 The Memphis sessions at the American Sound Studio were produced by Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd, and Arif Mardin; with the back-up vocal band Sweet Inspirations; and the instrumental band Memphis Boys, led by guitarist Reggie Young and bass guitarist Tommy Cogbill.The producers recognised that Springfield's natural soul voice should be placed at the forefront, rather than competing with full string arrangements.At first she felt anxious when compared with the soul greats who had recorded in the same studios.