EDDIE O’ROURKE AT RCA’s STUDIO B, NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
by eddie on Jan.20, 2010, under E
Nashville, Tennessee is home to one of the most well known recording studios in the United States…RCA’s Studio B. Legends of the music world such as Elvis Presley, Floyd Cramer, Boots Randolph, Willie Nelson, The Everly Brothers, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chet Atkins and Eddy Arnold recorded there. Atkins also produced hundreds of hits with stars of the country and pop charts at Studio B.
On a session break outside Studio B.
The studio was built by Dan Maddox in 1957, at the request of guitarist Chet Atkins and Steve Sholes of RCA Victor Records. Chet said the plans for the studio were drawn on a table napkin by RCA’s chief recording engineer Bill Mittenburg. The building, located at 222 5th Avenue South, took four months to construct and opened in November of 1957. The studio is a single story building with offices in the front half. The area of the studio and control room has a second story which contains an echo chamber.
In the late 50″s and through the 60’s, Elvis did a substantial amount of recording work at Studio B. Chet Atkins was producer at those dates and also played guitar on many of Elvis’ early hits. Chet quickly learned that Elvis preferred to begin recording later in the evening and on through the next morning. Consequently, Atkins got into the habit of being on hand to over-see the start of those midnight runs and left to go home and sleep while Elvis and the other musicians were creative into the wee hours.
Studio B gained fame in the 1960’s for being in the vanguard for what many refer to as “The Nashville Sound.” A style promoted by Chet Atkins and a handful of Music City musicians and characterized by the use of lavish string sections and vocal backgrounds. The style became very popular and helped to open country music to a whole new audience of up-town listeners. It also established Nashville as an international recording mecca.
Recording session in 'The House That Chet Built."
I had the pleasure of recording at Studio B on a few occasions. Mostly demo records for songwriters and as a guitarist in sessions for commercial release from time to time. It was not uncommon on such dates to jam a little as set-up was in progress. So there I sat, on one of those sessions, playing all my best Chet Atkins finger-picking riffs. As I came to the close of the piece, I got a tap on my shoulder and a voice drawled “gee…you sound just like Chet!” I swung around on my stool, preparing to greet my new fan…only to discover that I was face to face with “Mr. Guitar” Chet Atkins in the flesh. As I did my best to recover from my chance meeting with a childhood idol, Chet proceeded to tell me about a recent meeting of his own. Seems he’d been on the road and was filling some spare time at a local music store. A guitar caught his fancy and he sat down to play a few licks. A young, budding guitarist came along and stopped to give a listen. When Chet finished playing, the kid declared “you’re pretty good…, but you’re no Chet Atkins!” Chet, not having the heart to introduce himself, simply accepted the critique and went on his way. Fact is, you can’t talk about RCA’s Studio B and The Nashville Sound without recognizing the dominant force that Chet’s playing and management were in shaping Music City as we know it today.
In 1977 the studio became available to The Country Music Hall of Fame for tours. In 1992 Studio B was donated to The Country Hall of Fame by the estate of Dan Maddox. The facility is currently co-operated by The Country Music Hall of Fame and Belmont University. Tours are still conducted daily.