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Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, Sheffield, AL

Photo: A1bi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

ToursIconicHistory Buff

Muscle Shoals Sound Studio

3614 N. Jackson Hwy · Sheffield, AL

Why you should go…

Four session players known as the Swampers opened this studio in 1969 in a concrete block building that had been a coffin showroom. The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Paul Simon and Lynyrd Skynyrd all recorded here. Guided tours last roughly 45 minutes and walk you through the rooms where those records were made. The Muscle Shoals Music Foundation runs it as a museum by day, and it still works as a recording studio at night.

  • #recording studio
  • #music history
  • #guided tour
  • #muscle shoals

Good to know

General tours guidance

Habits that pay off across this whole category, not rules for this one venue. Always check the official site for the specifics.

  • Confirm the meeting point

    It is often a corner, a lobby, or a dock rather than the address you searched for. Check it the night before.

  • Small groups fill first

    In high season the intimate departures sell out well before the big-bus options do.

  • Ask how much is on foot

    Knowing how much of the route is walking, standing, or outdoors tells you what to wear and carry.

  • Read the weather policy

    Cancellation windows and rain rules vary by operator, and they are easier to find before you pay than after.

What's around here?

The closest stops to Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Tours
    History Buff

    FAME Recording Studios

    Under $25

    Take a guided tour of Studios A and B, where Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett and Etta James recorded.

    1.6 mi awayMore like this

  • Sightseeing
    History Buff

    Ivy Green

    Under $25

    Tour Helen Keller's childhood home and see the well pump where she first connected words to the world.

    2.7 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Sightseeing
    History Buff

    Shiloh National Military Park

    Free

    Drive the 12.7-mile tour road through the 1862 Shiloh battlefield, past the Hornets' Nest, the Peach Orchard and the national cemetery.

    46 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Museums
    Iconic

    U.S. Space & Rocket Center

    $25–$50

    See a Saturn V moon rocket, the Pathfinder shuttle stack and hands-on space exhibits at the home of Space Camp in Huntsville.

    58 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums