Muscle Shoals Page #10

I can't say what

life will show me

But I know what I've seen

I can't say where

life will leave me

But I know where I've been

Tried my hand

at love and friendship

But all that

is past and gone

This little boy

is moving on

The song, "Sitting in Limbo,"

was such a fresh piece of music

that you couldn't

help but notice it.

Sitting in limbo

And so, definitely

the Swampers,

all white guys,

played their role

in bringing reggae

to the forefront of the public.

Sitting in limbo,

limbo, limbo

It was after those sessions

that Chris Blackwell

had the idea

to link them up

with Steve Winwood.

When we were going

through our formative years,

I started hearing

this Southern soul music,

and of course, I didn't

really have any concept

of Muscle Shoals

or the musicians

or their background

when I was first

hearing this music,

I just knew that the music had

something very special for me,

so when we actually

got to work with them,

it was an amazing

experience for us.

Sometimes I feel

so uninspired

Recording with Traffic

was a very strange thing.

It was... to me,

it was strange.

Of course, Traffic weren't

a mainstream band at all.

We would try and take elements

of rock, jazz, folk music,

all sorts of different

ethnic music.

Our own particular name for it

was Headless Horseman music.

But don't let

it get you down

They didn't go about recording

the way that we were used to.

At that time, I was

trying to be real precise.

Traffic was the exact opposite.

It sounds terrible,

let's play it anyway.

It might not ever sound

good, but let's play it.

It wasn't an immediate,

easy marriage.

But as time went on, I started,

I guess you might say,

opening up a little bit.

I was forced to learn

how to jam again.

The song that stands out

for me off that album

is "(Sometimes I Feel So)

Uninspired."

What Muscle Shoals

did to that song

was truly spectacular,

they brought

these rhythmic elements

and harmonic elements

that we could

never have reached.

And then, Chris Blackwell says,

"Well, we'd like for you guys

to go on the road

with us."

And so, we'd go out

and play with Traffic

at these big venues

and 20,000 people.

We were just thrilled

that they agreed,

but of course,

they'd actually never

been on the road with anyone.

There were times

when Jim and I and Chris

would get together

and sort of worry,

say, "Are we corrupting

these guys' minds?"

and that their music

possibly came out

of some sort of innocence.

We suffered a certain

amount of guilt for that.

Musicians are pretty noted

for the gypsy life,

moving around and playing

a different venue every night,

but we really liked

our family life.

When I first started in music,

I had visions of New York

and Los Angeles and travel,

different places,

and the more I've done that,

the more I've realized

that this is the best place.

It is my home

and I love it here.

We had many opportunities

to move our operation.

We thought,

"People would come to us."

Why would we have to go to them

"when they'll

come to us?"

Sometimes even now

When I'm feeling

lonely and beat

I drift back in time

and I find my feet

Down on Mainstreet

I'm gonna tell you,

working with Bob Seger

was just magnificent,

it really was.

He was the kind of guy

that he had no ego.

Down on Mainstreet

And "Mainstreet" is one

of my really favorite cuts.

Seger really put

his heart in that one.

Most of the people in Detroit

and the Muscle Shoals people

thought they were talking

about the Main Street

of their town.

We had a ten-year

run with him

that we were at least

doing half the album

each time he put out an album.

The studio just started

taking a life of its own.

Stars fell on Alabama,

and everybody who was anybody

came to record at that studio.

When I think back

on all the crap

I learned in high school

It's a wonder

I can think at all

When we really got

moving in the '70s,

we were doing like,

50 albums a year.

It was one of the best rooms

I've ever worked in.

The sound was like

the perfect sound.

It was the sound that

you'd been going for

everywhere else,

but couldn't get,

and that's why

it became the place

where everybody

wanted to record.

I got a Nikon camera

I love to take a photograph

So Mama, don't take

my Kodachrome away

We were very fortunate

to get to work

with a lot of the big stars.

Bob Dylan, Paul Simon,

Boz Scaggs, Staple Singers.

Rod Stewart, Joe Cocker.

I mean, I just

named you a list.

Johnnie Taylor.

Glenn Frey.

Leon Russell.

Willie Nelson.

Levon Helm.

Donnie Fritts.

Carlos Santana.

John Prine.

Millie Jackson.

R.B. Greaves.

JJ Cale.

Dire Straits.

Simon and Garfunkel.

Mama, don't take

my Kodachrome

Mama, don't take

my Kodachrome

Mama, don't take

my Kodachrome away

Still amazes me today

that all that music

was played by us guys,

a lot of the music was hits.

You look back,

you see the discography,

we're as amazed as anybody.

My whole life

has been based on...

a lot of rejection,

and to be honest with you,

I think rejection

played a big role

in my life because

I thrived on it.

I wanted to prove the world

was wrong and I was right.

I was rejected by my mother.

I was rejected by schoolmates

because I was

poverty-stricken.

As I grew older, I was rejected

by Atlantic Records

with Jerry Wexler.

I don't think I've

ever been more angry

than I was at Jerry Wexler

and the Swampers who

left me at that time.

It was bitter.

But that all passes with time.

Those things change.

My respect for Rick Hall

is never-ending.

He was our mentor.

He gave all of us

an opportunity

that we would have

never gotten without him.

We all got our start

working with Rick Hall.

Rick is really the founder

of the music business

in Muscle Shoals.

These are guys that I love

with all my heart,

and we'd worked

together for years,

who wanted, like I did,

to become special

in the music business.

Because they played on so many

of these wonderful hit records,

they will take their place

in the history

of American music.

That's the great thing

about recording.

From there on, you're immortal

because it's in

the grooves, right?

Everything that

everybody's done here,

it came from their heart,

and that's what makes

Muscle Shoals so powerful.

What music built there

is not something

that you can see with your eye.

In fact, if you look

at the recording studios,

they were humble shells,

but what they contained

was an empire

that crossed race

and creed, ethnicity.

It was revolutionary.

I'm honored to step

in the place of people

who I wish I could have met.

You know, there's still

a piece of Etta here,

there's still a piece

of Aretha here,

there's a piece of everybody

who walked through these doors.

There's a perfect storm here.

Everybody needs to know

all the different nuances

that went into making

this thing happen

and all the stars aligning

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