Co-founder of Muscle Shoals, Jimmy Johnson

Jimmy Johnson, session guitarist, producer and co-founder of a renowned music studio, has died aged 76.

Johnson’s son Jay announced his death on Facebook, writing: “He is gone. Playing with the angels now.”

It was confirmed he died on Thursday although the cause remains unknown.

Johnson was a founding member of Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in 1969 and might be best known as a guitarist playing on Aretha Franklin’s Respect.

Along with his band The Swampers, the guitarist established the studio in Alabama, having parted ways with Rick Hall at the nearby Fame studios.

As a session guitarist in the Muscle Shoals rhythm section, Johnson played on hundreds of recordings including albums by the likes of Aretha Franklin, Paul Simon and Lynyrd Skynyrd. They also performed with the Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, Bob Dylan and Wilson Pickett – becoming one of the most prominent studio house bands in America.

Such was their influence in the music industry, they were referenced a number of times in the work of the artists they played with.

They were name-checked in Lynyrd Skynyrd’s 1974 hit Sweet Home Alabama and appeared on the front cover of Cher’s 1969 album 3614 Jackson Highway.

The record, a flop, was named after the studio’s first address – a former casket factory.

Johnson played guitar for a number of artists himself too, including Lulu and Bobby Womack, and worked with others to engineer countless classics.

He produced George Michael’s Careless Whisper, Wilson Pickett’s Don’t Know My Love and the Rolling Stones’ Brown Sugar sessions.

Growing up in Alabama, Johnson said in a 2014 interview that his father and Chuck Berry were his early influences.

“My dad tried everything in the world to get me to play country music in the early years. It bored me.

“My inspiration came when I heard Chuck Berry play. Chuck provided me with a little song called Johnny B. Good.

“When I heard that tune on our local AM radio, I absolutely had to learn how to do that.”

Picture: Getty. Jimmy Johnson at the Muscle Shoals premiere during the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.