Muscle Shoals ~ The Hit Capital's Heyday & Beyond

by C.S. Fuqua

From Dexter Johnson's garage studio to James Joiner's "A Fallen Star," Tune Records to FAME and Muscle Shoals Sound studios, Aretha Franklin to the Rolling Stones, from the beginning to present day--Muscle Shoals: The Hit Capital's Heyday & Beyond is an updated, expanded version of Music Fell on Alabama, the original book-length history of the Muscle Shoals music industry, first published in 1991, chronicling the cooperation of black and white producers and artists during one of the most volatile times in U.S. race relations, cooperation that produced many of the most celebrated and enduring songs of all time.

Much has been written about the Muscle Shoals music industry and even a movie produced, most accounts crediting the area's phenomenal success to some mystical power divined from the Tennessee River. Myth makes for good drama, but Muscle Shoals: The Hit Capital's Heyday & Beyond details the true source of the industry's success: the tenacious determination of talented individuals obsessed with the desire to make a difference in music.

And what a difference they made...

180 pages, Paperback

First published June 18, 2014

About the author

C.S. Fuqua's work appears widely in publications as diverse as Bull Spec, Main Street Rag, Iodine, Brutarian, Slipstream, Pearl, Bogg, Chiron Review, The Year's Best Horror Stories, Cemetery Dance, Christian Science Monitor, Honolulu Magazine, Naval History, The Writer, and many others. His published books include Rise Up short fiction collection, Trust Walk short fiction collection, If I Were (children's poems), Big Daddy's Gadgets (SF novel), Notes to My Becca, Alabama Musicians: Musical Heritage from the Heart of Dixie, and Divorced Dads, among others. Two of his books, Divorced Dads and Notes to My Becca, were published under the pseudonym C. Stephen Fouquet.

Fuqua is a full-time writer. His hobbies include music and crafting Native American flutes.

Reviews

[Dick Claassen · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you've never read the books of C.S. Fuqua, you're in for a real treat. "Muscle Shoals: The Hit Capital's Heyday and Beyond", is one of those treats. The only thing I really knew about Muscle Shoals before reading this book was that my hero Bob Dylan recorded several albums there. Other than that I'd only picked up a tale or two from nosing around online. Fuqua clearly loves Muscle Shoals and the great music it spawned. He has covered its rise to awesome musical power from beginning to end. We learn about the pioneers who took a real risk in trying to build the music recording industry, and we learn about the incredibly hard working musicians who made it all possible.

The clear love Fuqua has for his subject matter flows like a great, entertaining river as we read page after page of really interesting stuff. I especially enjoyed the many old photos sprinkled throughout the book. I'm visual by nature, and so, just like I love the photos in all those old "National Geographic" magazines, (don't we all?), I find this same enjoyment with the old historical photos displayed in the Muscle Shoals book. Fuqua's book is a first class compendium of influential music making in the 20th Century. His writing has true gravitas. I give this book 5 STARS.

[Ann Stevens · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is really irritating. Too many paragraphs listing names and histories of many individuals -- break up the narrative. I am not going to finish it. Irritating. Needed an editor!

[Ilena Holder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book by a great author who loves alabama.