~
"I wanted so badly for all of us in Muscle Shoals to wake up one day
and be much better than we ever thought we could possibly be.”
~ Rick Hall
Rick Hall - 2015
photo by Shane Rice
Rick Hall died a few days ago, January 2, 2018. He was born, Roe Erister "Rick" Hall on January 31, 1932. He was an American record producer, songwriter, music publisher, and musician best known as the owner and proprietor of FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. As the "Father of Muscle Shoals Music", he was influential in recording and promoting both country and soul music, and in helping develop the careers of such musicians as Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Duane Allman, Etta James, Candi Staton, Bobbie Gentry and The Osmonds among
many others.
Rick Hall, FAME Studios - 1962
photo by Hollis Bennett
Fame Recording Studios opened in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, in 1961 as a spin-off of a
publishing company that worked with future studio legends Dan Penn, Billy Sherrill and Hall.
The FAME Studios became
one of the the most popular places for soul, R&B, and pop musicians
to cut records in the '60s and '70s. While the studio was well run and
equipped with the latest recording gear, the reason FAME was popular had
less to do with the facilities and more to do with the in-house band, The Fame Gang.
The Gang were the secret heroes of dozens of hit records, creating a sound that
earned fans even if listeners rarely knew the names of the people who
provided the backing for those hits. The first Fame house band featured David Briggs and Spooner Oldham on keyboards, Norbert Putnam on bass, Earl "Peanut" Montgomery and Terry Thompson on guitars, and Jerry Carrigan on drums.
Picture: Courtesy Fame Records
While the group's primary
responsibility was backing the clients of FAME Studios, unlike the
studio's other rhythm sections, the third band released records on its
own, under the name the Fame Gang; Hall had launched a Fame Records label, and the Fame Gang became one of the label's artists.
FAME Studios - 1967
photo: Michael Ochs Archives / Getty
FAME Studios is where Otis Redding recorded You Left the Water Running. The song was
later released as a bootleg single, and did not appear legitimately
until 1987 on the compilation album The Otis Redding Story.
L to R: Junior Lowe, Jimmy Johnson,
Otis Redding and Rick Hall - 1966
Picture: Courtesy Fame Records
When the members of the second Fame house band struck out on their own to form The Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, Hall organized a new combo, the largest to date. The third Fame studio crew featured Junior Lowe on guitar, Jesse Boyce on bass, Clayton Ivey on keyboards and guitar, Freeman Brown on drums, Harrison Calloway on trumpet, Aaron Varnell on tenor and alto sax, Ronnie Eades on baritone sax, and Harvey Thompson on tenor sax and flute, with Mickey Buckins
handling arrangements and production.
Wilson Pickett, FAME Studios - 1966
Picture: Courtesy Fame Records
The Muscle Shoals Sound Studio located at 3614 Jackson Highway, which the Swampers set up after their falling out with Rick Hall.
photo by Hollis Bennett
FAME Studios - 1970
Hall was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in 1985 and also received the John Herbert Orr Pioneer Award. In 2014, he won the Grammy Trustees Award in recognition of his lengthy career.
In early 2018, Rolling Stone published a retrospective of Hall's career and included this evaluation.
In early 2018, Rolling Stone published a retrospective of Hall's career and included this evaluation.
"Hall's Grammy-winning production touched nearly every genre of popular music from country to R&B, and his Fame Studio and publishing company were a breeding ground for future legends in the worlds of songwriting and session work, as well as a recording home to some of the greatest musicians and recording artists of all time."
Viewfinder links:
Net links:
No Depression ~ "The Man from Muscle Shoals" interview
Rockingodshouse ~ The Man Who Produced Aretha Franklin interview
Smashing Interviews ~ Genius Behind the Muscle Shoals Sound
photo - House Of Fame LLC/Michael Ochs Archives / Getty
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