Raised in rural Franklin County, Rick Hall overcame humble beginnings and substantial personal tragedies to become a studio owner, world-renowned producer and the catalyst for making Muscle Shoals the “Hit Recording Capital of the World.” Obsessed with perfection and driven to succeed, Hall moved FAME studios to Avalon Avenue in Muscle Shoals in 1962 and quickly gained a reputation as one of the most demanding and astute producers of his era. FAME provided the backdrop for hit records by hundreds of artists including Arthur Alexander, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Clarence Carter, Bobby Gentry, the Osmonds, Mac Davis, Jerry Reed, Paul Anka and many more.
In 1969 Rick Hall’s house band, the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, left FAME and partnered with Jerry Wexler to found Muscle Shoals Sound Studio at 3614 Jackson Highway in Sheffield. The studio, owned by Jimmy Johnson, David Hood, Roger Hawkins and Barry Beckett, cranked out hits on the Rolling Stones, Paul Simon, Bob Seger, Traffic, Rod Stewart, Cat Stevens, the Staple Singers, Levon Helm, Joe Cocker and many more. The rhythm section was eventually immortalized as “The Swampers” by Lynyrd Skynyrd in the lyrics to “Sweet Home Alabama.” In 1978 the Swampers moved their studio to the banks of the Singing River on Alabama Avenue in Sheffield.
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Legend has it that in this very bathroom Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones locked himself in for a couple of hours to finish (and start) the lyrics to "Brown Sugar".
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