States: TN AL Miles: 150 Total_Miles: 930 Keeper Photos: 50 Total: 350 New Species Added: NA Total Road Trip Bird List: NA
Why Muscle Shoals? This is a destination that is of interest only to musicians, engineers, and music lovers. Muscle Shoals had the Swampers, according to Ronnie Van Zant, and they were known to pick a song or two. They were studio musicians who began at Fame Studios and moved on to Muscle Shoals Sound Studios later. I wanted to stand in the room where great music had been recorded. Maybe you’ve heard of some of the people who sang and played in these studios, putting down some of the most iconic music of any era. Here are some of the folks who stood in the room where I stood, sat on the piano bench I sat on, touched the mojo walls that I touched in Muscle Shoals, Alabama:
Aretha Franklin Wilson Pickett Paul Simon Sonny and Cher The Rolling Stones Etta James Otis Redding Bob Seger Lou Rawls The Allmans Bob Dylan Alicia Keys Jason Isbell Dixie Chicks Demi Lovato And I sat on the sofa that Alison Krause had recently relaxed on between sessions.
Vocal Booth, also…tambourine booth.
Classic RCA mic, still in use when requested.
You have heard this exact Wurlitzer keyboard (lower right), on some classic song by Aretha Franklin or Wilson Pickett. Click here to learn about the Wurlitzer sound that was a part of so many famous recordings.
Some studio musician left his Nashville Notation crib sheet behind from an early session.
Most images can be clicked for full size view.
Recording VocalsOriginal Tape MachineChairman of the BoardGold from FAMEGuess who has walked through this rather unglamorous door…
This is not a photography website per se, it is more a scrapbook of my travels. There are plenty of quick phone snapshots and videos with little artistic significance other than to document. I have a photography site here, which is where I put more effort into editing and curating with more artistic sensibilities.
Larry Goes 