MSL: Fame Recording Studios

Since 1959 FAME Music has been the heartbeat of the iconic Muscle Shoals Sound. By recording with some of the greatest artists in rock music history; Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Etta James, Otis Redding, Jerry Reed, Alabama, Mac Davis, the Gatlin Brothers, just to name a few, it’s no wonder the Muscle Shoals’ is famously dubbed the ‘Hit Recording Capital of the World’.

After speaking with my friend, Muscle Shoals Song Rooms and Songwriters Festival Founder, Lillian Glanton, on ‘Still With You hosted by Kohlie Browning’ I have been dreaming of visiting Muscle Shoals, Alabama and touring Fame Recording Studios and my this experience did not disappoint.

One of my favorite moments while touring FAME was in Studio A, when our guide played the first chords of Aretha Franklin’s “I’ve Never Loved A Man The Way I Loved You” on the piano, pictured below, the song was composed on. Full chill bumps covered my arms and tears filled my eyes as the notes of this classic resounded in the room. The atmosphere of Fame studio, carrying an upheaval of music history, is unlike I have ever experienced before.

In the last 50 plus years, FAME has been involved in recording or publishing records that have sold over 350 million copies world wide. It’s now wonder the sign above the studio entryway reads, “Through these doors walk the finest Musicians, Songwriters, Artists, and Producers in the world“.

Tours at FAME are available scheduled before and in between recording sessions at 9am and 4pm. Guest are allowed to take photos anywhere in the studio, but playing instruments is not permitted.