Meet Muscle Shoals – Hit Recording Capital of the World

Muscle Shoals music scene

On the banks of the Singing River, the cities of Tuscumbia, Sheffield, Florence and Muscle Shoals make up the region of North Alabama known both as "The Shoals" and The Hit Recording Capital of The World – America's Best Kept Secret!

During a visit to this truly remarkable area of the United States, you'll meet local musicians, enjoy great food and be entertained with brilliant live music. You'll also learn about the area's history and how it became known as "The Hit Recording Capital of the World". But best of all… experience genuine, warm Southern Hospitality!

Music in Muscle Shoals and Alabama

Alabama's Music Hall of Fame in Tuscumbia showcases Alabama's rich musical history. The rich mix of cultures which settled in the south offered up diverse musical styles and influences. Native Alabama artists such as Nat King Cole, Lionel Richie, Emmylou Harris, and Alabama, as well as the remarkable talents of Hank Williams and Percy Sledge. Countless songwriters and performers are celebrated at the Hall of Fame. During your visit to the museum, be sure to step into the Recording Booth and record your own "hit" song!

Alabama Music Hall of Fame

Working Recording Studios

The popular musical legacy of the region begins with Florence-born W.C. Handy, a world-renowned composer and publisher known as the Father of the Blues, born in 1873. Another Florence native, Sam Phillips, was a disc jockey at a local radio station in the late 1940s before leaving for Memphis, Tennessee to set up his own recording studio and the legendary Sun Records. He signed the Million Dollar Quartet – Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis – to his pioneering record label.

The Shoals region remains home to over a dozen very successful 'working' recording studios including FAME, Muscle Shoals Sound, Wishbone, Cypress Moon, The NuttHouse, Single Lock, Noiseblock and more. No visit to Muscle Shoals is complete without taking the studio tours, where you can stand in the same spot as artists such as The Rolling Stones, Percy Sledge, Cher, and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

FAME Recording Studio

The List Goes On…

Countless others have recorded in these famous studios: The Allman Brothers, Jimmy Buffet, Bob Dylan, Vince Gill, Tom Jones, Paul Simon, Aretha Franklin, The Osmonds, Lionel Richie, Roy Orbison, Willie Nelson, Billy Ray Cyrus, Hank Williams Jr and dozens more. All of whom recorded the music that made "The Shoals" The Hit Recording Capital of the World!

More Than the Music

Historic Tuscumbia is one of Alabama's oldest towns, lying in an area originally explored by French traders. Between 1815 and 1817, non-Indian settlers arrived to join the native Chickasaw tribal people. Tuscumbia soon became North Alabama's agricultural and commercial centre. Today, antique stores, boutiques, cafes and a new "pocket park" make downtown Tuscumbia a delightful shopping area.

19th Century Architecture

Tuscumbia boasts one of the state's best collections of 19th century architecture from the antebellum period. The town is centred around the Colbert County Courthouse. The six blocks along Main Street hold some of Alabama's earliest commercial buildings, many dating from the late 19th century. Belle Mont Mansion, a fine example of early 1800s antebellum architecture, and the Colbert County Courthouse, built in 1881, are both well worth visiting.

America's First Lady of Courage

Ivy Green – Helen Keller Birthplace

Ivy Green is where, in 1880, Helen Keller was born. At just 19 months old, an illness left Helen deaf and blind. With the help of her teacher, Miss Anne Sullivan, Helen overcame many of her disabilities. Their story is portrayed in the 1962 film The Miracle Worker starring Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke.

Tuscumbia Railway Depot Museum

Found just off Main Street, the historic railway depot building – built by the Memphis and Charleston Railroad – is now a museum featuring an original carriage belonging to Helen Keller's family and a vast collection of rail memorabilia.

Trail of Tears

The railway line also played an integral part in one of America's most significant historical events: the Trail of Tears. Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole people were removed from their ancestral homelands in the Southeastern United States and relocated west. For many, the journey along the Tennessee River brought them to the Shoals area, where they were taken by train to Tuscumbia Landing before being transported by barges to begin the long trek to Oklahoma.

In Spring Park in downtown Tuscumbia, the Sacred Tears bronze statue memorialises the Trail of Tears and the friendship that Tuscumbia's residents displayed to the Native Americans during those times.

Natchez Trace

Follow the Natchez Trace Parkway to the visitor's centre and discover how a primitive trail became a national scenic treasure. Learn how Native Americans travelled the 444 miles between Natchez, Mississippi and Nashville, Tennessee over 8,000 years ago. Travel a little further and you'll reach Elvis Presley's birthplace in Tupelo, Mississippi.

Nearby Attractions

Elvis Presley's Birthplace in Tupelo continues to attract thousands of visitors from across the world. The city of Tupelo bought the home and surrounding property in 1957, with Elvis donating all proceeds from a 1957 concert to create a park for the neighbourhood children.

On the way back to 'The Shoals', drive the scenic route from Tupelo to the historic Appalachian village of Red Bay – home to country music star Tammy Wynette, one of country music's biggest-selling female singers, known as the First Lady of Country Music. Her best-known song, Stand By Your Man, is one of the best-selling hit singles by a woman in the history of country music.

Muscle Shoals