Six-time GRAMMY-nominated music scholar Rob Bowman has teamed with Malaco Records—America’s longest-running independent label—to release ‘Land of a Thousand Sessions: The Complete Muscle Shoals Story 1951-1985’ on November 25, 2025. This nearly 750-page tome offers the definitive, never-before-told history of how the tiny hamlet of Muscle Shoals in northwest Alabama became “The Hit Recording Capital of the World.” Bowman masterfully utilizes meticulous research, including long-lost historical documents and first-hand accounts from an unbelievable group of nearly 100 key players, such as Mavis Staples and Mick Jagger—many of whom have since passed on or never spoken on the record before.
The book vividly chronicles how Muscle Shoals’ nine recording studios became the epicenter of American popular music, driven by the “dogged determination” of producer Rick Hall. It captures the region’s role as a soul powerhouse, recording genre-defining hits for Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, and Percy Sledge (from studios like Fame, Quinvy, and Muscle Shoals Sound), before expanding into a rock and pop haven for acts like The Rolling Stones, Paul Simon, Bob Seger, and Joe Cocker. Later, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the area pivoted again to become a magnet for country artists, producing classic recordings for Willie Nelson, Hank Williams Jr., and Jerry Reed.
Bowman, who previously earned praise for his definitive Stax biography, Soulsville U.S.A., utilizes his gifts for evocative storytelling to detail this unlikely saga of musicians, producers, and engineers. His work continues to gain acclaim, most recently helping to adapt his Stax biography into an HBO multi-part documentary series, Soulsville U.S.A., which was honored as a 2025 Peabody Award recipient. ‘Land of a Thousand Sessions’ promises to be the essential document on this critical chapter of American music history.
