Art Meripol Alabama Department of Tourism
Muscle Shoals was where icons like Aretha Franklin, the Rolling Stones and Paul Simon - to name only a few big names - recorded in the late 1960s and 1970s.
Words by Kathleen Walls
The northwestern Alabama cities of Muscle Shoals, Tuscumbia, Sheffield, and Florence are called The Shoals. Their largest claim to fame in the region is its musical heritage, but there is much more than the cool sounds of the past and present here.
When you’re driving to or through Alabama to avoid winter’s frosty breath, the Shoals is a perfect place to visit. McFarland Park in Florence has 60 RV sites featuring several amenities including a playground, soccer and baseball fields, a driving range, and a marina with a fishing pier/boat ramp. There’s even a floating restaurant/bar and an 18-hole disc golf course.
With plenty to do on its grounds, the visitor centre is a great place to start planning to see the area. There’s a small museum and plenty of information about where to go and what to discover.
Kathleen Walls
McFarland Park in Florence is just one option to stay at for RVers. It has 60 sites and several amenities.
The Shoals’ History and Sounds
One man had such an immense influence on American music that he is known as the “Father of the Blues.” William Christopher Handy’s birthplace and museum is a must-visit. It consists of a small log cabin filled with fantastic exhibits showcasing his life and music.
There’s nowhere else that created music from artists of all races like the Shoals. Rick Hall, who is regarded as the ‘Father of Muscle Shoals Music’ put Alabama on the musical map. He was originally a country musician but also had a passion for rhythm and blues (R&B).
Hall began a small music publishing company in Florence, called Florence Alabama Music Enterprises in partnership with two other musicians. They eventually dropped out, leaving it to Hall to own and operate. He began using the acronym, FAME.
Kathleen Walls
William Christopher Handy’s birthplace and museum consists of a small log cabin filled with fantastic exhibits showcasing his life and music.
Ignoring Jim Crow Laws, Hall recorded Black musicians and country artists using the same studio band. Arthur Alexander was FAME Recording Studios’ first star with the first national hit recorded in Alabama, You Better Move On.
Aretha Franklin began her rise to the “Queen of Soul” here. FAME also recorded Percy Sledge, Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Little Richard, Bobby Gentry, The Allman Brothers Band, and others. It’s still a working studio and guided tours are available.
At one time, Hall invited a young guitar player who was camping in the parking lot to play backup for Wilson Pickett. That was a starting point for slide guitar extraordinaire, Duane Allman, who went on to form The Allman Brothers Band, creating a new genre called Southern Rock.
Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section was the sessions band at FAME. They became known as “The Swampers” and are credited with creating a blend of R&B, soul and country music. It’s known as the “Muscle Shoals Sound.”
Kathleen Walls
The classic interior of FAME.
In 1969, The Swampers split from FAME over finances and founded a competing studio, Muscle Shoals Sound Studio. The four young men, Barry Beckett (keyboards), Jimmy Johnson (guitar), Roger Hawkins (drums), and David Hood (bass), rented an old building in Sheffield. It wasn’t designed for a studio, but its ingenuity prevailed. The studio was immortalized in 1969 on the cover of Cher’s first solo album 3614 Jackson Highway, which was also the first album cut at the studio.
The studio later moved to a newer building where they recorded The Rolling Stones, The Osmond Brothers, Willie Nelson, Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, Bob Seger, Linda Ronstadt, and many other big names. Muscle Shoals Sound Studio closed in 1979. In 2013, the Muscle Shoals Music Foundation bought it and once again turned it into a working studio. Tours are available.
The Alabama Music Hall of Fame in Tuscumbia offers a close look at Alabama’s most famous music icons. There’s an exhibit for Sun Studio in Memphis, TN, but Sam Phillips, the studio owner who brought rock n’ roll to center stage, was from Florence. This museum is a trip through Alabama’s musical history.
Kathleen Walls
Muscle Shoals Sound Studio.
Beyond The Music: Famous People and Insightful Local Attractions
Ivy Green, Helen Keller’s birthplace in Tuscumbia, is another must-see attraction. Born in 1880, Helen Keller had a high fever when she was just 19 months old and lost her sight and hearing. The water pump, where a young teacher by the name of Anne Sullivan had the idea of what sign language meant to Helen, is still in the front yard. It’s where she spoke her first word, ‘water.’
Helen Keller went on to graduate college and became one of the most famous advocates for handicapped people. Ivy Green is open for guided tours all year. Much of the furnishings in the home belonged to the Keller family. On weekends through June and mid-July, they present the play, The Miracle Worker, telling her story.
You can also learn about the earliest settlers in Alabama at the Florence Indian Mound and Museum. Located on 1028 S. Court St. in Florence, this is where Paolo-Indians constructed a 13 m (43 ft) mound during the Woodland Period. When archaeologists excavated the site, they discovered the largest trove of ancient tools and artifacts ever discovered in the state.
Kathleen Walls
Ivy Green, Helen Keller’s birthplace in Tuscumbia.
The museum showcases original artifacts including arrowheads, pottery, spear points, and ceremonial objects. There are also exhibits and placards explaining the lifestyle of the people and the mound’s significance.
Other attractions in Florence include The Pope’s Tavern Museum, which takes you back in time to different periods of Alabama’s history including slavery and the Civil War, as well as the Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts. The ‘headquarters for the Arts and Museums Department,’ the facility consists of art galleries, art/ceramic studios, an outdoor sculpture garden, and more.
Another unique attraction is the Belle Mont Mansion. Located just outside of Tuscumbia, this antebellum home is furnished in pre-Civil War style and is one of the few Palladian-style houses in the Deep South. Its “style stems from the neoclassical architectural design of Italian renaissance architect Andrea Palladio.”
With its culture, musical heritage, arts and entertainment, the Shoals is the true South where you can truly understand the exciting history of yesteryear and the engaging attractions of the present.
For more information and to plan your visit go to https://alabama.travel/