Muscle Shoals’ Waters are potent. For generations, they have poured out hit records, a multitude of which have flowed from Alabama’s FAME Studios. The name stands for Florence Alabama Music Enterprises. In 1959, record producer/songwriter/ guitarist Rick Hall founded the music hub as a place where race played no role. What mattered was serving the region’s native musical stew, which featured the participation of artists ranging from Duane Allman and Otis Redding to Aretha Franklin and Etta James. Hall’s son Rodney discloses the recipe in Shoals vernacular. “It’s a swampy kind of music,” he says. “Funky. A lot of bass, and a lot of kick drum. More than that, it’s an amalgamation of country, rock and soul, put together in a gumbo that’s been cooking in the Shoals for over 100 years.”
This story is from the October 2021 edition of Guitar Player.
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This story is from the October 2021 edition of Guitar Player.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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EMOTIONAL Rescue
After going quiet in the 1980s, Jeff Beck returned to form with Guitar Shop, beginning a journey of rediscovery that culminated with Jeff.
GROUP Therapy
In 1968, Jeff Beck found success on his own terms, with his own group. What came after would be infinitely harder.
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HI HO, Silver Lining
Jeff Beck had been soundly defeated in his attempts at blues-rock success. With nothing to lose, he turned to jazz-rock fusion. The result was his biggest commercial success: Blow by Blow.
JEFF BECK & Jimmy Page
As teenagers, they jammed and traded licks. As young men they changed the sound of rock and roll. In 1999, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page sat down to riff about their history together and apart, for a rare reunion of two rock guitar giants.
