Today we’d like to introduce you to LINDA HALL.
Hi LINDA, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
FAME Studios was started by my husband, Rick Hall. When we first married, Chad basically begged him not to remain in the music business as there wasn’t anything normal about it especially in the earlier days. The pay wasn’t consistent, the people could be shady, you just never knew what would be coming in the next days or weeks. Through the hardships of those early endeavors, that are too many to name here (read his book), he emerged with a few hit songs to start his career; one of which was ‘You Better Move On’ by Arthur Alexander and covered by The Rolling Stones. With some wind in his sail, Rick decided to take a loan out with my father as a co-signer for $12,000 and built our current location in 1962. Of course, an investment of that size was a make or break moment. The very first artist to record in our brand new, state-of-the-art studio was a young artist named Jimmy Hughes, cousin to the legendary Percy Sledge. Jimmy recorded the break out hit ‘Steal Away’ in these early sessions along with several other popular tracks of his — but ‘Steal Away’ was the big one.
It wasn’t long after this that Rick had heard an unreleased record that had been recorded down the road by a man named Quin Ivey. Not knowing what to expect, Rick agreed to listen to the record on a Sunday afternoon and what he heard was the original recording of ‘When A Man Loves A Woman’ by Percy Sledge. Knowing the potential of this song, Rick telephoned Atlantic Records executive, Jerry Wexler, up in New York. After encouraging Wexler that the song was a hit, Atlantic picked up the single and it became one of the top selling records in history. After this “proof of concept” that Rick knew what a hit sounded like, Wexler sent down a couple of separate artists recently signed to the label. One of which being Wilson Pickett, and the other being Aretha Franklin. Both of these young artists left their sessions here with career defining hits such as: ‘Mustang Sally’, ‘Land of 1000 Dances’, ‘Funky Broadway’, ‘Never Loved A Man’, and ‘Do Right Woman; Do Right Man’.
At this point, people “in the know” turned their attention to Rick and FAME and, slowly but surely, artists started coming to Muscle Shoals in search of their new hit records. The artists ranged from Etta James, Little Richard, Tom Jones, George Jones, Hank Williams JR, Otis Redding, Arthur Conley, Dobie Gray, Duane Allman and Greg Allman, Paul Anka, and so many more.
Now here we are nearly 65 years later at the same location; 603 E. Avalon Muscle Shoals, AL. We are still a functioning studio as well as a tourist destination, giving two tours a day. We record around 4-5 days a week on average and welcome artists of any degree to come work on their projects with us.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No, it has not been a smooth road. Number one Rick was very much a perfectionist and expected everyone around him to do any and every thing they did as well as they could possibly do. It was very stressful when we first married. We had no money, living in government housing and trying to raise a family and build a business at the same time. I made it known that I did not want him to be in the music business, I wanted him to go to work at one of the local factories and us have a normal life like everyone else I knew. He promised me that if within two years he had no success with music he would go to work at Reynolds. Of course, the first thing he cut on was “You Better Move On” BY Arthur Alexandra and was a hit. The second thing he cut was “Steal Away” by Jimmy Hughes and was a hit. So I lost before we even got started. It was really tough financially at first but that all changed with time. I never gave him an ultimatum of either me or the music because in my heart I felt he would have chosen the music. Of course, he denied that until he died.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I will answer the last question first. What sets me apart from others in the music business? I try to live my FAITH in every aspect of my life. I have never participated in the vices of a lot of people in the music industry. Rick always told me I would never be accepted because I didn’t drink etc., but I have had no problem being accepted. Everyone knows where I stand and respect it. As for the studio, our 65 year span is significantly longer than most studios lifespans.
I am a people person and I love meeting all of the people that comes thru the doors of FAME, whether it is an artist, musician, songwriter, background singer or one of the many tourist that come to visit FAME from all over the world. It is my joy to be able to share the history of our journey from poverty to where we are today.
I do the bookkeeping for 6 corporations and the day to day business dealings that it takes to keep a company running smoothly. I leave the recording up to our house engineers in the back.
I have 5 grandchildren that I am very proud of and the young adults that they have become and 3 sons who are very successful in their own right. I am proud of the fact that our company has survived many ups and downs over the 65 years that we have existed.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
The music business is a hard life. There are a lot of dishonest people in this business and you have to be very cautious when it comes to getting paid what is owed to you.
It takes a lot of talent, wit, determination, and people skills to succeed in this business. It it not all glitzy and glamor and some people may think it is — what they usually see is the upper crust of success; what labels and artists want you to see.
It’s also important to remember that things take time. “Overnight success” is not real in most scenarios.
Pricing:
- STANDARD TOUR $20 PER PERSON
- BACKSTAGE TOUR $40 PER PERSON
- STUDIO TIME IS NEGOTIABLE
Contact Info:
- Website: WWW.FAMESTUDIOS.COM
- Instagram: @fame_recording_studios
- Facebook: FAME Recordings Studios & Publishing Co.
