The 'Alice in the Wonderland' actor will executive produce the series along with Greg Camalier, who directed the 'Muscle Shoals' documentary.
- Apr 27, 2018
AceShowbiz - Johnny Depp's new drama about the life of music mogul Rick Hall has been picked up by bosses at ABC. Hall, who was the brains behind the fabled "Muscle Shoals" sound, died in January, and now his life story is set to hit the big screen with Depp producing a TV series, based on the legendary producer's autobiography, "The Man from Muscle Shoals: My Journey from Shame to Fame", and the acclaimed 2013 documentary "Muscle Shoals".
Heart star Nancy Wilson has signed on as the project's executive music producer, while Greg Camalier, who directed the "Muscle Shoals" documentary which was a big hit at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, will also serving as an executive producer, alongside Depp.
The series will chronicle the birth of the "Muscle Shoals" Sound at Hall's Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, where artists like Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Etta James, Percy Sledge, and Otis Redding recorded.
The late music legend co-founded Fame in 1959 and quickly lured the likes of Roy Orbison and Brenda Lee to record there. He produced the first gold record in "Muscle Shoals" history with Arthur Alexander's "You Better Move On", which was later recorded by the Rolling Stones.
Hall went on to strike a major distribution deal with Capitol Records, which brought the likes of Marie Osmond and Paul Anka to his studio, while Gregg Allman recorded his final album, "Southern Blood", at Fame. Rick Hall was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in 1985 and he published his memoir, The Man from Muscle Shoals: My Journey from Shame to Fame, in 2015.
