FAME Studios — Muscle Shoals, Alabama

FAME Studios at 603 East Avalon Avenue in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, is where the Muscle Shoals recording story began — the studio founded by producer Rick Hall in 1959 that pioneered the warm, soulful sound that would make the Muscle Shoals area one of the most significant recording communities in American music. FAME (Florence Alabama Music Enterprises) was where Aretha Franklin recorded her breakthrough sessions in January 1967, producing 'I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)' and beginning the creative run that would establish her as the Queen of Soul. Wilson Pickett had recorded 'Land of 1000 Dances' there the previous year. The Staple Singers, Etta James, Otis Redding, and dozens of other foundational soul and R&B artists recorded at FAME.

Rick Hall was the architect of the Muscle Shoals sound — a meticulous, demanding producer who understood how to extract maximum emotional commitment from both musicians and singers. The rhythm section he assembled at FAME in the early years, before those musicians departed to form their own Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, was one of the tightest in the recording industry. Hall continued to run FAME after their departure, recruiting new musicians and maintaining the studio as a going concern for decades. The Rolling Stones also recorded at FAME, including 'Wild Horses'.

FAME Studios remains an active recording facility and is open for tours. It is perhaps the most historically significant continuously operating studio in American music — the same building on the same street where Aretha Franklin's voice first rang out over what would become one of the most celebrated recordings in soul history. Tours are available by appointment and the studio is in regular use for commercial recording. It is a ten-minute drive from the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio at 3614 Jackson Highway in Sheffield.