On P's recommendation, I picked up a music industry documentary called Muscle Shoals (trailer). I am a music lover, but not a devotee of music history. Regardless, the film is fascinating. It is a chronological profile of the development of the recording industry in the nowhere town of Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The funny thing is that, despite spending nearly two hours investigating the mystery of the magic, no one seems to know the answer. I certainly don't have it. But there was something about the musicians, the town, the time -- it just worked.
It all started with Rick Hall, who opened the first recording studio. Rick was just a kid then, and so were his musicians, a mish-mash of local boys called The Swampers. They recorded Percy Sledge, Wilson Pickett, Etta James, Aretha Franklin, Clarence Carter -- some of the greats. And he recorded all that soul with a white studio band. In the 1960s.
Eventually, though, his studio band left him to open their own studio, where they did just fine, recording Alabama, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Allman Brothers, Jimmy Cliff, Steve Winwood, Bob Seger, Paul Simon.
The Stones, Rod Stewart, Joe Cocker, Willy Nelson, Carlos Santana, Dire Straits, Jimmy Buffett, all the way up through Alicia Keys (yes, still with some of the same studio musicians). And those amazing musicians are just a tiny percentage of the total, but I got tired of keeping track.
Bottom line: a fascinating little bit of history I didn't know, and lots of great music.
"Now Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers, and they've been known to pick a song or two...."
-- Lynyrd Skynyrd, "Sweet Home Alabama"
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