MUSIC AND MYSTIQUE IN MUSCLE SHOALS

An illumination of the musical legacy and revival of an unlikely center of recording activity.

Among the many mysteries and contradictions that Reali tackles in this well-researched, incisive academic study is how a small Southern town in a state known for segregation and civil rights clashes became all but synonymous with Southern soul music, with a sound that most listeners identified as Black—even though most of the musicians, producers, and engineers were White. The book began as a doctoral dissertation and took a full decade to research and write, during which time Muscle Shoals, Alabama, saw its fame boosted by a documentary, a surge in musical tourism, and a new wave of artistry that found fresh inspiration in the foundations of the Muscle Shoals sound. But what is that sound? The “mystique” is often at odds with clearer explanations for what has made the town so special. As the author shows, it’s unlikely that there is “something in the water,” as is often claimed, or that the Native myth of the “Singing River,” now ubiquitous throughout the area’s branding, has much to do with it. The legacy that never quite coalesces into a single sound has more to do with the times and the people, a generation of fledgling musicians who were less interested in the country music of their parents than in the R&B that younger people favored for dancing. Among them were producer Rick Hall and plenty of musicians with live band experience, eventually known as the Swampers. After Aretha Franklin made her breakthrough trip to Muscle Shoals, its studios became a magnet for Black and White artists alike, including Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, Percy Sledge, Bob Dylan, the Allman Brothers, the Rolling Stones, and Paul Simon. Ultimately, everyone from Boz Scaggs to the Osmonds to Paul Anka recorded there, and country hits along with soul abounded.

A fascinating study of a musical microcosm, reveling in contradictions and debunking myths.