Does FAME, the sound of Muscle Shoals, need an introduction? Probably not, so I’m not going to bother. But…if you do need a detailed history, check out their website. In the meantime, just enjoy the interview from original owner Rick Hall’s son Rodney Hall.
Location: Muscle Shoals, Alabama
Notable Artists: Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Etta James, Otis Redding, Little Richard, Mac Davis, Bobbie Gentry…For Americana stuff, Jason Isbell recorded a lot of early stuff here like “Sirens of the Ditch” and “Jason Isbell and the 400 unit”; Anderson East recorded “Delilah” here; also the Blind Boys of Alabama, Paul Thorn, the Turnpike Troubadours, The Revivalists, The Racounteurs, Vince Gill, Alison Krauss, Steven Tyler, Margo Price, Maggie Rose…it’s a long and continuing list
Background: We’re at 603 East Avalon Avenue in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. It’s a two story building, built in the early ’60s. It was originally cinder block and has been added onto and modified several times. There are three studios now: Studio A, Studio B and Studio C (mix room), which all meld the best of vintage and twenty-first century recording equipment and techniques. We’ve preserved what gives the place its classic sound and vibe. We have also recently added Studio X, which is an ATMOS mix room, offsite.
How was the studio started or what led to its founding?
Dad started FAME publishing in 1959 with Tom Stafford and Billy Sherrill, above a drugstore in Florence, AL. Dad bought them out of the name and moved to Muscle Shoals, into an old abandoned tobacco and candy warehouse, where he recorded his first hit, “You Better Move On,” recorded by Arthur Alexander. He took that money and built on our current location at 603 East Avalon Avenue in 1961. He was always chasing that signature Muscle Shoals sound, one session at a time. He put a lot of years of very hard work in, because he wasn’t one who would settle for anything less than that sound he heard in his head.
How do you go about finding new gear for the studio and what’s your favorite toy?
We talk with other engineers and look through auctions and estate sales. We also have great relationships with manufacturers like Universal Audio, Focusrite, and Adam Audio. With IK Multimedia, we refurbished the old echo chambers and turned their sound into a plugin. The original chamber is my favorite. Its tone is raw and natural, the kind you hear on Wilson Pickett’s records from the 1960s. We try to keep the place honest. Nothing else sounds quite like it.
Name 1 or 2 favorite/most meaningful sessions/albums from the studio.
Aretha Franklin cut “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)” here in early 1967, sitting at the piano (which we still own) in Studio A. That session is widely regarded as the moment she found her sound. Gregg Allman recorded his final album, Southern Blood, here in 2016 with Don Was. Gregg was ill during the sessions, but he laid it all out, and recording at FAME was a real “full-circle” moment for him. You can hear every year of his life in that record. He and his brother Duane had cut early tracks here, and the first jam sessions for what became the Allman Brothers Band were held in Studio B.
Name 1 or 2 most surprising moments in the studio.
When Demi Lovato dropped in to cut some tracks in 2018–she was a huge pop star with hundreds of millions of streams. While recording with our legendary studio band, she admitted, “I’ve never recorded live in the studio with a band!”
What’s the best/worst part of running a studio?
Running a studio has highs and headaches. The highs are simple: a take lands, drums and bass get locked in, guitars sit where they should in the mix, the vocal hits just right, and in the first few takes everyone knows we’ve got a great track on our hands. The headaches are the rest of the job: booking and cancellations, chasing payments, fixing a noisy channel or a dead mic, HVAC quitting in July, late starts, short tempers, and the days a song will just not come together. Me and the staff try to carry the headaches so the bands can get where they need to get to.
What was the first session done at the studio?
At the Avalon building, it was Jimmy Hughes’ “Steal Away” in ’62. Dad produced it with his first rhythm section of Norbert Putnam, Terry Thompson, Jerry Carrigan, and David Briggs. The song hit the R&B charts big and set the tone for what we do.
Is there a non-musical aspect of the studio that you are proud of?
Yeah, the FAME Girls Ranch Mom and Dad started in 2000 as part of the Alabama Sheriff’s boys and girls ranches. FAME Girls Ranch sits in our old family home in Russellville. My family worked out a deal to give them the house so it could serve this mission. We’ve kept it focused on giving North Alabama teens a safe place to grow up. It’s a 24-hour, house-parent model that gives at-risk girls a stable home life with school, chores, church, and real structure. The girls attend Colbert Heights school, and the program thrives on community spirit, right down to beach trips, visits to the Space & Rocket Center and the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. They’ve even hosted trail rides and ranch fundraisers with horses on the property.
How would you describe the vibe in your studio? How do you maintain it?
No pretense. Warm, collaborative, and authentic. We leave the room alone, for the most part, because it already sounds right. Musicians set up in the room, talk to each other, collaborate, and we give the song time to breathe. No rush. We listen back together and let the take tell us what to do next.
Any final thoughts?
My dad built this place with grit and we run it the same way. Around here, songs take shape from the room and the people in it. The ceiling height, the hard floor, how the kick drum booms, the sound of the Wurlitzer, the bass tone, the bleed…Stack those constraints and you get the records you hear, the sound and feeling that stays with you.
We do not rebuild the main rooms. They already are the sound of Muscle Shoals. We set up close, listen, and feel. That is how it was done back in the day and that is how we keep it going.
If you want to hear what the space does to a song, come by. Stand in the room while a band finds the pocket. The room will make the point better than I can.
About the author: Producer, Engineer, Musician and all around music enthusiast.