"It's a sad day in America," says producer, session musician and
arranger Al Kooper. "So many great records were made there. The
musicians, engineers and the magic of the room made it special."

Muscle Shoals Sound Studios was founded in 1969 in an old Sheffield,
Alabama, casket warehouse by musicians Barry Beckett, Roger Hawkins,
David Hood and Jimmy Johnson, who doubled as its famous house band, the
Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section (a.k.a. "the Swampers," as immortalized in
Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama"). Their first client was Cher, who
recorded her 3614 Jackson Highway album there, and named it after the
studio's address.

Atlantic Records producer/executive Jerry Wexler was an early
supporter, booking many of the label's artists into the studio. "It
seemed we could do nothing but make good records: Wilson Pickett,
Aretha Franklin, Willie Nelson -- Lulu came from England," says Wexler.
"We had this little hideaway, this little retreat with these really
terrific musicians, these incredible white boys who played the blues so
authentically that it caused a lot of head-scratching. The best part of
my career was not the gold records
or the Hall of Fame or awards -- it was hearing the music being
recorded live at that time."

After more than three decades of operation, the studio -- which moved
to a 31,000 square-foot building on the banks of the Tennessee River in
1978 -- recorded its last sessions in December and shuttered on January
14th because of declining business. The two Neve consoles have been
sold to studios in Los Angeles and Detroit, the studio owners are
exploring donating memorabilia to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and a
local film production company has purchased the property.

"It almost brought me to tears when I had to do this," says co-owner
Wolf Stephenson, who, along with his two fellow executives of
blues/gospel label Malaco Records, purchased the studio from the Rhythm
Section members in 1985. "It's heartbreaking."

"It's a strange thing," adds Hood. "All of a sudden, the gold records
are down off the walls . . . I'm not sure I know what to think yet."

However, for artists like Bob Seger -- who, after hearing the Rhythm
Section's work on Arthur Conley's "Sweet Soul Music," recorded five
albums at Muscle Shoals -- it was not the building but the band that
made the studio special. "Muscle Shoals did the ballads like 'Main
Street' much better than my band," Seger says. "The wonderful thing
about them is the second you started playing the song, it sounded like
a record."

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.'"

Scottish-born rocker Mark Knopfler, who first recorded with Bob Dylan
at the studio, found the cuisine somewhat lacking. "Jerry introduced me
to salted ham and grits," he says of Wexler. "I don't understand grits.
To me, they always tasted like wet newspaper." But, for Knopfler,
recording at Muscle Shoals made it all worth it. "Laptops and home
stations are fine, but it's another thing to be in a proper recording
studio full of creative people all
sharing in the same piece of music at the same time."

Hood, whose son Patterson fronts the Drive-By Truckers, maintains that
all that magic still resides in Alabama. "I don't want the closing of
Muscle Shoals Sound to make anybody think that music is no longer
happening here," he says. "It's been happening since before I started,
and it's still going on today. It was always the people."
--

Another sad day, but another opportunity opening up. When one door closes,
another seems to be there for the bright people to go through. The others
just mill about.

--


Roger W. Norman
SirMusic Studio
http://blogs.salon.com/0004478/

"play on" wrote in message
oups.com...
"It's a sad day in America," says producer, session musician and
arranger Al Kooper. "So many great records were made there. The
musicians, engineers and the magic of the room made it special."

Muscle Shoals Sound Studios was founded in 1969 in an old Sheffield,
Alabama, casket warehouse by musicians Barry Beckett, Roger Hawkins,
David Hood and Jimmy Johnson, who doubled as its famous house band, the
Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section (a.k.a. "the Swampers," as immortalized in
Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama"). Their first client was Cher, who
recorded her 3614 Jackson Highway album there, and named it after the
studio's address.

Atlantic Records producer/executive Jerry Wexler was an early
supporter, booking many of the label's artists into the studio. "It
seemed we could do nothing but make good records: Wilson Pickett,
Aretha Franklin, Willie Nelson -- Lulu came from England," says Wexler.
"We had this little hideaway, this little retreat with these really
terrific musicians, these incredible white boys who played the blues so
authentically that it caused a lot of head-scratching. The best part of
my career was not the gold records
or the Hall of Fame or awards -- it was hearing the music being
recorded live at that time."

After more than three decades of operation, the studio -- which moved
to a 31,000 square-foot building on the banks of the Tennessee River in
1978 -- recorded its last sessions in December and shuttered on January
14th because of declining business. The two Neve consoles have been
sold to studios in Los Angeles and Detroit, the studio owners are
exploring donating memorabilia to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and a
local film production company has purchased the property.

"It almost brought me to tears when I had to do this," says co-owner
Wolf Stephenson, who, along with his two fellow executives of
blues/gospel label Malaco Records, purchased the studio from the Rhythm
Section members in 1985. "It's heartbreaking."

"It's a strange thing," adds Hood. "All of a sudden, the gold records
are down off the walls . . . I'm not sure I know what to think yet."

However, for artists like Bob Seger -- who, after hearing the Rhythm
Section's work on Arthur Conley's "Sweet Soul Music," recorded five
albums at Muscle Shoals -- it was not the building but the band that
made the studio special. "Muscle Shoals did the ballads like 'Main
Street' much better than my band," Seger says. "The wonderful thing
about them is the second you started playing the song, it sounded like
a record."

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.'"

Scottish-born rocker Mark Knopfler, who first recorded with Bob Dylan
at the studio, found the cuisine somewhat lacking. "Jerry introduced me
to salted ham and grits," he says of Wexler. "I don't understand grits.
To me, they always tasted like wet newspaper." But, for Knopfler,
recording at Muscle Shoals made it all worth it. "Laptops and home
stations are fine, but it's another thing to be in a proper recording
studio full of creative people all
sharing in the same piece of music at the same time."

Hood, whose son Patterson fronts the Drive-By Truckers, maintains that
all that magic still resides in Alabama. "I don't want the closing of
Muscle Shoals Sound to make anybody think that music is no longer
happening here," he says. "It's been happening since before I started,
and it's still going on today. It was always the people."
--

Roger W. Norman wrote:
Another sad day, but another opportunity opening up. When one door
closes,
another seems to be there for the bright people to go through. The
others
just mill about.

The "new" studio on the Tennessee River was up for sale on ebay by
Malaco about a year ago. There's a thread on it somewhere here at
rec.audio.pro. I made a brief contact with Malaco on the viability of
the studio, and I appreciate their honesty on the small amount of work
that they could provide and the general state of the recording market
in Muscle Shoals. From what I understand, the 3614 Jackson Highway
studio and Fame studio are still doing business in M. S. The Tenn
River studio would have been a great deal for an independently wealthy
patron or an artist that was willing to relocate to M. S.

RP

And I wasn't talking about that particular studio, but yes, I do remember
the thread. The point was that where one walks away, another walks in. If
one predisposes themselves to a certain end, then one won't go that way.
It's possible that someone will find another location and another niche and
grow beyond what the beginnings suggest one could achieve. ****, Power
Station died, the Hit Factory (both NYC) died, and yet new studios are doing
the job today in the same market, without being in the same locations.
Studios evolve, key players come and go, and nothing's certain except the
will of new people to make a go of the art of engineering regardless of the
costs.

And so resides the fate of the American "can do" attitude.

--


Roger W. Norman
SirMusic Studio
http://blogs.salon.com/0004478/

"Rick Powell" wrote in message
oups.com...

Roger W. Norman wrote:
Another sad day, but another opportunity opening up. When one door
closes,
another seems to be there for the bright people to go through. The
others
just mill about.

The "new" studio on the Tennessee River was up for sale on ebay by
Malaco about a year ago. There's a thread on it somewhere here at
rec.audio.pro. I made a brief contact with Malaco on the viability of
the studio, and I appreciate their honesty on the small amount of work
that they could provide and the general state of the recording market
in Muscle Shoals. From what I understand, the 3614 Jackson Highway
studio and Fame studio are still doing business in M. S. The Tenn
River studio would have been a great deal for an independently wealthy
patron or an artist that was willing to relocate to M. S.

RP