Results for “Muscle Shoals”

I only ever met George Henry Jackson once, but it was an occasion I’ll never forget. In January 2010 my Ace colleague Dean Rudland and I left our Muscle Shoals hotel in the small hours of the morning, to drive several hundred miles in weather conditions that ‘appalling’ would be far too kind a word to describe, braving snowdrifts and sub-zero temperatures at an ungodly hour to keep a 10AM appointment to interview George and Harrison Calloway at Malaco’s famous Jackson, MS studios. We were nervous and excited at the prospect of meeting a couple of our musical heroes, and the fact that we were a little late in arriving made us even more so – particularly as both men were already sitting in the Malaco lobby waiting for us when we got there.

Etta James, who died aged 73 on 20 January 2012, was one of the greatest and most influential soul and R&B vocalists of all time. A regular in the Ace catalogue since our earliest days, Etta is currently represented with six collections of her classic recordings for the Modern and Chess labels.

She was born Jamesetta Hawkins in Los Angeles on 25 January 1938. Her mother Dorothy was just 14 at the time. Dorothy’s older sister Cozetta and her husband James acted as Jamesetta’s legal guardians until she was six months old, when Dorothy handed her over to foster parents.

Lula and Jesse Rogers had no children of their own and raised Jamesetta well. They sent her for tap dancing, ballet and drama classes and every year to summer camp. On Sundays she accompanied Lula Rogers to St Paul Baptist Church where the renowned Professor James Earle Hines directed the Echoes Of Eden choir. Jamesetta took voice tuition from Professor Hines, piano lessons from his wife and became a local child celebrity, performing on weekly radio broadcasts.

When Lula Rogers died in 1950, Jamesetta was taken in by Dorothy’s older brother and his wife. The upheaval brought out a rebellious streak in her. She bounced from school to school and began hanging around with street gangs. She became friendly with the Balinton family and joined the Lucky Twenties gang with one of the girls, Umpeylia. After one particularly violent rumble, Jamesetta was sent to a juvenile home for a month.

In 1953 she began singing with her friends Abye and Jean Mitchell, naming themselves the Creolettes. They worked up an act performing jazz songs and numbers by their favourite groups the Spaniels and the Chords. While singing at a record hop they got to meet the Midnighters, in town to promote their hit record ‘Work With Me, Annie’. After the show the girls sat down and wrote ‘Roll With Me, Henry’ in response to the Midnighters’ song.

Abye, the eldest of the Creolettes, inveigled her way backstage at a Johnny Otis show and persuaded him to audition the group. Otis liked their sound and offered them the chance to make some records.

On Thanksgiving Eve 1954 the girls entered the studio of the Bihari brothers’ Modern Records, one of LA’s leading independent labels, to cut ‘Roll With Me, Henry’, with Richard Berry helping out as the voice of Henry. Within days Otis was playing a dub of the song on his radio show. As a gimmick he invited listeners to phone in and suggest a name for the group, but he’d already decided to rechristen them the Peaches and to switch around Jamesetta’s name to Etta James, giving her lead billing.

Lest it prove too suggestive for airplay, the song was re-titled ‘The Wallflower’ upon its release in January 1955. The record entered the R&B charts in February, rising to #1, where it remained for a month. The Peaches were unhappy with Etta getting the main attention, but not as miffed as she was when Georgia Gibbs took her sanitised cover version of the song to #1 on the pop charts, or when a legal dispute delayed royalty payments.

Etta and the Peaches took to the road as featured vocalists with the Johnny Otis Show until Dorothy Hawkins reappeared to help extricate her daughter from her contract. By this time Otis had also discovered and recorded Etta’s friend Umpeylia Balinton, dubbing her Little Miss Sugar Pie. The Peaches did not sing on Etta’s next hit ‘Good Rockin’ Daddy’ or any of her other records, but they continued to tour with her, sometimes with Sugar Pie’s sister Francesca filling in.

Etta spent the next few years working the chitlin’ circuit. More records for Modern followed – including some cut at Cosimo Matassa’s studio inNew Orleans– but none were hits. She made many friends on the road, including Sam Cooke, Johnny “Guitar” Watson, Little Willie John, Little Richard, Ruth Brown and Jackie Wilson.

In 1957 Etta met John Lewis, who became her manager. She worked on a bill with the Moonglows in Washington, DC and fell for their leader Harvey Fuqua. She and Fuqua recorded a single together, which Modern issued as by Betty & Dupree. With her career in the doldrums, at the suggestion of one of the Moonglows, Etta headed to Chicago, the home of Chess Records.

Her timing was good. Co-founder Leonard Chess was on the lookout for new female singers and signed her up, buying out her Modern contract. Her first job at the company was to sing background on Chuck Berry’s ‘Almost Grown’ and ‘Back In The USA’. While awaiting her own first session, Etta and the Moonglows took off on a tour of the South, where they all got busted for possessing drugs.

In January 1960 Etta recorded ‘All I Could Do Was Cry’, co-written by Motown’s Berry Gordy. The record was released on Chess’ jazz subsidiary Argo in March. It entered the Billboard Hot 100 two months later, peaking at #33 and at #2 on their R&B chart. By the end of 1960 Etta had amassed four hits, including two more duets with Harvey Fuqua.

Now 22, Etta began recording songs from a bygone era in an attempt to appear more sophisticated. Her version of the Glenn Miller evergreen ‘At Last’, with a lush orchestral arrangement by Riley Hampton, and her album of the same title were big sellers in 1961, setting the scene for ‘Trust In Me’, ‘Dream’, ‘It’s Too Soon To Know’ and many others.

Etta’s new success enabled her to buy a house in Los Angeles, but her mother got involved and messed up the deal. The place was about to be repossessed when Leonard Chess intervened and purchased the deeds, allowing Etta to remain there.

Etta was in New Orleanswhen she first tried heroin, thinking it was cocaine, and overdosed. In Indianapolis she was jailed for possession until John Lewis stumped up a bribe to get her out. On tour with her band, she witnessed her bass player and saxophonist both die from overdoses.

Leonard Chess came to the rescue again and arranged for Etta to be admitted to a convalescent home to clean up, but while there she was diagnosed with tetanus, from which she was lucky to survive. Months later, drug-free, she headed for New York, where she met up with Lewis; her downward spiral began again.

Etta and her friend Esther Phillips, a fellow addict, took to cashing bad cheques, for which Etta was caught and served time in New York’s Rikers Island prison. The dud cheque scam also landed her a four-month stretch in Cook County, a tough jail in Chicago. Other spells in prison and rehab followed.

But drugs did not impair Etta’s art. By the end of 1964 over 20 of her singles had reached the Billboard or Cash Box R&B charts, most of them also entering the Hot 100, including ‘Don’t Cry, Baby’, ‘Something’s Got A Hold On Me’, ‘Stop The Wedding’ and ‘Pushover’, all of which went Top 40. Her album “Etta James Rocks The House”, recorded live with her band the Kinfolks in Nashville in 1963, also sold well.

Etta yearned for a child. She attempted buy a baby from Mexico, but ended up getting ripped off. When the wife of Kinfolks saxophonist Garnel Cooper gave birth to twins, Etta offered to adopt one of them. She took care of the boy, but after six months his mother reclaimed him.

Despite all her troubles, Etta continued to make great records, including the duets ‘Do I Make Myself Clear’ and ‘In The Basement’ with her old friend Sugar Pie DeSanto (Umpeylia Balinton) and an excellent album, “Call My Name”, produced by Monk Higgins.

In 1967 Chess flew a pregnant Etta to Muscle Shoals to record at FAME Studios. The sessions yielded one of her biggest hits, ‘Tell Mama’; one of her greatest recordings, ‘I’d Rather Go Blind’; and the “Tell Mama” album, her best-seller. She returned to FAME in 1968, son Donto in her arms. It was the last time she would ever see Leonard Chess.

Later that year bounty hunters caught up with Etta and escorted her to Anchorage, Alaska to face charges dating back two years. After 10 days in jail she was bailed to await trial, which took three months, during which time she landed a regular club gig, where she met and fell in love with Artis Mills. The case against her was eventually dropped, with the proviso that she not return to Anchorage for five years. She and Mills married and headed back to Los Angeles.

When in 1969 Leonard Chess died, Etta was concerned she might lose her house, but a few days later she took delivery of an envelope he had left for her. It contained the deeds. Even in death Chess treated her well.  

By 1972 Artis Mills had also succumbed to addiction. Etta and he resorted to pulling scams, cashing stolen cheques and worse to raise the money for drugs. They were on the run in Texas when narcotics agents arrested them. Exhausted by their Bonnie and Clyde lifestyle, for the sake of his wife Mills took the rap. He was jailed for 10 years and Etta was released on the condition that she enrol in a methadone programme.

Chess gave Etta a desk job at their New York office and arranged for her to get treatment, but before long she was hooked on both methadone and heroin. Again she was arrested and forced to return to Los Angeles to face outstanding charges. While her lawyer negotiated a deal with the courts, Etta went to work on the “Etta James” album with producer Gabriel Mekler. The record revealed a more rock-styled Etta and reached the pop and soul charts.

When her case came up, the judge gave her a choice: serve time in the notorious Corona Institute women’s prison or be admitted for therapy at the Tarzana Psychiatric Hospital. She chose Tarzana. The programme was tough, but worked, and Etta became a prize patient. She was allowed out for more recording sessions with Mekler and in 1974 released the album “Come A Little Closer”. Etta left Tarzana after 17 months and set up home with one of her counsellors. Her second son Sametto was born in 1976, not long after the release of “Etta Is Betta Than Evvah!”, her final Chess album.

In 1976 Etta and her band flew to Switzerland to perform at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Her first post-Chess album was “Deep In The Night”, produced by Jerry Wexler, who also set it up for her to open for the Rolling Stones on their US tour of 1978. Her next LP “Changes” was recorded in New Orleans with producer Allen Toussaint.

Etta had just finished the sound check for a gig in Dallas in 1981 when she encountered her husband Artis, who was out of jail on parole. She returned to visit him after his discharge to a halfway house and they reunited. The couple would remain together until Etta’s death.

Etta’s career received a boost in 1984 when she was asked to perform at the opening ceremony of the Los Angeles Olympics. Although she never considered herself a blues singer, a resurgence of interest in the music kept her in live work, but problems with substance abuse continued to plague her. In 1988 she booked herself into the Betty Ford Clinic in Palm Springs to overcome a codeine dependency.

In 1988 Chris Blackwell signed Etta to his Island label, for which she recorded two albums produced by Barry Beckett. While in Nashville for the sessions she made a point of visiting the man she had been brought up to believe was her father, fabled pool player Minnesota Fats.

Etta received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm & Blues Foundation in 1989. In 1992 she reunited with Jerry Wexler for the album “The Right Time”. Wexler also successfully campaigned for her induction into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame the following year. Etta also attended the 1994 ceremony to present an award to Johnny Otis, the man who had discovered her. Her autobiography Rage To Survive, co-written with David Ritz, was published the following year.

After several previous nominations, Etta won the Best Jazz Vocal Performance Grammy for 1994’s “Mystery Lady”, her album of songs associated with Billie Holiday. Seven further albums for Private Music followed, culminating in 2003’s “Let’s Roll”, which won the Best Contemporary Blues Grammy.

Etta had suffered from weight problems ever since childhood. A side effect of her drug use was that it had kept her slim. Without drugs she became increasingly obese. When all other remedies failed, Etta resorted to gastric bypass surgery. In 2004 a new slender Etta released “Blues To The Bone”, winning a Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album. The “All The Way” album followed in 2006.

In 2008 Etta was portrayed by Beyoncé Knowles in Cadillac Records, the film based on the story of Chess Records. The two women posed happily together for photographers at the Hollywood premiere, but Etta made headlines later when she criticised Beyoncé for singing ‘At Last’ at President Obama’s inauguration ball.

Subsequently, Etta was treated for several serious health issues. While hospitalised she became infected with the MRSA virus and was diagnosed with sepsis. Her family also revealed that she had been battling Alzheimer’s disease for two years. Etta’s final album “The Dreamer” was released in 2011, a few months before her death.

While the physical world is in lockdown we're working to meet your listening needs over on Spotify and Deezer.

Release date: 04/09/2020

Rationals: Punchy garage and blue eyed soul from the Ann Arbor group that should have ruled the world. (Compiled by Dean Rudland)

Mirwood: From1965-1968 Mirwood produced the best uptempo Northern Soul dance records, bar none. (Compiled by Dean Rudland)

Goldwax: The ultimate label where soul and country meshed and made musical magic. (Compiled by Dean Rudland)

Release date: 13/08/2020

Funky Blues: The blues never died and in the late 60s and early 70s some of the best musicians mixed in contemporary funk to create an explosive fusion. Here are 24 of the best cuts. (Compiled by Dean Rudland)

Doo Wop Girls: Female vocal groups from the Golden Age of American Rock’n’Roll. (Compiled by Mick Patrick)

Millie Jackson: An incisive introduction to one of the greatest soul singers, a snapshot of her finest work recorded for the Spring label. Southern soul deepies, funky dancers and disco grooves.

Release date: 17/07/2020

Mellow Cats And Kittens: Cool Cats, Crazy Cats, Top Cats, Hot Cats and Mucho Mellow Cats (and Kittens)! Strictly the Hippest R&B Anywhere. (Compiled by Tony Rounce)

James Carr: Possibly the greatest voice in Southern Soul with his definitive work. It doesn't get any better than this. (Compiled by Dean Rudland)

Disco Grooves, Dancefloor Moves: The sound of the dancefloor, from proto-disco moves and the roots of modern dance to full on hands-in-the-air classics. (Compiled by Dean Rudland)

Release date: 03/07/2020

Female R&B: Three dozen feisty examples of early 60s female R&B. (Compiled by Mick Patrick)

Rock'n'Roll: Thirty top-notch rock’n’roll floor-fillers from the 50s, 100% guaranteed to please your ears and treat your feet. (Compiled by Mark Lamarr & Tony Rounce)

Breaks, Beats and the Birth of Hip Hop: The roots of hip hop taking in block party classics, jazz, funk and other beats. (Compiled by Dean Rudland)

Release date: 19/06/2020

R&B: A Playlist that's a Party - the Rockin’est 1950s Rhythm & Blues selection you’ll ever need! (Compiled by Mark Lamarr & Tony Rounce)

Vocal Groups: An Ace Street Corner Serenade Special! 1950s Black American Vocal Groups, Doo-Woppin’ what they do best. (Compiled by Mark Lamarr & Tony Rounce)

Teen Pop: Clean-cut pop rockers and teen ballads from the late 50s and early 60s. (Compiled by Mick Patrick)

Release date: 05/06/2020

Southern Soul: The sublime Sound Of The Soulful South – Memphis, Muscle Shoals, Miami and more. From deep to dancers, and definitely much more besides! (Compiled by Tony Rounce)

Sister Soul: Sweet Girls, Deep Girls, Southern Girls, Northern Girls, Funky Girls, 60s Girls, 70s Girls – but always 100% Soul Girls! (Compiled by Tony Rounce)

Gil Scott-Heron: Politics as art and poetry with cross generational impact.  Gil’s formative work is as relevant today as it was when it was recorded. (Compiled by Dean Rudland)

Release date: 22/05/2020

Doo Wop: Rockin’ n rollin’, mambo, strollin’, and some real cool school doo wop from the finest sharp-dressed Californian vocal groups of the 1950s. (Compiled by Roger Armstrong).

Big City Funk: 'Sunroof top, Diamond In the back..' the sound of a cruise through mid-70s New York, Chicago or LA. Heavy grooves, funky horns and power to the people. Discos are getting started but they're the gritty kind. (Compiled by Dean Rudland).

Northern Soul: Timeless rhythms from geniuses of black music. Laid down in the 60s but still moving heart and feet today. (Compiled by Ady Croasdell).

Release date: 08/05/2020

Street Funk: Take an ounce of James Brown, a pinch of the Meters, and little more Dyke & The Blazers, then stir well. Real funk for party people, obscure 45s, hidden LP tracks and discoveries from old tape reels. Guaranteed to move your feet. (Compiled by Dean Rudland).

Surf Instrumentals: Boss instro sounds from the early 60s surf, drag ‘n’ hotrod scene – let there be twangin’ guitars, poundin’ drums and honkin’ saxes! (Compiled by Mick Patrick).

Release date: 24/04/2020

Girls with Guitars: A collection of guitar-wielding all-girl bands, drop-dead female frat rock, garage girls and axe-centric she-pop from the 60s. (Compiled by Mick Patrick).

Where the Girls Are: A cornucopia of heartrending 1960s Girl Group sounds from all corners of the USA. Think castanets, anguished teenage sirens, Svengali-esque producers and mini-sonatas about dreaming, dancing and boyfriends (sometimes deceased). Get the picture? (Compiled by Mick Patrick).

Mod Jazz: Razor-sharp soulful jazz, Latin beats and a touch of the blues for the ultimate Soho basement party. (Compiled by Dean Rudland).

Funk Soul Sisters: Heavy funk and breakbeat soul from the coolest singers on the block. (Compiled by Dean Rudland).

Spiritual Jazz: Progressive jazz for the mind and the soul. These 70s greats help you to find your spiritual centre. (Compiled by Dean Rudland).

Funky Jazz: Funky organ, blaxploitation themes and acid jazz grooves from the hippest players on the scene. (Compiled by Dean Rudland).

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Vintage southern soul is more popular now than at any time since its mid-60s heyday. Timeless songs and genre-defining singing enjoy an appreciation that extends way beyond hardcore devotees, and the southern soul fan club just gets bigger and bigger. The music produced by Fame Records’ founder Rick Hall and the incredible musicians, performers and songwriters who plied their trade in his studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama have contributed greatly to this growing popularity.

Although others would emerge in its wake, it was FAME Studios that put the “Muscle Shoals Sound” on the map. Artists such as Wilson Pickett, James & Bobby Purify, Arthur Conley, Clarence Carter, Candi Staton and Aretha Franklin cut some of their most important hits there in the 60s. As well as performers, Fame also cultivated the writing talents of – among others – Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham, and published many of southern soul’s most revered songs.

Muscle Shoals eventually became a recording Mecca for artists from all genres of popular music, and FAME’s remit expanded to embrace Bobbie Gentry, Tom Jones, Mac Davis, Paul Anka, Liza Minnelli and – perhaps most famously – the Osmonds. These and others all made a different kind of memorable music under Rick Hall’s supervision, but it’s the incredible southern soul recordings which poured out of FAME in the 1960s upon which the studio’s reputation stands.

We’re very proud of the CDs in our Fame reissue programme. A listen to any one of the nine featured here will show why. 

There weren’t many early Northern Soul venues that didn’t feature artists from the legendary Mirwood label, so it was joy to discover in 2004 that Ace had purchased the Mirwood and Mira labels, resulting in Jackie Lee’s ‘The Duck’ getting a fresh, digitalised outing on “The Mirwood Story Volume 2” along with Jimmy Conwell’s “Cigarette Ashes” and Mine Exclusively” by the Olympics. Both Lee and the Olympics also got their own solo sets on Kent along with an Afro-Blues Quintet Plus 1 release on Beat Goes Public.