Fame Studios & the Muscle Shoals Sound
|
Recording
Artists at
Fame Studios
|
Fame Studios |
Famous as the place where just
about everybody important in recorded soul came to
generate hits, including Aretha Franklin, Joe Tex,
Wilson Pickett, etc. - Fame was started by Rick Hall who
originally started out peddling songs to Nashville.
Fame was originally a publishing
company (set up with Tom Stafford and Billy Sherrill)
housed above an old city drug store in Florence,
Alabama. Known as "Florence Alabama Music
Enterprises, Hall took the name (shortened to FAME) with
him when the partnership broke up.
|
The Fame Gang
outside the studio.
|
Hall is credited with starting
the 'Muscle Shoals Sound' and it all really began in
1961 with the success of local man Arthur Alexander's
release 'You Better Move On'. The success of the
release freed up the monies required for Hall to create
his own studios on Avalon Avenue in Muscle Shoals - it's
still there, comprising two studios, three publishing
companies and a production company.
'Steal Away' by Jimmy
Hughes was the first record out of the new studios.
Hall's path also quickly coincided with Jerry Wexler's
and Atlantic Records as Wexler brought his own
artists to the Fame studios to capture the unique sound
- what resulted was some of the finest recordings in
southern soul, including Aretha Franklin's 'Never
Loved A Man' and 'Do Right Woman, Do Right Man'.
This early success was followed by hits from James
and Bobby Purify, Joe Tex,
Clarence Carter,
Wilson Pickett and countless others; Hall even
recommended Percy Sledge to Atlantic, which
helped pave the way for the fruitful relationship with
Wexler which resulted in the many million sellers for
Atlantic at Fame Studios.
The
Fame gang circa 1969. Aaron Varnell, Jesse Boyce,
Harrison Calloway, Freeman Brown, Junior Lowe,
Harvey Thomson, Clayton Ivey and Ronnie Eades. |
Hall made sure he had a series
of classic house bands, many of whom he helped school in
the studio techniques which were new to performers more
accustomed to live performances. From '64 to '69 he had
one of the most respected and sought after sounds,
including from '67 the most respected of all, with Barry
Beckett, David Hood, Roger Hawkins and Jimmy Johnson.
When they left to set up on their own in 1969, Fame
continued to have hits but could never hope to capture
the spirit of this golden period. In 1974 Hall closed
the Fame record label for good but has continued to
successfully produce and record - he has increasingly
concentrated on the country music with which he began,
recording artists such as Mac Davis,
Jerry
Reed and Larry Gatlin.
|
Otis Redding and
Rick
Hall at Fame studios
|
The distinctive Muscle Shoals
sound moved from Fame in 1969, setting up a rival
studio, Muscle Shoals Sound Studios. The nucleus of the
group was Barry Beckett (keyboards), Roger Hawkins
(drums), Jimmy Johnson (guitar) and David Hood (bass).
They were the first rhythm section to own their own
studios and, eventually, their own publishing and
production companies. The distinctive accompaniment and
arrangements have been heard on a tremendous number of
legendary recordings, including those from Wilson
Pickett, Aretha Franklin, and the Staple Singers
amongst others. The original rhythm section which broke
away to create these studios first formed in 1967 and
initially played sessions in New York and Nashville as
well as on the famous Fame recordings. The initial
successes led to the arrival of more mainstream rock and
pop performers all desperate to pick up on the group's
golden touch, among them the Rolling Stones,
Traffic,
Boz Scaggs,
Willie Nelson and
Paul
Simon as well as the 'next' generation of soul
talent such as Bobby Womack and
Millie Jackson.
Rick Hall and
Clarence
Carter at Fame |
In 1978, new facilities were
created on the banks of the Tennessee river, which
included a then state of the art two studio complex -
they also launched their own record label, signing such
artists as Delbert McClinton,
Frankie Miller
and Levon Helm. The studios were sold to
Malaco
in 1985 and the sound remains intact to this day and can
be heard on the contemporary work on this label by the
likes of Bobby 'Blue' Bland,
Dorothy Moore,
Z.Z. Hill and
Shirley Brown. Barry Beckett
has also got involved in production work and especially
noteworthy are his efforts with the great Etta James,
including "Seven Year Itch" in 1989 and
"Sticking To My Guns" the following
year. If a record has the involvement of these great
players, you can almost guarantee that it will be a work
of absolute quality and worthy of investigation.
Copyright Peter Dean © 1998 - 2003 Courtesy of R&B
Music Primer - www.rhythmandtheblues.org.uk
|
