Sheffield, AL (June 28, 2013)—The Muscle Shoals Music Foundation has acquired the 3614 Jackson Highway building, which housed the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio from 1969 to 1979. During that period, the facility recorded The Rolling Stones; Paul Simon; The Staple Singers; Bob Seger; Bob Dylan; Lynyrd Skynyrd; Wilson Pickett; Rod Stewart and many others. Now the Foundation plans to restore the studio and make it a center of regional music tourism.
Recently added to the national Register of Historic Places, the facility was sold by owner Noah Webster for an undisclosed amount to the Foundation, led by Rodney Hall. When the studio moved to 1000 Alabama Avenue in Sheffield in 1979, the building housed an AV company and later an appliance store.
The Foundation now plans to renovate the studio to its original state and upgrade the facility with modern equipment. Partnering with both the current studio at 1000 Alabama Avenue and the nearby, well-known FAME Studios, which had its own high-profile run in the ‘60s and ‘70s, the Foundation plans to create tours of all three sites, with an aim to construct a museum dedicated to showcasing and preserving the Muscle Shoals music history through a variety of permanent and temporary exhibits.
Having recorded a number of tracks there, including “Wild Horses” and “Brown Sugar,” Keith Richards refers to the facility as “rock and roll heaven” in the upcoming documentary, Muscle Shoals, which hits theaters in September. Other artists who recorded at the studio include Boz Skaggs, Percy Sledge, Dr. Hook, Willie Nelson, Jimmy Cliff, Cher, Joe Cocker, J.J. Cale, Linda Ronstadt, Joe Tex, Eddie Floyd, Johnny Taylor, Art Garfunkel, Milie Jackson, Cat Stevens, Traffic and hundreds of others.
Muscle Shoals Sound Studio
https://www.facebook.com/pages/MUSCLE-SHOALS-SOUND-STUDIOS/89247053033
Muscle Shoals Music Foundation
https://www.facebook.com/MuscleShoalsMusicFoundation
