" Sweet Home Alabama took that on directly"

The Bride and I just did the Natchez Trace, and stopped three days in NW Alabama. It was only then we understood the lyric,

Well, Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers ...

FTW, the Swampers were four teenagers who couldn't read charts that well, but could play.

The funky sound produced hits for Wilson Pickett, Percy Sledge, and a kid who'd released 9 jazz albums in four years without a single hit: Aretha Franklin.

Google "I never loved a man". It's a stunning recording, and Aretha's first chart-topper.

They then charted with Paul Simon (Kodachrome), Bob Seger (Main Street), and Rod Stewart (Tonite's the Night), who famously dragged his producer into the parking lot to ask the salient question: They're WHITE?!?

Yes, they were, but they had a groove: a funk which became known as the Muscle Shoals Sound.

They also recorded the Stones for three nights, and got Wild Horses and Brown Sugar; Keith called those three days the most productive sessions ever.

Ultimately, the Swampers ended up with over 500 charting hits, including 75 certified Gold or Platinum.

We were there for the 55th "Swampiversary", and I got to meet the last living Swamper.