Fame Album DiscographyThe first rhythm section was made up of some local musicians, members of the group Dan Penn and the Pallbearers, who recorded in a warehouse on Wilson Dam Road. The songs they cut with Arthur Alexander, including "You Better Move On" [Dot 16309], allowed Fame to build a new studio at 603 E. Avalon Avenue, where the studios remain today.
The next "rhythm section" was David Briggs, Norbert Putnam, Earl Montgomery, Terry Thompson, and Jerry Carrigan. They played on hits by Tommy Roe, the Tams, and Joe Tex, and later went on to various careers in the music business as writers, producers, and performers.
The next "rhythm section," David Hood, Roger Hawkins, Jimmy Johnson, Junior Lowe, and Barry Beckett, were perhaps the most famous, being around during the period when Fame Studios was recording Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Clarence Carter, Candi Staton, and the Purifys. This rhythm section, as a group, established a rival recording studio in 1969 called "Muscle Shoals Sound Studio," which after some years was sold to Malaco Records of Jackson, Mississippi.
After the above group left Fame, a new "rhythm section" was hired. It was during this time that Rick Hall established Fame Records, and it this group of musicians that appears on the first Fame Album, billed as the "Fame Gang." They were Junior Lowe, Harrison Calloway, Jesse Boyce, Aaron Varnell, Ronnie Eades, Mickey Buckins, Harvey Thompson, Clayton Ivey, and Freeman Brown.
Other studio musicians have come and gone over the years, and Fame Records lasted as an entity until the mid-1970s.
The first Fame label was black with silver print. At the top was the Fame logo, which was the word
"fame" in lower case type (each letter a different color), surrounded (except for the bottom) with a thin
double yellow line. To the left of the center hole, in white print, it said, "Recorded at Fame Recording
Studios, 603 E. Avalon Ave., Muscle Shoals, Ala." Bending around the bottom of the label in small white
type was, "MFG. BY CAPITOL RECORDS, INC."
After leaving Capitol's
distribution, Fame was distributed by United Artists. The Fame logo changed to a 3-D logo
with block letters that got smaller in perspective as they went into the distance. The label had clouds and
a red, yellow, and green swirl graphic.
We would appreciate any additions or corrections to this discography. Just send them to us via e-mail. Both Sides Now Publications is an information web page. We are not a catalog, nor can we provide the records listed below. We have no association with the record label listed on this page. Should you be interested in acquiring albums listed in this discography (which are all out of print), we suggest you see our Frequently Asked Questions page and Follow the instructions found there. This story and discography are copyright 2006 by Mike Callahan.
