The marker is located on the grounds of the Hampton Inn & Suites, the former site of the motel where the Rolling Stones stayed while recording in the Shoals.

Text from the front and back of the marker reads:

The Rolling Stones in the Shoals in 1969

The Rolling Stones stayed at the Florence Holiday Inn on this site for several nights while recording at the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield.

When a hired engineer failed to arrive, studio co-owner and “Swamper” Jimmy Johnson engineered the sessions on Dec. 2, 3, and 4, 1969. They recorded original songs “Wild Horses” and “Brown Sugar” and covered “You Gotta Move.” The band flew to San Francisco and debuted “Brown Sugar” at the infamous Altamont Free Concert on Dec. 6.

The 1970 tour documentary Gimme Shelter showed Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and other band members recording in the studio and later listening to playback of “Brown Sugar” in a room at the Florence motel. The footage was incorporated into the 2013 documentary Muscle Shoals.

The motel was later demolished and a Hampton Inn & Suites erected.

Erected on the 45th Anniversary of the Rolling Stones’ Visit to the Shoals.(side 2)
Sticky Fingers Ranks Among Greatest Albums

The three songs recorded in Alabama appeared on the acclaimed Sticky Fingers album released April 23, 1971. The album was listed as No. 63 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

“Brown Sugar,” their lead single, topped the charts in the U.S. and Canada, and was second in the U.K. Rolling Stone ranked it No. 495 among the 500 Greatest Songs of All Times and fifth on the list of 100 Greatest Guitar Songs.

A magazine poll selected “Wild Horses” as the fifth best Stones song. In the documentary Muscle Shoals, Richards says he completed writing lyrics during a bathroom break in the small studio, known within the recording industry as “3614 Jackson Highway.”

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The Rolling Stones in the Shoals in 1969

The Rolling Stones in the Shoals in 1969

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