David Hood was born in Sheffield, in the Shoals area, in 1943. He learned to play a variety of instruments at high school, including trombone, guitar and bass. During his studies at the University of North Alabama, he played with a group called the Mystics, whose members had all attended Sheffield High School. They booked some time at FAME to record some of their songs and worked with Rick Hall, who later called on Hood to join sessions for other artists, when the regular bass players were unavailable. He later visited FAME Studios to play trombone on James & Bobby Purify’s recording of “I’m Your Puppet” in 1966.
Rick Hall must have been impressed by that contribution and also by the versatility of a session man who could play at least three instruments. Hood was added to FAME’s second session band. He was soon playing bass on sessions with Clarence Carter, Irma Thomas, Etta James, Laura Lee, and Wilson Pickett. He missed out on the sessions with Aretha Franklin in 1967, as Tommy Cogbill joined the sessions on that day.
When the four members of the second FAME session band decided to set up their own recording studio in 1969, David Hood was able to play on sessions with a wider range of artists, including the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Millie Jackson, and Solomon Burke, who all came to Muscle Shoals Sound to record. He also played at Quin Ivy’s Norala Studio, where he backed Percy Sledge and many other artists.
In 1973, he played with the UK band Traffic, and between 2014 and 2016, he toured with Mike Scott’s Waterboys.
David Hood playing with Traffic in 1973
Photo: Heinrich Klaffs (Wikimedia Commons)
