The Birmingham Sound: The Soul of Neal Hemphill celebrates the body of work recorded at the original Sound of Birmingham and Hemphill Studios in the working-class suburb of Midfield, AL. Although the material from these studios crossed all genres this compilation focuses on the soul music produced from the mid ‘60s till the late ‘70s. Neal Hemphill was a plumber by trade with a deep passion for music. He opened a studio in the basement of his plumbing shop to record local and touring acts and named it the Sound of Birmingham. The one difference between Neal’s studio and the others was that he welcomed all kinds of music by anybody willing to come in and play him a song. Some of that young talent was songwriters and performers like Frederick Knight, Roger Hallmark, Jerry Weaver, and Sam Dees, and Neal offered them staffed positions at the studio.

The 23 tracks on The Birmingham Sound: The Soul of Neal Hemphill are a rare glimpse into the beautiful output from a group of artists who based the discrimination of their peers on their ability to sing and write a song in a city historically known for violence and racial divide. More importantly, this compilation celebrates the foresight of a visionary man who brought these artists together. Besides the music, the CD is packed with insights Into Birmingham, Neal Hemphill, his studios, and the artists that worked with him by many of the Sound of Birmingham/Hemphill Studios alumni as well as a special contribution by legendary Birmingham radio personality Shelley Stewart.