The building known as 3614 Jackson Highway isn’t much to look at, inside or out. Squat and square, the concrete block structure has all the charm of a coffin showroom — which, in fact, it was back in the day, before the guys with guitars showed up. Then again…
"…and this is the bathroom where Keith Richards finished writing ‘Wild Horses,’” says my guide.
Well, that gets my attention. I’m standing at the open door of a tiny powder room just off this bare-bones recording studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. I peer inside at the loo, picturing Mick Jagger, Mick Taylor, Bill Wyman, and Charlie Watts hanging around, smoking and drinking and waiting for their comrade to emerge with the perfect riff to complete a rock’n’roll masterpiece.
What brought these superstars to a little town 130 miles south of Nashville and a universe away from London, L.A., or New York? The music, plain and simple.
For years, Muscle Shoals had already been attracting a galaxy of recording legends — from Wilson Pickett and Little Richard to Paul Anka, Duane Allman, Steven Tyler, and Aretha Franklin — who came here to work with its famous session band, the Swampers, and soak up a bit of that backwoods vibe.
This sleepy town by the Tennessee River is just the first stop in an epic — but surprisingly compact — 350-mile drive that embraces not only rock’n’roll, but the entire history of American popular music: gospel, soul, jazz, country, rock. You can make the trek in as little as three days, or stretch it out to a week or so. All you need is love (of music) — and a stop-by-stop playlist of America’s Greatest Hits.
MUSCLE SHOALS, ALABAMA
It’s just a short drive to Muscle Shoals from the pleasingly compact Huntsville International Airport, with nonstop service from much of the country. The town had its beginnings as a recording center in the late 1950s, when
