Muscle Shoals Sound

In 1969, a group of Alabama session musicians called The Swampers (aka The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section) opened the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio. By then, they'd already helped define the sound of soul and R&B, backing everyone from Wilson Pickett to Aretha Franklin. They worked with the Stax label in the '70s, and their thick, driving grooves can be heard on dozens of classic hits.