“Paul Simon called Stax and said, ‘Who are those Jamaican musicians?’ They told him, ‘Those are some white boys from Alabama!’” David Hood on being starstruck by Aretha Franklin, what Otis Redding taught him, and tales from golden age of Muscle Shoals

David Hood of the Muscle Shoals rhythm section (The Swampers) performs on stage with Traffic at Birmingham Town Hall on Wednesday March 20 1973. He plays a Fender Jazz bass guitar. .

The “Muscle Shoals sound,” a drum-and-bass-heavy blend of soul, pop, and rock, defined the Golden Age of Southern R&B.

As the creators of that sound, studio strongmen David Hood, drummer Roger Hawkins, and the rest of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section (nicknamed the Swampers) provided the backbone for a succession of hits from soul acts like Wilson Pickett, and the Staple Singers, as well as groove-loving rockers like Boz Scaggs, Bob Seger, and Jimmy Buffett.