Jimmy Johnson
Oral History Information
Jimmy Johnson was a co-founder of the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Alabama along with fellow studio musicians Roger Hawkins, Barry Beckett and David Hood. The four musicians, known as the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, started playing together in and around Jimmy’s hometown of Sheffield, Alabama, not too far from where his studio would later stand. He began recording with Frame Studios before establishing his studio in 1969. Jimmy was also the engineer for the Rolling Stones’ album Sticky Fingers, which included such classics as “Brown Sugar,” “Wild Horses,” "You Got to Move" and “Moonlight Mile.” Jimmy’s guitar can be heard on such recordings as Aretha Franklin’s "Respect," and "Think," Etta James’s “Tell Mama,” Wilson Pickett’s “Mustang Sally” and “Land of a 1000 Dances,” Paul Simon’s "Kodachrome," and “Loves Me Like a Rock,” the Staple Singer’s “I’ll Take You There," Jimmy Cliff’s “The Harder They Come” and Arthur Conley “Sweet Soul Music” among others.