Voting Station

Rick Hall

Please vote to return to collections.

Music Producer

The Resume

    (January 31, 1932-January 2, 2018)
    Born in Tishomingo County, Mississippi
    Roe Erister Hall
    Owner of Fame Studios (Muscle Shoals, Alabama; 1959)
    Known as the 'Father of Muscle Shoals Music'
    Formed the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section (later known as The Swampers) in 1966
    Produced albums for Otis Redding, Duane Allman, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, and Roy Orbison
    Author of 'The Man from Muscle Shoals: My Journey from Shame to Fame' (2015)
    Subject of the documentary 'Muscle Shoals,' directed by Freddy Camalier (2013)
    Produced hits that included 'Tell Mama,' 'I'd Rather Go Blind,' 'When a Man Loves a Woman,' 'Slip Away,' 'Steal Away,' 'Baby Don't Get Hooked on Me,' '(You're) Having My Baby,' and 'You Better Move On'

Why he might be annoying:

    He produced an Osmond Brothers album.
    This included their 'One Bad Apple' hit, which was a shameless Jackson 5 imitation.
    He had a notorious short temper, often tempered by excessive drinking.
    He actually named his publishing company Florence Alabama Music Enterprises. It was an acronym for 'FAME.'
    He clashed incessantly with FAME co-founders Billy Sherrill and Tom Stafford.
    He had a public falling out with the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section after they opted to break from FAME, partner with Jerry Wexler of Atlantic Records, and open a rival studio across town (although they later reconciled).
    He got into a fistfight with Aretha Franklin's husband following a recording session, over his refusal to fire members of the Rhythm Section for flirting with her (1967).
    When Larry King asked how he worked so well in a predominately black genre despite his Alabama roots, he answered: 'I'm one of them. I feel black.'

Why he might not be annoying:

    He launched the careers of countless music icons.
    He was raised by a single dad after his mother abandoned the family.
    He lost his first wife to a car accident, only a week apart from losing his father (1956).
    He produced the first gold record in Muscle Shoals history with 'You Better Move On' (1961).
    He was said to have been responsible for an estimated 350 million in record sales.
    He was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame (1985).
    He received with the John Herbert Orr Pioneer Award.
    He was honored with a Grammy Trustees Award in recognition of his lengthy producing career (2014).
    He built a music empire out of an ex-Tobacco warehouse he converted into a recording studio.
    He explained what he called a 'very natural' connection between the Country and R&B genres, despite appealing to different racial groups: 'Both songs often dealt with growing up dirt poor, trying to make life better, [and] hopeless love.'
    He said: 'I say that musicians are like basketball players. They need a manager to tell them when to drop a play.'

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 17 Votes: 70.59% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 112 Votes: 57.14% Annoying