Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section

The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section is a group of American session musicians based in the northern Alabama town of Muscle Shoals. One of the most prominent American studio house bands from the 1960s to the 1980s, these musicians, individually or as a group, have been associated with more than 500 recordings, including 75 gold and platinum hits. They were masters at creating a southern combination of R&B, soul and country music known as the "Muscle Shoals sound" to back up black artists, who were often in disbelief to learn that the studio musicians were white. Over the years from 1962 to 1969, there have been two successive groups under the name "Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section" and the common factor in the two was an association with Rick Hall at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals.^[1]

The original group hired by Hall in the early 1960s was Norbert Putnam, David Briggs, and Jerry Carrigan, who created hit records that brought recognition and stature to this unknown and out-of-the-way studio. This group was courted by Nashville studios and left Muscle Shoals to pursue independent careers in Nashville.

To replace these musicians, Hall hired a core group consisting of Barry Beckett, Roger Hawkins, David Hood and Jimmy Johnson, initially called "the Second FAME Gang", but widely known by the nickname "The Swampers" .^[2] The Swampers subsequently recorded, produced, or engineered classic hits by Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Percy Sledge, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Leon Russell, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Rod Stewart, Bob Seger and The Staple Singers. The Swampers were the subject of the 2013 documentary film Muscle Shoals, winner of the 2013 Boulder International Film Festival Grand Prize. They were mentioned by name in the lyrics of "Sweet Home Alabama" (1974) by Lynyrd Skynyrd and appear on the cover of Cher's 1969 album 3614 Jackson Highway.

Aretha Franklin recorded at FAME on only one occasion, with the Swampers providing the accompaniment; her hit song "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" was recorded at the studio in 1967.^[3] After Franklin's husband Ted White started an altercation, producer Jerry Wexler decided to continue recording the LP in New York, again using the Swampers.^[4] The group also accompanied Franklin on other albums, such as "Lady Soul," "Aretha Arrives," "Aretha Now" and "This Girl's in Love with You."^[5]

In 1969, the Swampers parted ways with Rick Hall and FAME Studios and founded their own competing business, the Muscle Shoals Sound Studios. They also copyrighted the name "The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section". A third FAME rhythm section was formed consisting of Freeman Brown (drums), Jesse Boyce (bass), Junior Lowe (guitar), Clayton Ivey (keyboard) and a four man brass section. They were a blend of African American and white, and sometimes they were called FAME Gang. Both the original FAME group and the second group (Swampers) have been inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame and into the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2008.