Muscle Shoals Sound Studio: How the Swampers Changed American Music

Muscle Shoals Sound Studio: How the Swampers Changed American Music chronicles the history of the legendary Alabama recording studio and its impact on rock, blues, and R&B music. An estimated four hundred gold records have been recorded in the Muscle Shoals area, many of them at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio by the session musicians known as the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, or "the Swampers." The studio's original concrete-block building, now recognized by the National Register of Historic Places, hosted recordings by major artists including The Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Cher, The Black Keys, and many others. Notable recordings made there include Lynyrd Skynyrd's original version of "Free Bird" and The Rolling Stones' "Brown Sugar" and "Wild Horses." Author Carla Jean Whitley draws on decades of articles and music reviews to document how the Alabama studio developed its distinctive sound and shaped American music across generations.