Muscle Shoals, Alabama is one of those storied musical places that many recognize by name but few truly know. Well, Jimbo Hart knows. We got to chatting with the Muscle Shoals native when he passed through Boston while he was on tour with Jason Isbell. As the conversation turned from Muscle Shoal’s early days to the area’s current musical landscape, we got an idea.
Who better than Jimbo to introduce us – and you, faithful Twangville readers – to the wondrous new music simmering in the Shoals? With Jimbo as our guide, we’ll spend the next week taking an incredible musical tour of the Muscle Shoals.
There’s a magical little spot where Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi all meet up. That magic has been conveyed, for centuries, through the mountains of east Tennessee down through north Alabama by the Tennessee River, through the locks and dams of TVA, coalescing in Pickwick Lake and Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
The Native tribes who lived here before the white men showed up believed that there was a lady in the river who sang songs to them and watched over them. They named this stretch of water ‘The River Who Sings’ and would gather from miles around at various times of the year to celebrate their connection to it. This magic has lent itself to the creation of some of the most widely recognized music in history.
In its heyday, throughout the ’60’s and well into the ’70’s, Muscle Shoals was THE place to go if you wanted to make a hit record. The list goes on and on of who stopped through and made timeless records with the likes of Rick Hall, his bands and eventually The Swampers, most of whom are still there, still making absolutely remarkable records.
This is my home. This is where I was born and raised and I’m writing this to hopefully introduce some folks to some of the great new bands that are coming of age in this wonderful place. This magic is still alive here, and it hasn’t been wasted on this latest generation of pickers. With the help of the awesome folks here in Twangville, I pray the light be shed.
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Jimbo Hart photo credit: Â Suzanne Davis McMahon.
About the author: The Twangville Posse listens to music. Lots and lots of music.