Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum's Next Major Exhibition to Explore the Musical History and Impact of Muscle Shoals as a Recording Epicenter

The exhibit will be supported by a catalog, concert celebration, playlist and slate of opening weekend programs

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Sept. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum will open its next major exhibition, Muscle Shoals: Low Rhythm Rising, on Friday, Nov. 14, for a nearly three-year run. The more than 5,000-square-foot exhibit will survey the emergence of Muscle Shoals as a recording epicenter in the 1960s and 1970s and spotlight its enduring cultural impact. The exhibit is supported by OneLouder.

In a small corner of Alabama by the Tennessee River, local musicians, songwriters and producers created a swampy, Southern sound merging R&B, country, pop music and more. Muscle Shoals: Low Rhythm Rising tells the story of this distinctive music and how Black and white creators found a way to work together at a time when segregation prevailed. FAME Studio, helmed by producer Rick Hall; Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, home of the acclaimed Swampers house band; and other studios built a home-made system for cutting music dusted with grit and soul. Hitmakers flocked to this otherwise quiet community seeking a new sound created by homegrown talent.

Aretha Franklin had a career-defining moment in Muscle Shoals and Country Music Hall of Fame member Willie Nelson recorded his beloved Phases and Stages album there. Music recorded in Muscle Shoals included Arthur Alexander's "You Better Move On," Mac Davis' "Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me," Bobbie Gentry's "Fancy," Wilson Pickett's "Mustang Sally," the Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses," Bob Seger's "Old Time Rock & Roll," Paul Simon's "Kodachrome," Percy Sledge's "When a Man Loves a Woman," the Staple Singers' "I'll Take You There," Candi Staton's "Stand By Your Man" and much more. Enduring music continues to be made in the community today by the Alabama Shakes, the Drive-By Truckers, Jason Isbell, the Secret Sisters, John Paul White and others, with artists continuing to record in Muscle Shoals.

Watch an exhibit teaser video voiced by Jason Isbell.

"In Muscle Shoals, American music crossed lines that weren't supposed to be breached," said Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. "The Tennessee River flowed through this place, and instead of drawing a boundary, somehow forces came together. Black and white sounds, R&B, blues, soul and country met between the banks. A new rhythm rose and recording studios sprouted to nourish that rhythm. This exhibit takes an expansive look at the sound that forever changed popular music and continues to nurture a rich musical scene in northwest Alabama."

Neither the racial harmony nor the musical kind came easily. At the center of the exhibit is the "Aretha piano" from FAME, the instrument heard on numerous hits and the place where Franklin's life was transformed. It is where the force and the limits of the Muscle Shoals system were revealed. The exhibit will also feature an introductory film narrated by multiple Grammy award-winning artist Jason Isbell, a North Alabama native who worked at FAME.

The museum's curatorial and creative teams conducted more than 50 hours of filmed interviews with musicians, artists and others involved in the Muscle Shoals story. They collected an array of significant artifacts for display, including stage wear, instruments, original song manuscripts and more. Interactive elements within the galleries will incorporate audio recordings, original interview footage and historical photographs.

A selection of artifacts featured in the Muscle Shoals exhibit will include:

• Aretha Franklin piano – Franklin played this Apollo baby grand piano when she recorded her breakout pop and R&B hit, "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)," at FAME Studio in 1967. The instrument was in use at the studio from 1961 to 1970.
• Duane Allman electric guitar – Built in 1964, this was one of two sunburst-finish Fender Stratocasters used by Allman when he was a session musician at FAME Studios and Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, from 1968 to 1969. He traded this guitar to another Muscle Shoals musician, Mickey Buckins, who used it at sessions and performances.
• Wilson Pickett stage wear – Pickett wore this jumpsuit on the cover of his 1971 LP, The Best of Wilson Pickett, Vol. II. The album included Pickett's 1969 hit version of the Beatles' "Hey Jude," recorded at FAME Studio and a history-making showcase for guitarist Duane Allman.
• Mac Davis song manuscript – An early draft of handwritten lyrics by Davis to "Baby Don't Get Hooked on Me." Recorded at FAME Studio and produced by Rick Hall, the song was a #1 pop hit for Davis in 1972. He wrote it in response to Hall telling Davis that none of his new songs had a hook.
• Pops Staples electric guitar – This 1970 Fender Rosewood Telecaster was owned by Pops Staples of the Staple Singers. Most famously, he played it when the group performed "The Weight" with the Band in "The Last Waltz," the 1978 concert film directed by Martin Scorsese.
• Dan Penn jacket – Penn wore this floral brocade jacket in the early 1960s, when he was the lead singer with the Mark V, an R&B band from Florence, Alabama. Other members of the group included pioneering Muscle Shoals session musicians David Briggs, Jerry Carrigan and Norbert Putnam.
• Mac McAnally acoustic guitar – Musician, songwriter and recording artist McAnally used this 1967 Martin D-28 when he was a session musician in Muscle Shoals. 
• Candi Staton outfit – Staton wore this custom-made buckskin jacket and pants, embellished with feathers and leather fringe, in the 1970s. 
• Roger Hawkins drum – Muscle Shoals session musician Hawkins, the drummer in the Swampers, used this Slingerland snare drum with his first band, Spooner & the Spoons. The group, which included Spooner Oldham, Dan Penn and Junior Lowe, recorded at FAME Studio, c. 1965.
• Rick Hall fiddle – This fiddle belonged to FAME Studio owner, producer and songwriter Hall, who played at country square dances when he was a teenager.
• Patterson Hood acoustic guitar – Hood of the Drive-By Truckers used this Seagull S6 acoustic guitar to write songs for the band from 1995 to 2003.

Exhibition catalog
An illustrated and in-depth exhibition catalog will supplement the gallery presentation, with a foreword by Jason Isbell and main essays by exhibit co-curator RJ Smith. The catalog, available on Nov. 14, will feature historical photographs and artifacts from the exhibit, as well as supporting essays by Ericka Blount, Rob Bowman, Warren Denney, Stephen Deusner, Michael Gonzales, Marlin Greene, Patterson Hood and Francesca Royster. The catalog will be available through the museum's website and retail store, as well as distributed widely in bookstores and online outlets through a partnership with the University of Illinois Press.

Opening weekend concert and programming
In support of the exhibit's debut, the museum will host a concert celebration and variety of public programs during opening weekend. The concert and programs are made possible in part by PEDIGREE® and PEDIGREE Foundation.

Tickets to the opening concert in the museum's CMA Theater are sold separately, while programs in the Ford Theater are included with museum admission with reservations encouraged in advance. Tickets can be purchased or reserved here beginning this Friday, Sept. 12, at 10 a.m. Central. Read the full slate of festivities below:

• Muscle Shoals: Opening Concert Celebration – Friday, Nov. 14, at 7:30 p.m. (CMA Theater)
  The museum will host an all-star concert with artists and musicians involved in or inspired by Muscle Shoals' musical legacy, including Tiera Kennedy, Bettye LaVette, Wendy Moten, Spooner Oldham, Dan Penn, Maggie Rose, Shenandoah and John Paul White. The house band of Muscle Shoals aces will be led by guitarist Will McFarlane and include Mark Beckett (drums), Mickey Buckins (percussion), Kelvin Holly (guitar), Clayton Ivey (keys), Shoals Sisters Marie Lewey and Cindy Walker (background vocals), Charles Rose (horns), and Bob Wray (bass).
• Songwriter Session with Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham – Saturday, Nov. 15, at noon (Ford Theater)
  Singer-songwriter Penn and keyboardist-songwriter Oldham first met in Muscle Shoals in the late 1950s and have been writing and playing songs together ever since. Together, Penn and Oldham have written songs for James & Bobby Purify, Percy Sledge, the Sweet Inspirations and others. Additionally, Penn wrote Conway Twitty's 1960 hit "Is a Blue Bird Blue?" and such classics as "Cry Like a Baby" (the Box Tops), "Dark End of the Street" (James Carr), and "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" (Aretha Franklin). Oldham played on "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" (Aretha Franklin), "Mustang Sally" (Wilson Pickett) and "When a Man Loves a Woman" (Percy Sledge) and is Neil Young's longtime keyboardist.
• Panel Discussion: Making Music in Muscle Shoals with Linda Hall, Clayton Ivey and Candi Staton – Saturday, Nov. 15, at 2:30 p.m. (Ford Theater)
  Hall, Ivey and Staton will discuss living and making music in Muscle Shoals. Hall, who has been called "The First Lady of Muscle Shoals Music," was married to FAME Studio founder Rick Hall for fifty-six years. She co-owns the studio and still keeps its books. Ivey played keyboards at FAME in the 1960s and recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio before he founded Wishbone Recording Studio. He played on Clarence Carter's "Patches," Mac Davis's "Baby Don't Get Hooked on Me," Bobbie Gentry's "Fancy," the Osmonds' "One Bad Apple" and many more songs. Staton was born in Hanceville, Alabama, and grew up singing in the Jewell Gospel Trio. Her former husband, Clarence Carter, brought her to Muscles Shoals in 1968, where she became "The First Lady of Southern Soul" and also recorded a string of classic country-soul records.
• Musician Spotlight with Mac McAnally – Sunday, Nov. 16, at 1 p.m. (Ford Theater)
  Producer, musician and singer-songwriter McAnally is a 12-time Country Music Association Musician of the Year. He came to Muscle Shoals when he was a teenager in the 1970s, made his first recording as a studio musician at Wishbone Recording Studio in Muscle Shoals, and has also played on sessions at FAME and Muscle Shoals Sound studios. Among the songs McAnally has written are "All These Years" and "Thank God for You" (Sawyer Brown), "Back Where I Come From" and "Down the Road" (Kenny Chesney), "Old Flame" (Alabama) and "Two Dozen Roses" (Shenandoah). His songs have also been recorded by David Allan Coe, Ronnie Dunn, Sammy Kershaw, Charley Pride and Ricky Van Shelton. Additionally, McAnally is a longtime member of Jimmy Buffet's Coral Reefer Band.

Exhibition playlist
In anticipation of the opening, the official Muscle Shoals: Low Rhythm Rising exhibit playlist is now available on streaming platforms. The playlist features songs compiled by the exhibit's curators and follows the exhibit narrative across decades of music.

About Muscle Shoals
Muscle Shoals is the commonly used name for the region covering four small cities clustered on either side of the Tennessee River in northwestern Alabama — Florence, Sheffield, Tuscumbia and Muscle Shoals. In this quiet corner of the South, a thriving recording center was born, starting in the late 1950s. Prodded by FAME Studio owner Rick Hall and other like-minded entrepreneurs, local musicians, who were mostly white, collaborated with Black singers and turned out one hit after another: "You Better Move On" by Arthur Alexander, "Steal Away" by Jimmy Hughes and more.

In Muscle Shoals, Black and white musicians were creating together in the studio, making hit records that showcased Black artistry to the diverse American audience, and attracting artists from outside to come to Muscle Shoals. Alabama-born Wilson Pickett made some of his best music there ("Land of 1000 Dances," "Mustang Sally," "Funky Broadway"). Clarence Carter ("Slip Away," "Patches") and Etta James ("Tell Mama") made memorable music while in town, too.

In 1967, Aretha Franklin's breakthrough recording session at FAME sent ripples through Muscle Shoals with her pop and R&B hit, "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)." It took her music to an elevated place, while putting FAME's musicians in union with her powers. In 1969, Rick Hall's rhythm section left and opened their own studio. In time, these musicians would become known as the Swampers, and their new place, Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, took a novel approach, putting the house band in charge of the art and the business.

The Rolling Stones made a celebrated stop at the studio in 1969, recording "Wild Horses," "Brown Sugar" and "You Gotta Move." Other acclaimed albums were soon recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, including Paul Simon's There Goes Rhymin' Simon, Willie Nelson's Phases and Stages, Bob Seger's Night Moves and Stranger in Town, and Bob Dylan's Saved.

After the Swampers left FAME, Hall assembled another house band, the FAME Gang, the first racially integrated session band for the studio. Hall produced the hit album Fancy with country star Bobbie Gentry, Candi Staton's "I'd Rather be an Old Man's Sweetheart (Than a Young Man's Fool)" and "Sweet Feeling," Clarence Carter's "Patches," and multiple hits with the Osmonds ("One Bad Apple," "Yo-Yo," "Down by the Lazy River").

In the 1980s, as country music's hold on the pop market greatly expanded, much of the Muscle Shoals scene flowed toward country music. Mac Davis was a frequent hitmaker at FAME, and Alabama, Shenandoah, Hank Williams Jr., Jerry Reed, Mac McAnally and others recorded music in the Shoals.

Today, the regional presence of artists like Jason Isbell, the Alabama Shakes, the Secret Sisters, Gary Nichols, John Paul White and the musical community around Single Lock Records have established a lively contemporary Muscle Shoals scene. In recent years, the blend of artists coming to town to record in Muscle Shoals studios has included the Black Keys, Lana Del Rey, Phish, Chris Stapleton, the War & Treaty and others.

For more information on the Muscle Shoals exhibit and its supporting programs and elements, visit the exhibit landing page on the museum's website.

About the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum:
The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum collects, preserves and interprets country music and its history for the education and entertainment of diverse audiences. In exhibitions, publications, digital media and educational programs, the museum explores the cultural importance and enduring beauty of the art form. Among the most-visited history museums in the United States, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum was awarded the country's highest honor in the arts, the National Medal of Arts, in 2024. Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, the museum is operated by the Country Music Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) educational organization chartered by the state of Tennessee in 1964. The Country Music Foundation operates Historic RCA Studio B®, Hatch Show Print® poster shop, Haley Gallery, CMA Theater, CMF Records, the Frist Library and Archive and CMF Press. Museum programs are supported in part by Metro Arts and Tennessee Arts Commission.

More information about the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum is available at www.countrymusichalloffame.org or by calling (615) 416-2001.

OneLouder
Created by the City of Florence hoteliers, OneLouder is a Tourism Improvement District dedicated to strengthening tourism and enhancing the quality of life for residents in Florence, Alabama, and the surrounding region. This benefit assessment district is designed to deliver direct value to its payors by funding strategic marketing initiatives, sales promotions and capital improvements.

Mars, Incorporated (PEDIGREE®)
Mars, Incorporated is driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. As an approximately $55 billion, family-owned business with 150,000 Associates, our diverse portfolio of leading pet care products and veterinary services serve pets all around the world and our quality snacking and food products delights millions of people every day. We produce some of the world's best-loved brands including Royal Canin®, PEDIGREE®, Whiskas®, Cesar®, Dove®, Extra®, M&M's®, Snickers® and Ben's Original™. Our international networks of pet hospitals, including Banfield™, Bluepearl™, VCA™ and Anicura™ deliver high quality veterinary care and Antech™ offers breakthrough capabilities in pet diagnostics.

About PEDIGREE Foundation
We believe every dog deserves a loving, forever home. PEDIGREE Foundation is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization working to help end pet homelessness. Nearly 3.1 million dogs end up in shelters and rescues every year, and nearly half never find a home. The foundation was established in 2008 by Mars Petcare, maker of PEDIGREE® food for dogs, to help increase dog adoption rates. We've awarded more than 6,300 grants and over $14 million to U.S. shelters and rescues that help dogs in need. Since launching our Canadian grant program in 2022, we have provided $345k CAD to local shelters and rescues in need across Canada, as well as $20k CAD in Disaster Relief. At PEDIGREE Foundation, we're working toward a day when all dogs are safe, secure, cared for, fed well and loved. See how you can help at PedigreeFoundation.org.

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