The performers who recorded at the studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama read like a "Who's Who" of popular music: Arthur Alexander, Percy Sledge, Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, the Staple Singers, Paul Simon and many more.  Long before white settlers arrived in this area, a Cherokee myth claimed that a sweetly singing voice could be heard from beneath the waters of the Tennessee River at Muscle Shoals.  This talk explores how both music and myth shaped the history of Muscle Shoals, revealing how the region transformed from a physical place into a sound and musical brand, into a culturally-revered aesthetic.