Famous Shoals faces

Helen Keller

You can’t begin talking about famous Shoals residents without discussing the woman who gained the nickname of the “First Lady of Courage.”

An illness thought to be scarlet fever left Keller deaf and blind as a toddler. In 1887, the family hired Annie Sullivan to teach the child, who had become wild and unruly. Sullivan changed Keller’s life.

Keller went on to lead a life of achievement. Learning Braille, she often read and wrote. She graduated from Radcliffe College and became famous worldwide.

Today, her birthplace, Ivy Green in Tuscumbia, is a tourist favorite. Summer productions of “The Miracle Worker,” a play about Keller and Sullivan, are performed at a stage behind the home.

W.C. Handy

William Christopher Handy, who is called the “Father of the Blues,” was born in 1873 in a log cabin in Florence.

Handy went on to compose the “St. Louis Blues” and other recordings, including the “Beale Street Blues” and “Memphis Blues”.

Handy helped create and popularize the genre of “the blues.”

In all, he composed 40 songs that he considered genuine “blues” music.




Sam Phillips

Since his childhood in Florence, Phillips was fascinated by the radio.

That interest grew into a profession in the field, both behind the microphone and in administration. Ultimately, Phillips would own his own radio stations.

But he’s more known for his accomplishments as founder and owner of Sun Records in Memphis, Tenn.

It was there in 1953 that he discovered a young Mississippi talent named Elvis Presley.

He also discovered Jerry Lee Lewis and others, and was the first person to record B.B. King and Ike Turner.

Fred Thompson

Being a retired U.S. senator is enough of a claim to fame, but Thompson is known for other roles as well.

The Sheffield native who later moved to nearby Lawrenceburg, Tenn., and became a U.S. senator is seen on the widely popular “Law and Order,” in the role of District Attorney Arthur Branch.

An attorney in real life, Thompson served on the minority counsel on the Senate Watergate committee.

He served in the Senate from 1994-2002.




Ozzie Newsome

His uncanny ability to make circus catches earned him the nickname, “The Wizard of Oz.”

Today, Newsome is better known as one of the best general managers in the National Football League.

When Newsome was named to the Baltimore Ravens’ position, he became the first African-American to achieve the title of general manager in the NFL.

Newsome grew up in Leighton and played for Colbert County High School.

He went on to earn All-American honors at the University of Alabama.

He was a first-round draft pick for the Cleveland Browns in 1978 and continued his success all the way into the NFL’s Hall of Fame.

Percy Sledge

From the moment the initial strains of that classic song comes on, you anxiously wait for him to kick in with those first six words that also are the song’s title, “When A Man Loves A Woman.”

The voice of Leighton native Percy Sledge was made legendary by that tremendous 1966 hit song.

Sledge went on to record other soulful rhythm and blues tunes, including “Warm and Tender Love,” “It Tears Me Up,” and “Take Time to Know Her.”

He was among the pioneers who made Shoals music famous.




Ed Yeilding

From the West Coast to the East Coast in 68 minutes, 17 seconds.

On March 6, 1990, former Florence resident Ed Yeilding dropped jaws across the nation when he flew an SR-17 Blackbird jet coast-to-coast in that amount of time.

That amounts to an average of 2,189.94 mph.

The mark shattered the 27-year-old previous record of 3 hours, 38 minutes.

Yeilding retired from the U.S. Air Force as a lieutenant colonel in 1996.

Dred Scott

His name is synonymous with some of the earliest fights for civil rights, but not many realize he lived for a short time in Florence.

Scott moved to Florence in 1820 with his owner, Peter Blow, and worked with him at a hotel Blow owned. Scott’s job was to keep the horses of travelers who stopped at the inn.

He lived in Florence until 1830 when Blow moved to St. Louis. Blow died in 1832 and Scott was sold to Dr. John Emerson for $500. He moved with him to Illinois and Wisconsin.

In 1846, Scott sued for his freedom, claiming he should be free because he lived on free soil.

The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled against Scott in 1857. Still, the case’s fame widened the political gap between the North and South and sent the nation closer to the Civil War.

Bill Yoast

Yoast grew up in Florence, loving the game of football. That ultimately led him to a long high school coaching career, but the 1971 football season ultimately led to his fame.

That is the year integration combined two high schools and Yoast found his role changing from head coach of Alexandria High School in Virginia to assistant coach at the new T.C. Williams High School.

Yoast, who is white, bonded with head coach Herman Boone, who is black. Ultimately, the team bonded and won the Virginia state championship that season.

The way the white and black teammates bonded helped bring the community together, and served as the inspiration for the 2000 hit movie, “Remember the Titans.”

Natalie Chanin

The high-society world of fashion design never caused Chanin to forget her Florence roots.

Chanin founded “Project Alabama” in 2000, with a factory in Florence.

The designs range from T-shirts to eveningwear.

She has become renowned in the design world, which celebrates the uniqueness and incredible detail of her lines.

But Chanin’s work is more than meets the eye. They also focus on environmental efforts. Many products come from recycled T-shirts.
Stewart Cink

Cink, a mainstay among the professional golf ranks, fine-tuned his skills on the golf courses of the Shoals.

The Bradshaw High School graduate and Florence native turned professional in 1995 after graduating from Georgia Tech University. He joined the Professional Golf Association Tour in 1997.

On tour, Cink has won three major tournaments and been a part of the 2000 Presidents Cup and two Ryder Cup Teams. He has earned more than $25 million on the tour.

The 35-year-old lives in Duluth, Ga., but still has family in Florence and he and his family routinely come to Florence for visits.

Annually, he sponsors a charity golf tournament at Turtle Point Yacht and Country Club for the Healing Place, a local nonprofit organization that helps children deal with death. The event attracts many of Cink’s PGA tour friends to the area.

Angela Hacker

The 29-year-old Hacker is one of the long list of locals to gain national recognition through the Muscle Shoals Music spectrum.

She burst onto the national music scene in 2007 when she won top spot on the nationally televised “Nashville Star.” She defeated her brother Zac for the title.

Her debut album, “The Winner is Angela Hacker” was released April 3, 2007.

In 2008, Hacker, who lives in Muscle Shoals, signed a record deal with FAME Records, of Muscle Shoals. She was signed to Rick Hall Music, a division of Fame, in 2005.

Queen

The grandmother of “Roots” author Alex Haley was the illegitimate and unacknowledged daughter of James Jackson III and his slave, Easter.

Queen lived and worked for several years on the Forks of Cypress plantation, which was owned by the Jackson family, just north of Florence. The house was given its name because Big Cypress Creek and Little Cypress Creek border the plantation and converge near the site of the main house, which was struck by lightning and burned in 1966.

Queen was highlighted in a 1993 CBS movie, “Alex Haley’s Queen.” Haley, the award-winning author of Roots, began writing the book about his grandmother but died before it was finished. The book was completed by David Stevens, a friend of Haley’s.
The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section

The group, made up of Barry Beckett, Roger Hawkins, David Hood and Jimmy Johnson, was just a house band, working backup for music artists coming through the Shoals in the 1960s and 1970s, the heyday of the Muscle Shoals Music Scene.

The group has appeared on classic recordings by top-named artists. They began their career at Rick Hall’s FAME Studios, appearing with Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Clarence Carter, Arthur Conley and Etta James.

In 1969, with the support of Atlantic Records and producer Jerry Wexler, they opened Muscle Shoals Recording Studios at 3614 Jackson Highway in Sheffield. There, the group worked with R.B. Greaves, Rolling Stones, Paul Simon, Bob Seger, the Staple Singers, Willie Nelson, Leon Russell and Rod Stewart among a list of others.

The group was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in 1995 and in 2008 into the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville.

Josh Willingham

Willingham will be making his debut with his second professional baseball team this year as a member of the Washington Nationals.

After three seasons with the Florida Marlins, the 30-year-old Mars Hill graduate and former University of North Alabama standout was traded to Washington during the off-season.

The Florence resident was drafted by the Marlins, and after spending time in the minor leagues and playing several positions including catcher, he emerged as the starting left fielder for the Marlins. He’s expected to bolster Washington’s offensive attack.

Billy Reid

New York Magazine recently named Billy Reid’s store in New York the best menswear store in New York City.

Reid, who grew up in Louisiana, moved to New York to pursue a career in fashion, working for companies such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Reebok. After Sept. 11, Reid decided to return to the South and open his flagship store and corporate headquarters on Court Street in Florence.