DBT Lyrics Tour - Ronnie and Neil

Meanwhile in North Alabama, Wilson Pickett comes to town

To record that sweet soul music, to get that Muscle Shoals sound

Meanwhile in North Alabama, Aretha Franklin comes to town
To record that sweet soul music, to get that Muscle Shoals sound

One morning before I headed out to take some pictures for this series I picked up the TimesDaily over breakfast and was greeted with the following article:

Webster Has Plans for Studio:

In 1999, Webster purchased the nondescript stone building at 3614 Jackson Highway, the original home of Muscle Shoals Sound Studios.

He restored the studio, going as far as replacing the original sound and recording equipment down to the very model numbers.

The building has also been nominated for inclusion in the National Record of Historic Places.
...

'It will be themed around Muscle Shoals Sound.'

I decided to make the original Muscle Shoals Sound Studio my first stop for the day. I had planned on snapping a few quick pictures of the front of the building before moving on to some other Colbert County/DBT landmarks. When my dad and I pulled up to the Studio, Noel Webster was standing outside directing a bulldozer that was clearing a spot next to the studio that will be the outdoor theatre. I introduced myself and told him what I was doing. He invited my dad and I to come inside the studio and check things out. When we walked in the back door Noel flipped the light switch and the sound system started playing "Wild Horses" by the Stones. Noel started to show us around and, honestly, we could have spent a couple of days in the place in order to see everything. It was, to say the least, stunning the amount of history this small, ex-casket factory, contained. I would calculate that Billions of dollars worth of music was created and produced here. Noel pulled out pictures, album covers, framed pieces of the old wall that had signatures on it from artist all the while spitting historical tid-bits in his rapid-fire manner of speech. I was so enthralled that I had to force myself to take some pictures along the way. Before we left, Noel asked my dad and I if we wanted to see something that no one had seen since the '70's. We said "Of Course" and Noel went to the basement and returned with the old ledger books that contained the dates and dollar amounts charged to the artists who worked there. L.S, Aretha, Bob Seger, Wilson Pickett, Rod Stewart and a host of others were contained in these ledgers. It was amazing.

Noel told us about Dylan walking down to the river bottom and chatting with the local fishermen who had no idea who he was. Hard to imagine... He showed us a great picture of Duane Allman buck nekkid standing in the woods behind the studio. He told us so many stories that I'll probably update this post as I remember them...

I won't go into the detailed history of this place and the players. The links below supply a history more comprehensive than anything that I could state. You can check out who recorded at FAME and Muscle Shoals Sound.

I want to the Noel for being so gracious and for a tour of a lifetime.

Welcome to Muscle Shoals AL. The Hit recording Capitol of the World

Muscle Shoals Sound

Cooley's wearing this t-shirt during "Marry Me" in Live at the 40 Watt

Willie Nelson

Cher's Album Cover

Fame Recording Studios

Patterson gives a good history lesson on FAME here. Just scroll down the page and you can see the band standing in front of FAME when they recorded TDS.

Let's head on back to Muscle Shoals Sound

The First home of the Swampers aka the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, David Hood, Jimmy Johnson, Donny Short, Roger Hawkins and Barry Beckett.

Meanwhile in North Alabama, Lynyrd Skynyrd came to town
To record with Jimmy Johnson at Muscle Shoals Sound

Click on this pick to see what Skynyrd had written on a door.

They have an entire wall in the studio that's been covered with plexiglass. This one tile has the names Annette Snell and Jerry Powell. Noel told the story that Annette had died in a plane crash a few days after she signed the wall. Jimmy Johnson's brother was on that plane and perished too.

The other name is Jerry Powell. Noel said he was connected with Skynyrd. Notice the date, Oct. 19, 1977. This was the day before that fateful plane crash in the Louisiana swamps that killed Ronnie and the others. I haven't been able to find anything that connects Jerry with Skynyrd other than having the last name as Billy. Still... erie.

Annette Snell: ...Annette cut the brilliant "Its All Over Now"/"Promises Should Never Be Broken" at Muscle Sholas before her tragic death in an air crash on her way back to Alabama....

Blackfoot

Bob Se"a"ger. Who ever wrote it misspelled his name.

The Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses" was written in this bathroom.

"Another attraction was that the studio's small-town location was far away from big-city distractions and prying eyes. "The town never impinged upon anyone," says Wexler, recalling a day when the Rolling Stones ordered breakfast at the local Howard Johnson's. "One little waitress said, 'Are you a group?' One of the members said, 'Yeah, we're a group. We're Martha and the Vandellas.'"