AEROSMITH frontman Steven Tyler's cover version of THE ROLLING STONES' 1971 hit "Brown Sugar" is featured on "Muscle Shoals… Small Town, Big Sound", a compilation album in tribute to Alabama's Muscle Shoals sound, which will be released September 28 on BMG. EXTREME guitarist Nuno Bettencourt also played on the track, which was recorded at FAME Studios.
Speaking with "Joe Rogan Experience" host/comedian Joe Rogan, Tyler described the song as "sick as fuck. He added about his version of "Brown Sugar": "We got all the players from way back then, the horn sections, got girls to sing it."
"Brown Sugar" by Tyler and Bettencourt will be available for instant download upon pre-ordering the album, starting August 31.
Rodney Hall's father was Rick Hall, celebrated founder of FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, who passed away in January 2017 after a half-century of making hit records — groundbreaking hit records. Rodney Hall has two brothers, and all three boys grew up in and around their father's studio. They played and watched while locals like Arthur Alexander and Percy Sledge became greats, and while greats like Aretha Franklin and Tom Jones would come into town.
The significance of Rick Hall and FAME Studios is clear. And to honor some of the quality historical productions of the studio, FAME Studios is going to release an album that pays tribute to the legacy Rick Hall anchored there in the unlikely small town of Muscle Shoals, with great contemporary musicians carrying it forward. The album, according to Rodney, is something that has been in the works and has been being discussed for a couple of decades, and has been being conceptualized in earnest for at least five years.
The compilation features many people who have recorded hits at FAME studios over the years, covering hit songs from generations earlier. You'll find artists such as Chris Stapleton, Alan Black, Alicia Keyes, Lee Ann Womack, Willie Nelson, Steven Tyler, Demi Lovato, Vince Gill, Kep Mo, Kid Rock, and even Candi Staton (now 78), who first met Rick Hall in 1968.
Rodney Hall remarked: "So this is about more than 50 years. We've got 25 artists in all, we've recorded 18 songs. It's really exciting." The effort was primarily co-produced by Rodney Hall and Keith Stegall (George Jones, Alan Jackson, Randy Travis) but is a truly collaborative effort by the community and features more than 100 local people from the music business lending a hand.
Side 1
01. Road Of Love - By Keb' Mo'
02. I'd Rather Go Blind - By Grace Potter
03. Brown Sugar - By Steven Tyler & Nuno Bettencourt
04. Gotta Serve Somebody - By Jamey Johnson, Willie Nelson, Chris Stapleton & Lee Ann Womack
05. I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You) - By Demi Lovato
06. Snatching It Back - By Kid Rock
07. I'll Take You There - By Aloe Blacc
08. Cry Like A Rainy Day - By Michael Mcdonald
09. True Love - By Vince Gill & Wendy Moten
10. Come And Go Blues - By Alison Krauss
11. Respect Yourself - By Mike Farris & The Blind Boys Of Alabama
12. Steal Away - By Eli "Paperboy" Reed
13. Wild Horses - By Alan Jackson
14. Mustang Sally - By Brently Stephen Smith
15. We've Got Tonight - By Chord Overstreet
16. Givin' It Up For Your Love - By Tom Johnston & Delbert Mcclinton