“In Muscle Shoals, Alabama, music runs through the hills, the river, and the spirit of the people. It is a place where, even before the Civil Rights Movement really took shape, the colour of your skin didn't matter inside the studio…” 

So reads publicity surrounding the beautiful, informative and at times heart wrenching documentary Muscle Shoals, about the town of the same name and its importance in American (or perhaps global) music history.

“In Muscle Shoals, Alabama, music runs through the hills, the river, and the spirit of the people. It is a place where, even before the Civil Rights Movement really took shape, the colour of your skin didn't matter inside the studio…” 

So reads publicity surrounding the beautiful, informative and at times heart wrenching documentary Muscle Shoals, about the town of the same name and its importance in American (or perhaps global) music history.

Located on the banks of the Tennessee River, Muscle Shoals, Alabama is the unlikely breeding ground for some of the most creative and defiant music in American history. Under the spiritual influence of the nearby "Singing River" as local Native Americans have called it, songs were created like  "I'll Take You There", "Brown Sugar", "When a Man Loves a Woman", "Mustang Sally", "Tell Mama" and "Freebird" – which are just a few of the tens of thousands of genre-busting tracks created there.

At the centre of the tale is Rick Hall, founder of FAME Studios. He brought black and white musicians together there without boundaries, which at the time was scandalous and in some people’s opinion, verging on the illegal.

Pulling in an amazing 96 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes, the compelling watch brings together artists like Aretha Franklin, Greg Allman, Bono, Clarence Carter, Jimmy Cliff, Mick Jagger, Etta James, Alicia Keys, Wilson Pickett, Keith Richards, Percy Sledge, Steve Winwood and others, who all wax lyrical about the importance of Muscle Shoals then, and why it remains a global influence today.

It’s a little on the lengthy side, but for those that love the idea of kicking back for a couple of hours to watch a collection of cool people telling great stories then comes highly recommended. And whether you’re a fan of the Muscle Shoals style or not you’ll find the story of the place pretty damn fascinating.

Another great doco showing this week that is equally as loved by viewers and critics alike is Friday’s THE GREAT HIP HOP HOAX, a documentary following a pair of young Scottish blokes as they affect over the top American accents and proceed to fool everyone they encounter with fake hip-hop persona's.

Engaging, entertaining and at times just plain bloody eye opening, it recounts an outrageous story with humour, care and honesty, revealing some nasty truths about the music industry in the process. Watching the pair fooling everyone from concertgoers to record executives is really quite astonishing, and for me there were plenty of “what the..?” moments from beginning to end.

It’s the work of documentarist Jeanie Finlay - also responsible for Sound It Out – and is the story of white rappers Silibil'n'Brains, who seized the post-Eminem moment to land lucrative Sony contracts. They claimed to be Californian skate punks; in fact, they were Billy Boyd and Gavin Bain, two young upstarts from Arbroath with a little talent and a grand plan.

Funny to the point of being hilarious at times, it also has its sad moments when more delusional personalities are put on display, which stops it from being just one long practical joke. The fact that Daniel Bedingfield emerges as one of the music industry’s savvier souls at the time speaks volumes, and with confessions from the scammers and insight from the music executives they fooled it makes for a bloody good watch.