Muscle Shoals Producer Rick Hall Dies

 Rick Hall, the record producer who helped develop the “Muscle Shoals sound,” died of prostate cancer at his home in Muscle Shoals, Ala., Jan. 2.

Todd Williamson/Invision/AP, File –
Producer Rick Hall accepts a Trustees Award during the 2014 Grammy Awards Special Merit Awards Ceremony in Los Angeles.

Hall, 85, founded Florence Alabama Music Enterprises (FAME) Recording Studios in 1959 where he recorded stars such as Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, George Jones, Brenda Lee, Paul Anka and The Osmonds, among the many.

 Hall was nominated for a Grammy Award for producer of the year in 1970 and presented a Trustees Award at the 2014 Grammy Awards.   

Artists including Jason Isbell shared memories of Hall and praised his contributions to the industry. 

Isbell tweeted: “Rick Hall and his family gave me my first job in the music business, and nobody in the industry ever worked harder. Nobody. American music wouldn’t be the same without his contributions. His death is a huge loss to those of us who knew him and those who didn’t.”