Muscle Shoals Information Page

Meet Muscle Shoals

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!

Meet Muscle Shoals

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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!

Stays in the Muscle Shoals area are featured in several of our escorted tours:

Southern Style
Country, Capitals, Jack & Coke
Soundtrack of the South
Meet The Music Makers

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. Also producing the remarkable talents of Hank Williams, Percy Sledge. Countless songwriters and performers are celebrated at the Hall of Fame. During your visit to the museum be sure step in to the Recording Booth and record your own “hit’ song. Be proud to be the latest superstar recording artist out of Muscle Shoals!

Working Recording Studios

The popular musical legacy of the region begins with the Florence born WC Handy. A world renowned composer and publisher known as the Father of the Blues. He was born in 1873. Another Florence native, Sam Phillips, was a disc jockey at a local radio station in the late 1940s. Then he left for Memphis Tennessee to set up his own recording studio and the legendary Sun Records.  He signed amongst others 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. There you can stand in the same spot as artists such as The Rolling Stones, Percy Sledge, Cher, & Lynyrd Skynyrd.

The list goes on…

Countless others have recorded in these famous studios. Some of those include 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 and lies 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 also 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. Preservation and restoration of historic homes and commercial buildings has made Tuscumbia a popular destination for visitors interested in history and antiquities. Belle Mont Mansion, a fine example of early 1800s antebellum architecture. The Colbert County Courthouse, built in 1881, is also worth visiting. As well as many of the historical downtown churches.

America’s First Lady of Courage

Ivy Green is an example of a 19th century home and it is where in 1880 Helen Keller was born. At the age of just 19 months an illness left Helen deaf and blind. Her father was advised to contact the Perkins Institute for the Blind in Boston, Massachusetts. 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 & 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. It has an original carriage which belonged to Helen Keller’s family and a vast collection of rail memorabilia.

Meet the Music Makers
Ivy Green - Helen Keller Birthplace
Fame Studio
Alabama Music Hall of Fame

Trail Of Tears

The railway line would also play an integral part in one of America’s monumental events: The Trail of Tears. The Trail of Tears was a series of forced removals of Native American nations from their ancestral homelands in the Southeastern United States. They would be taken to new Native Territory west of the Mississippi River. Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole people were removed from their lands and relocated to the west. For many, the journey along the Tennessee River from Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama would bring them to the Shoals area. Then they would be taken by train to Tuscumbia Landing. From there they would be transported by barges on the river to begin the long trek to Oklahoma.

Spring Park in downtown Tuscumbia

In this scenic park be sure to find the Sacred Tears bronze statue that memorialises the Trail of Tears and the friendship that the residents of Tuscumbia displayed to the Native Americans during those times.

Natchez Trace

Follow the Natchez Trace Parkway to the Parkway visitor’s centre and learn how a primitive trail became a national scenic treasure. Discover the parkway’s history and inhabitants, and how Native Americans travelled the 444 miles between Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee over 8,000 years ago. Then, by travelling just a little further you’ll come to Elvis Presley’s birthplace in Tupelo, Mississippi.

Nearby attractions

Elvis Presley’s Birthplace, in Tupelo is probably the most, significant and is still attracting thousands of visitors from across the world. The city of Tupelo bought the home and surrounding property in 1957. Elvis wanted a park for the neighbourhood children, so donated all the proceeds from a 1957 concert to help further the cause.

Red Bay Alabama and Tammy Wynette

On the way back to ‘The Shoals’ drive the scenic route from Tupelo to the nearby historic Appalachian village of Red Bay. Step back in time when you visit the local Red Bay museum. The museum features a large number of exhibits related to the history of the city, including a soda fountain from an early drug store and loads of other memorabilia. The museum also features a large exhibit on country music star Tammy Wynette. Although born just over the Mississippi border, Tammy called Red Bay home. Tammy Wynette, one of country music’s best known artists and biggest selling female singers, was called 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.

Just passing through? Don’t miss the area attractions – Download “Meet Muscle Shoals” from the app stores.

Special thanks to Colbert County Tourism for their support and assistance in making our visits to the Muscle Shoals Area, the best, most unique experiences possible for our guests!

Colbert Country Tourism