owed much to the Swamper's influence. Jimmy Dickinson, a local pianist, was brought in to add some hockey talk piano, complimenting Ian Stewart's play, and the whole track crackled with energy. According to accounts from those present, the stones fed off the unpretentious atmosphere, and the rich R and B legacy that seemed to emanate from the very walls. Keith Richards later remarked that Muscle Shows had a certain something, a vibe that made it easier to get into the music. Indeed, when you listen to Brown Sugar, you can almost feel the humid southern air and the grit of Richards' opening guitar riff and a loose behind the beat swagger of Charlie Watch's drums. The track was completed in just a few takes, and Jagger's vocals, full of silky bluesy attitude, was likely influenced by being in the cradle of American Soul. One can imagine him channeling a bit of Otis Redding or Wilson Pickett for extra grit. Brown Sugar wouldn't be released to the public for over a year. It was on the Stones' 1971 Sticky Fingers album. But when it came out, it became a number one hit and one of the Rolling Stones' signature songs. And the Stones also recorded the Aiken Ballad Wild Horses and a country blues cover, You Gotta Move, in the same session. As legend has it, the band had to leave earlier than planned. An impending free concert at Altamont and Visa issues for Keith Richards forced them to cut the muscle shoals stay short. Otherwise, they might have done the entire Sticky Fingers album there. Still, the impact was indelible. Word spread that Muscle Shoals sound could deliver rock and roll greatness just as readily as soul. Photos from those sessions show the Stones lounging in a plain fluorescent-lit studio. Far cry from London's grand studios, but clearly in their element. The Swampers earned the Stones respect. And as a cheeky nod, the band Leonard Skinnard would later immortalize the Swampers with the lyrics Muscle Shows has got the Swampers in Sweet Home, Alabama, acknowledging that even the biggest rock stars knew about those Alabama boys. Indeed, the Rolling Stones Adventure submitted the Swamper Studio as a destination. And as music journalist David Taylor put it, after the Stones, a stream of superstars came with a cluster of four towns on the banks of the Tennessee River. And in the early 1970s, Paul Simon traveled to Mussel Shoals to record tracks like Codacrone and Love Me Like a Rock with the Swampers. Bob Dylan recorded portions of his album, Slow Train Coming There, and Rod Stewart cut his hit Sailing from Atlantic Crossing at Muscle Shoals. And Elton John stopped by to gym on his 1972 track, Suzy, featuring the Swampers. And the little studio in Sheffield was now a hub of music royalty. Now, if Brown Sugar showcased Muscle Shoals Sound's rock credentials, then I'll take you there by the Staples Singers and demonstrated that the Swampers could still deliver a soul better than anyone. And in early 1972, the Staples Singers, a family gospel soul group featuring the great Mavis Staples on lead vocals, came to Muscle Show's Sound Studio to work on new material for Stax Records. Now their producer, Al Bell, the co-owner of Stax, who was keen to give the Staples a crossover hit following the successful single Respect Yourself, which the Swampers had also played on a few months prior. For I'll Take You There, Al Bell had a specific sound in mind. He had been inspired by a recent trip to Jamaica and the lifting groove of a reggae instrumental called Liquidator. Bell wanted to marry that island rhythm with Southern Soul. And in the studio, bassist David Hood was tasked with creating the song's signature bass line, loosely modeling it on reggae feel, but with his own swampy twist. The result was pure magic. A deep, infectious bass groove that opens the song and never lets go. Hood's bass riff, recorded in one live take, instantly sets a good feel vibe that gets heads nodded. A drummer Roger Hawkins locked in with a steady minimalist beat, and keyboardist Barry Beckett added gentle chordal swells on a Willitzer electric piano. And a guitarist Eddie Hinton sitting in on the sessions provided tasteful rhythm licks. Interestingly though, the song's call and response structure implies each staple family member takes a turn soloing on their instruments. But in reality, all the instrumental music was laid down by the Muscle Show's rhythm section and they created a relaxing, uplifting groove over which the staples would later sing. When Mavis Staples stepped to the microphone, the song truly came to life. And over that hypnotic groove, her rich voice beckons to the listeners. I know a place. Ain't nobody crying. I'll take you there. It was part church, part funk, and wholly captivating. The combination of the staples, sanctified harmonies, and the swamper's rhythm was irresistible. And as the track builds, instrumentation remains sparse but dynamic. Terry Manning's subtle harmonica and lead guitar overdubs added a touch of grit in the post-production. Al Bell had horns and strings arranged by Johnny Allen, which were overdubbed in Detroit to give the track an extra jubilant flourish. Yet the core of I'll Take You There is that interplay between Mavis's Soulful Please and the Swamper's Simmering Groove. Upon its release in February of 1972, I'll Take You There shot up the chart. It spent 15 weeks on the chart and hit number one on the Billboard 100 as well as number one on the RB chart, giving the staple singers their first pop chart topper. Critics hailed the song's joyful, unifying message at a time of social turmoil. Rolling Stones David Frick would later describe, I'll take you there, as the epitome of the muscle shoals sound, a perfect convergence of gospel spirit and RB groove. Notably, the song's success further validated the Swamper's breakaway. Here they were on their own turf, cutting a million-selling number one hit that resonated across America. The story behind I'll Take You There also reflects a larger cultural current of the era. The staple singers, hailing from the gospel circuit, brought with them a language of the black church and the optimism of civil rights movement. And the refrain, I'll Take You There, was an invitation to a better place, both spiritually as heaven was implied, and metaphorically, a place of equality and peace. Recorded in the deep south just a few years after the tumult of the nineteen sixties, the song encapsulated a hopeful vision of deliverance from hardship. It was an integrated team at Muscle Shows, black artists, white musicians that made this vision groove so hard it became universal. Musician and producer Terry Manning, who worked on the session, recalled how Bell deliberately wanted the reggae element to shine through. In fact, the intro riff and much of the chordal structure were directly lifted from the Jamaican hit Liquidator. Uncredited, though well known to insiders. This blend of Caribbean rhythm and southern soul resulted in a unique folk gospel hybrid, unlike anything else on the radio at that time. Even to this day, the moment that bass line drops, audiences recognize I'll take you there within seconds, and pull away into a joyful sway. Now Muscle Show's Sound Studios resume in the late 60s and 70s reads like a who's who of popular music. Both the Stones and the Staples singers, the studio churned out hits across genres. Aretha Franklin having reconciled with the Swampers, if not with Rick Hall. Return to Record at Muscle Show's Sound for tracks like How I Got Over in early 1970s. And Paul Simon's time in 1973 yielded hit singles. Lunar Skinnard recorded demos there in 1971 that later became legendary, including early versions of Freebird and Simple Man. Bob Seeger traveled to muscle shows in the mid-70s to record songs like Main Street and Old Time Rock and Roll with the Swampers, further cementing the studio band's reputation for giving rock music an earthy foundation. And by 1973, demand was so high that the Swampers were playing on dozens of albums a year. They even moved out of the original little building to a larger studio facility in 1978 to accommodate business. Muscle Shoals had evolved from a single studio into a music capital. As one observer noted, by the 1970s, Mussel Shoals had become a music hub to rival Detroit and Memphis in terms of influence and output. Meanwhile, Rick Hall's fame studio also kept thriving in parallel, meaning the Mussel Shoals area now had two powerhouse studios operating at once. Far from destroying fame, the Swamper's departure seemed to motivate Rick Hall to reach for greater heights. Hall diversified into pop and country, producing hits for the Osmonds and Mac Davis, and even earned Grammy nominations for Producer of the Year in 1970. In effect, a friendly competition emerged between Fame and Muscle Shoals Sound, pushing both to maintain high standards. As the artists sometimes bounced between the two. For instance, Bob Dillon recorded at Muscle Show Sound in 79, while Art Garfonkel recorded at FAME in 1973. The dual success put a spotlight on the shoals region at large. And it wasn't uncommon to see stars like Willie Nelson or Millie Jackson strolling around the towns of Muscle Shoals or Sheffield there to cut tracks at one of the studios. Now the nickname The Swampers itself, famously enshrined in Leonard Skinner's 1974 hit Sweet Home Alabama, became shorthand for the Muscle Show's Mystique. And in that song spoken verse, Ronnie Van Zant draws, Now Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers, and they've been known to pick a song or two. But it was a tip of the hat from the Southern Rock band to the session men who had influenced so much of American music. Indeed, Leonard Skinnard owed part of their start to Muscle Shoals, and they recorded with Jimmy Johnson as a producer early on. And it was Jimmy who nicknamed the Muscle Shoals rhythm section the Swampers, referencing the swampy sound that they had and the swamp country that they lived in. And the moniker stuck. 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. Now by the mid-1970s, Muscle Show Sound Studio had firmly established that the Muscle Show Sound was bigger than any one studio or person. And it was a spirit of collaboration and dedication that grew that could travel. From Rick Hall's fame to the Swamper's own enterprise. The hits produced at Muscle Show Sound proved that those four musicians were not just side men. They were producers and hitmakers in their own right. And when the Rolling Stones cut Brown Sugar in Sheffield, and when the Staples singers topped the charts with I'll Take You There, it was evident that the Swampers institution and musicianship were world class. The studio they built out of a defunct factory became a cultural landmark, now preserved as a museum where visitors can stand in a small room that birthed big songs. As Rolling Stones editor David Frick suggested, the essence of Muscle Show's sound, that blend of country, RB, rock, and gospel influences, may have reached its zenith in tracks like I'll Take You There. But its influence radiated far beyond Alabama. The Muscle Show's musicians demonstrated that good music is about feel and soul, not fancy equipment or big city glamour. Now they remained humble figures. Bassist David Hood once recalled how after a day of recording hit songs, they'd go fishing on the Tennessee River or barbecue together. The tight-knit family bound by music. Now, in retrospect, the Swamper story is one of empowerment. Studio musicians taking control of their destiny, and in doing so, shaping the sound of an era. Their success also contributed to eroding racial divides in the industry. Here were white Alabama country boys laying down the backbone of some of the most celebrated black music of that time, and doing it with deep respect and understanding. And their unity through music was and is the soul of Muscle Shoals. Now, as our train rolls into the station for a brief stop, Muscle Shoals Sound Studio stands as a testament to the little studio that could. A place where a small town big sound ethos created music that still resonates today. And their influence can be heard in generations of artists who seek that authentic, down home feel. And as we reboard the train next week in our next episode, we'll journey a few hours west to Memphis, Tennessee, to explore another southern studio with an outsized legacy, Stax Records, where the Memphis Soul Sound, parallel to the Muscle Shoals story, rose in the crucible of the civil rights era and forever changed American music. So thank you for joining me today for the Two for Tuesday podcast, brought to you by Second Round Music. I hope you learned something new about the Muscle Shoals sound and how two timeless tracks shape the American music landscape. If you liked today's episode, please be sure to subscribe, share it with your fellow friends. So always remember, we love you and we need you. And until next time, I'm Michael Pazet. This has been the Two for Tuesday Podcast, where the history of American music is the history of our nation. God bless you.