A tour of FAME Recording Studios in Muscle Shoals Alabama - a famous recording studio!

We take a guided tour of the famous recording studio in Muscle Shoals and learn great stories behind the classic songs!
TIMESTAMP
0:00 Intro
0:30 Driving to Muscle Shoals
0:59 Arrival at studio
1:34 Recording studio
6:58 Control room
9:07 Gift shop
9:52 Outside
11:01 Outro

Take a look at our other travel content at: ‪@OceanHops‬
A tour of FAME Recording Studios in Muscle Shoals Alabama the famous recording studio where so many classic songs were recorded. If you are looking at what to do in Muscle Shoals, or what to do in Alabama try FAME Recording Studios. Tyra Newkirk was our terrific guide through the studio, and this is an edited version of that tour which is well worth a stop if you are in the area. Many classic recordings were made here by, among others, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Bob Seger, Arthur Alexander, Alabama, Tammy Wynette and many more.....

Sweet Home Alabama. I love that film! We are just coming up on the Tennessee River which we are now crossing, just on our way to Muscle Shoals. Here we are in Muscle Shoals and here is the FAME Recording Studios that Rick Hall started back in the early '60's. The Allman Brothers performed in here. Jackson Isbell's earlier stuff was cut in here. A lot of the time we do full band in here now but some of the pieces in here this organ - this is what was played on Mustang Sally this organ right here, and we just got it. It was at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and we got it back in December as well.
If it was cut in Studio B 1970s on it was this one. Now the very first hit that Rick had done was Arthur Alexander's You Better Move On and that was the first international hit that was cut from the state of Alabama. That was done on this piano and You Better Move On was re-cut by the Rolling Stones and side B of the record was A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues was cut by The Beatles. After that is when he moved here and when we first built in 1962 the very first hit that was cut in Studio A was Jimmy Hughes Steal Away.
Now, Steal Away sat on the shelves after they recorded it sat on the shelves like two or three years. Well Dan Penn and Rick Hall were sitting there and they're like, you know, "We got something here - we got to do something about this", so they took the song some 45s. They got some 45s and loaded the car down with vodka and records and went around to all the black radio stations in the southeast and would take the disc jockeys a bottle of vodka and a record and when they would leave town Steal Away was playing on the radio. We'll go check out Studio A and I'll play you guys some music. Bobbie Gentry did her Fancy album here. Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, Clarence Carter, Etta James. He kind of - it's almost like he did a different genre a decade. In the 60s I mean he was known for doing all this, making this soul music with black artists and white musicians. It was just unheard of. In the 60s, in Alabama where segregation was like you know. It wasn't that bad here - but it was further south. But it was still a thing. It was still an issue. And that's what put him on the map. It was all this soul music. And then the 70s, he kind of geared in with pop. I mean he had Paul Anka, Mac Davis, Tom Jones, Andy Williams, Wild Cherry. He did all these - Little Richard - all these pop. He was producer of the year in the 70s. He started doing Shenandoah, Alabama, Tammy Wynette, Jerry Reed. He even recorded on Hank Williams Jr.'s album It's because of this studio and everything that was done here, this was the first one in this area and really, in Alabama, we're the longest one still going. .
Now this piano, or this organ over here that's the one that, like, anything that had an organ on it in the 70s, that was cut in here, was in here. Now, this is not the Wurlitzer that Spooner played.
But yeah, there's the organ that Spooner played on Aretha's song. Now this piano is the one that Alicia Keys played when she was here. It was also the one that Steven Tyler sang to me at Well, the last day he was here I was, like "You know Angel was my favorite song right?"
So he guided me over to the piano, sat me down and sang it to me...sang 'Angel' to me.
Gregg Allman cut to tape when he was here and dumped into Pro Tools to edit. Steven Tyler when he was here he did the same. But this is our Neve 8232 console. It's designed by a man named Rupert Neve, and he would almost go bankrupt every time he would design a new board
he came in one day it was for Alan Jackson's, he's like Alan Jackson - he wants to do the album but he can only be here tomorrow and I got a session together in an hour. So we have just completed the FAME tour. how old was she is she was married to Rick Hall all those years?
But she was married to Rick Hall 58 years. So Rick Hall the producer, the creator of FAME studios, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Delbert McClinton has recorded here, Bob Seger
The Osmonds even have recorded in here.