Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, Carla Jean Whitley
Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, Carla Jean Whitley
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Muscle Shoals Sound Studio
How the Swampers Changed American Music

Author: Carla Jean Whitley

Narrator: Amanda Ronconi

Unabridged: 3 hr 51 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 11/08/2022


Synopsis

An estimated four hundred gold records have been recorded in the Muscle Shoals area. Many of those are thanks to Muscle Shoals Sound Studio and the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, dubbed "the Swampers."

Some of the greatest names in rock, R&B and blues laid tracks in the original, iconic concrete-block building—the likes of Cher, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Rolling Stones, and the Black Keys. The National Register of Historic Places now recognizes that building, where Lynyrd Skynyrd recorded the original version of "Free Bird" and the Rolling Stones wrote "Brown Sugar" and "Wild Horses." By combing through decades of articles and music reviews related to Muscle Shoals Sound, music writer Carla Jean Whitley reconstructs the fascinating history of how the Alabama studio created a sound that reverberates across generations.

About Carla Jean Whitley

Carla Jean Whitley is a writer, editor, and teacher based in Birmingham, Alabama, where she is managing editor of Birmingham magazine. Carla Jean founded the music blog Birmingham Box Set, and has also written for BookPage, Paste, The Birmingham News, Sky, and a variety of other magazines and newspapers. Carla Jean volunteers with literacy organizations and teaches journalism at the University of Alabama and Samford University. Her favorite yoga pose is bakasana and her favorite cats are orange.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Armand on April 13, 2018

Lots of good history of the Muscle Shoals recording legacy. Wish there could've been more insight and interviews with some of the bands who recorded key music back in the day but overall a great read.......more

Goodreads review by Armand on April 13, 2018

Lots of good history of the Muscle Shoals recording legacy. Wish there could've been more insight and interviews with some of the bands who recorded key music back in the day but overall a great read.......more

Goodreads review by jboyg on February 25, 2020

History of Soul Music recording Mecca Back in the day I would buy any record I came across that was recorded in a tiny Alabama town called Muscle Shoals: Aretha, Pickett, Clarence Carter and a host of others produced some of their best work there. This is the interesting history of how it all happene......more

Goodreads review by Christopher on October 12, 2023

This is a very a short book and acts as a wonderful reference to the effect Muscle Shoals had on popular music. If you simply want to get familiar with the concept and place, this is for you. If you want a deeper history with characters and context - look elsewhere. The book’s final quarter is all a......more

Goodreads review by Yimmy on April 11, 2025

From what I know, it’s the only book that attempts to tell the story of Muscle Shoals Sound Studio. It does a decent job of doing that by frequently quoting different media that has been released: magazines (example: Sound on Sound), movies (2013 documentary), and other printed quotes. It does the r......more