It’s the end of a lyric. Barry Beckett, founding member of the session band The Swampers, died last Thursday. Millions of people have loved his music for four decades without ever knowing who he was, even when Lynrd Skynrd sang about them:
Now Muscle Shoals has got The Swampers
And they’ve been known to pick a song or two
Lord they get me off so much
They pick me up when I’m feeling blue
Now, how about you?
Beckett is survived by the sound he helped create: a unique crossroads of blues, rock, country, and soul known as “southern rock.” Muscle Shoals remains a complete secret to most music fans despite the incredible number of hits still coming from its studios today.
