- This small building and the small town of Muscle Shoals, Alabama was a store that sold coffins.

That's kind of spooky, but in 1969 it became the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, and together with fame recording studio, they made sounds that would flow out of the small Alabama town and flood the world with new and wonderful music.

One day, even the British Rock band the Rolling Stones came to town.

Why did the Rolling Stones come to Muscle Shoals, Alabama?

the Rolling Stones are one of the world's most popular and important rock and roll bands.

They're from London, England, which is home to some of the world's greatest rock music.

In 1969, they left London, which had a population of 7.5 million people, and traveled 4,288 miles to Muscle Shoals, Alabama which had a population of only 7,000.

They came because when it came to making music, this small town had magic.

(rock music) Muscle Shoals had a special sound.

In the early 1960s, Rick Hall, an Alabama musician, opened fame recording studios in Muscle Shoals.

He worked with a group of local musicians including the singer Arthur Alexander.

And in their first recording session they created the number one hit song, "You Better Move On".

It was so popular that it was recorded in England by the Rolling Stones.

The mix of local Alabama musical talent and the latest innovative recording technology combined to create special music unique to Muscle Shoals.

This is the actual recording console where the music would come together.

It was the beginning of a time when the Muscle Shoals sound would lead to many hit songs.

In the 1960s you couldn't just play a new song on your phone.

Songs came on vinyl discs called records.

Musicians from all over the world would travel to Muscle Shoals to share in the magic of making these records.

Did the magic in the music come from the local musicians?

From the recording technology?

Well, there was one ingredient that many musicians said really made the music special.

Black and white musicians worked together.

Much of the music that came out of Muscle Shoals was created during the 1960s when Alabama was segregated.

Segregation means that black and white people were not treated equally and were kept separated.

But in the recording studios of Muscle Shoals, black and white musicians worked side by side.

Many of the hit songs were collaborations between a group of white Alabama musicians that called themselves the Swampers, and black musicians like Alabamian Percy Sledge, who called the Swampers his family.

They made history when their recording of "When a Man Loves a Woman" became a number one hit.

Their common love of music allowed them to work together successfully in a time when laws were in place to try and keep them apart.

When they played music everyone brought their own talents and ideas to the song.

This not only helped create great songs, but allowed some musicians to become some of the best in the world.

Aretha Franklin became the Queen of Soul when she found her voice at Muscle Shoals.

New types of music came out of Muscle Shoals.

Soul music is a blend of gospel music, blues and jazz.

It began during the 1950s and 60s in African American communities throughout the United States.

There were Chicago Soul, Memphis Soul, New Orleans Soul.

It was kinda like barbecue where each area had its own flavors.

Well, these places had their own style of soul music.

Some were more jazzy, others, more bluesy.

Before Aretha came to Muscle Shoals she was a good soul singer, but she wasn't the queen.

Muscle Shoals soul music inspired Aretha Franklin to create some of the most well known soul songs ever.

These soul songs earned her the title Queen of Soul.

There were plenty of great soul musicians who found a home at Muscle Shoals, including Wilson Picket and Etta James.

As a musician once said, everyone walked out of Muscle Shoals with a hit record.

There was something magic in Muscle Shoals.

Dwayne Allman found that magic as well.

He was a guitar player who had a crazy idea that he and Wilson Picket should record a soul version of a rock song by the Beatles.

The song was not only a hit, but the beginning of a new style of music called Southern Rock.

You probably know one of the most famous southern rock songs.

It is of course, "Sweet Home Alabama".

The music that came out of Muscle Shoals, Alabama remains an inspiration to musicians and is still heard around the world.

It was a rural place where musicians of all races worked together to create music that no one had ever heard before.

That is why the Rolling Stones came to Muscle Shoals.

That is why many musicians still come to Muscle Shoals.

(rock music ends) (laughing)