Producer Rick Hall, who founded Fame Studios and helped launch Aretha Franklin’s career, has died, aged 85.
Dubbed the father of Muscle Shoals music, Hall died early on Tuesday morning, according to the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.
His Fame Studio and publishing company became a hot bed for soul talent, including Franklin, Etta James, and Wilson Pickett, while Hall also recorded tracks for the Beatles and country legend George Strait.
He co-founded Fame in 1959 and quickly lured the likes of Roy Orbison and Brenda Lee to record there.
He produced the first gold record in Muscle Shoals history with Arthur Alexander’s You Better Move On, which was later recorded by the Rolling Stones.
Hall went on to strike a major distribution deal with Capitol Records, which brought the likes of Marie Osmond and Paul Anka to his studio, while Gregg Allman recorded his final album, Southern Blood, at Fame.
Rick Hall was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in 1985 and he published his memoir, The Man from Muscle Shoals: My Journey from Shame to Fame, in 2015.
