Muscle Shoals: A Look at Who Makes It Cook

THE MUSICAL traits that have earned the Muscle Shoals Sound Rhythm Section the respect and admiration of artists and producers around the world aren't obvious stylistic flourishes. Their fans — a constituency conspicuously dominated by other musicians, and including a fan club in Europe, where the MSS credit often means more than the featured artists — don't cite trade-marked guitar riffs or tell-tale keyboard runs, nor do they tout the section's strength in terms of a specific regional style.