First opened in 1957, Nashville’s historic RCA Studio B is known as the “House of 1,000 Hits” and is open for tours through the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
Donn Jones courtesy of Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
First opened in 1957, Nashville’s historic RCA Studio B is known as the “House of 1,000 Hits” and is open for tours through the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
Donn Jones courtesy of Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
During its time as an operational recording studio between 1957 and 1977, RCA Studio B produced 45,000 songs and 1,000 certified hits.
Donn Jones courtesy of Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
With 45,000 recorded songs to its credit, including 1,000 certified hits, the historic RCA Studio B in Nashville is a must see for any music lover visiting Music City USA.
Opened in 1957 and located on Nashville’s iconic Music Row at 1611 Roy Acuff Place, RCA Studio B played host to some of the most iconic recording sessions in popular music history. Hits like “Oh Lonesome Me” Don Gibson, “Detroit City” by Bobby Bare and “I Will Always Love You” by Dolly Parton all came to live within the studio.
Officially donated to the Country Music Foundation in 1993, those wishing to tour the studio will meet at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum before boarding a bus for the short ride from downtown Nashville to RCA Studio B.
Brenda Allen is one of the tour guides providing visitors with a fun and historical look at the iconic recording studio.
“RCA Studio B opened its doors November 1957 and it operated as a very significant commercial studio until 1977,” Allen said as guests first stepped onto the studio’s brown checkered flooring.
Visitors step into a room featuring a musical timeline of sorts, detailing just a handful of the albums recorded at the studio in its 20 years of operation. While RCA Studio B is perhaps most associated with the Country genre, the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley, recorded more than 240 songs in the studio between 1958 and 1971. T
“He did more recording of hit recordings at Studio B than at RCA New York or L.A.,” Allen said.
Visitors to RCA Studio B are then shown a 1961 addition to the studio, known as RCA Studio D, which was primarily used for smaller recording projects.
Allen asked tour goers to clap their hands once, in unison to see what they noticed.
“It is a very simple way that we can test this room for what is called Sonic Integrity,” she said. “It is called total absorption of dead space. Studios should not echo. The only echo should be that which is somehow engineered into a recording.”
Guests also viewed a video showing an actual recording session featuring Jim Reeves recording “Blue Canadian Rockies” for his 1963 album The International Jim Reeves.
In the video, Reeves is pictured at the microphone, surrounded by session musicians as he finishes up his song. At the close of the tune, Reeves says, “I would like to do it one more time and hold the last note just a bit longer.”
“That is the heyday of Studio B,” Allen said.
Stepping into the actual recording studio of RCA Studio B, visitors can take a seat as they are surrounded by music history.
Allen then shares about a style of music developed at the studio by legends Chet Atkins and Owen Bradley known as “The Nashville Sound.”
“The Nashville sound, believe it or not, was developed to rescue Country music, which had taken a significant downward turn in the 1950s,” she said.
Thanks to the invention of Rock and Roll music, Country music experienced an overall decline in popularity, sales and radio airplay during that time period. The Nashville Sound is best characterized as featuring lush orchestral arrangements, such as Ray Price’s Grammy winning 1970 hit “For the Good Times.”
Looking around the room, one prominent item that stands out is a Steinway piano.
“It was built in 1942 by Steinway and Sons,” Allen said. “It came all the way from NBC Studios in New York when this studio opened and it hasn’t left the room since.”
Allen said the piano was a favorite of Elvis, who reportedly tried to purchase it multiple times.
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