The musician and producer worked on recordings by
Aretha Franklin, the Rolling Stones and George Michael
Jimmy Johnson, co-founder of the celebrated Muscle Shoals sound studios and guitarist on Aretha Franklin’s Respect, has died age 76. His son Jay Johnson said he died on Thursday; the cause of death was not disclosed.
Johnson and his bandmates in the Swampers founded the studio in Sheffield,
Alabama, in 1969, after leaving the employ of Rick Hall and his nearby Fame studios. They were the first group of musicians to own a studio and later run their own publishing and production arms.