RCA Studio B

02/01/2025

In November of 1978, the Harlem Globetrotters brought their beloved road show to Music City's Municipal Auditorium, resulting in a feature on ABC’s "Wide World of Sports." The episode, which aired in January of 1979, featured some of country music’s biggest stars, including Roy Acuff, Tom T. Hall, Marty Robbins, Charley Pride, Barbara Mandrell, and Ronnie Milsap.

"They are the best thing that's happened since apple pie, and we need more family entertainment like 'em," said singer Johnny Paycheck. Cameras followed the Globetrotters as they dribbled their way around significant Nashville landmarks such as Opryland, Music Row, and the Parthenon. Near the end of the special, the Globetrotters found themselves gathered around the piano at Studio B, with Ronnie Milsap on keys for a rendition of the blues standard "Stormy Monday."

"My goal is to make people happy and has been the eighteen years I've been with the Globetrotters," said Hubert "Geese" Ausbie. "We enjoy [what] we do, and I guess the reason we do is because we play or perform every night of the year. Keeping people happy is what we like best about the audiences."

For nearly a century, the Globetrotters have brought their feats of athleticism and slapstick humor to sidelines and headlines around the world, acting as a uniting cultural force—much like music—both at home and abroad. "We are the ambassadors of goodwill," said Globetrotter Frederick "Curly" Neal. "Anytime we can bring two and a half hours of peace and good relationships—bring the family out that maybe has problems and worries—that makes us feel [good]."

01/29/2025

Country Music Hall of Famer Don Gibson recorded "Oh, Lonesome Me" for RCA Victor at Studio B on December 3, 1957, during the studio's first operational year.

Producer Chet Atkins assembled a band from Nashville's A-Team of top studio pros to play on the session. An outsider joined them: Knoxville-based drummer Troy Hatcher, who played on Gibson's demo recording of the song.

Atkins recalled, "Don sent me a demo from Knoxville, and it had two songs he'd written in one afternoon—'Oh, Lonesome Me' and 'I Can't Stop Loving You.’ He had made 'Oh, Lonesome Me' in a small, live room, and the bass drum was going [makes a whop-awhop, whop a-whop sound with his hand]. So, I called him and said, 'Who's that drummer?' And he said, 'That's Troy Hatcher.' So, I said, 'Bring him over.' I realized this was a different sound. The record was different because we mic-ed the bass drum, and I don't think that had ever been done before. It was a new sound, so fresh and different for the time."

Gibson and Hatcher had worked together on WNOX’s "Mid-day Merry-Go-Round," an influential lunchtime show that ran from 1936 to 1961 and was a proving ground for future Grand Ole Opry stars, including Roy Acuff and Homer & Jethro. The other players called to support Gibson's vocal and rhythm guitar were Floyd Cramer (piano), Joe Zinkan (bass), Hank Garland and Atkins (electric guitars), the Jordanaires (background vocals), and one of Nashville's first female studio musicians, Velma Williams Smith (rhythm guitar).

Considered one of the first of RCA’s hot streak of hits exemplifying the Nashville Sound, which replaced more rough-hewn sonic textures like pedal steel guitar and fiddle with sweeping string sections, complex background vocal arrangements, and smoother tempos. The two-minute and twenty-six-second 'Oh, Lonesome Me' reached #7 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and was #1 on the country chart for eight non-consecutive weeks. Its B-side, recorded during the same session, was "I Can't Stop Loving You," now considered a standard that has been recorded over 700 times since then.

Gibson recalled, "I didn't like 'Oh, Lonesome Me.' But when I got down here ready to record, they wanted me to do 'Oh, Lonesome Me.' [I said,] ‘Well, let me do “I Can't Stop Loving You” on the backside of that. Wesley [Rose] and Chet said, “I Can't Stop Loving You” isn't much of a song, but it's gonna be a B-side anyway, so go ahead and put it on there.’ So, I had a two-sided monster there.”

01/22/2025

In the mid-1960s, Waylon Jennings uprooted his life from Arizona to Nashville after Nashville label chief Chet Atkins, at Bobby Bare’s urging, signed him to RCA. The Texas native had already put out one release on a small label, but this was a promotion to the big leagues.

During March 1965, Jennings and Atkins (as producer) were in Nashville’s RCA Studio B working on what would become the singer’s first album for the label, the 1966 release “Folk-Country.” Markedly different than the rough-edged, rebellious sound he would perfect years later, the album notably featured studio contributions from Jennings’s band members Jerry Gropp, Richie Albright, and Paul Foster—highly unusual considering that Atkins normally selected from Nashville’s top-tier studio musicians.

Though not a commercial blockbuster, “Folk-Country” included at least one enduring song that remained a staple of Jennings’s repertoire for years. “Stop the World (and Let Me Off),” a lament of romantic frustration that had been recorded by artists including Carl Belew, Patsy Cline, and Johnnie & Jack, received the Jennings treatment after he and the band worked up a live version. The recording has many of the smooth, sophisticated Nashville Sound trappings, but it’s beefed up with a shuffling rhythm and Jennings’s electric guitar.

The audacity of playing a guitar solo while Atkins observed certainly wasn’t lost on Jennings. “I looked over in the control room and realized ‘I’m playing guitar in front of Chet Atkins!’ So I just grabbed me a string and held on for dear life,” he recalled in his autobiography.

Jennings’s long tenure with RCA would bring him back to RCA Studio B many times over the years. Songs from those sessions include “(That’s What You Get) For Lovin’ Me” and “Only Daddy That’ll Walk the Line,” the 1968 single that foreshadowed his more individualistic work to come.

01/15/2025

At the start of his recording career, Country Music Hall of Fame member Charley Pride walked into RCA Studio B and took his place behind the same microphone once used by Elvis Presley.

“I rubbed the microphone, [and] I said, ‘Be good to me.’” he later recalled. “And I think it happened.”

It would be hard to disagree. From 1969 to 1983, Pride earned twenty-nine #1 country hits, and many of his earliest ones were recorded at Studio B. That includes 1971’s “Kiss an Angel Good Mornin’,” which was released two weeks after Pride was named Entertainer of the Year at the CMA Awards. It won a Grammy for Best Country Song and became his signature song as well as the biggest crossover hit of his career. In 2024, “Kiss an Angel Good Mornin’” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

The song was written by veteran Music Row writer Ben Peters, who penned several hits for Pride as well as "Daytime Friends" for Kenny Rogers. The lyrics of "Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'" found Pride sharing his secret to happiness: “Kiss an angel good mornin’/ And let her know you think about her when you're gone.”

“When I got that [song], I couldn’t wait to get into the studio to do it,” he said. “I had no idea it would do what it did.”

01/09/2025

Due to inclement weather in the Nashville area—and out of concern for our staff and visitors—the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Hatch Show Print, Haley Gallery, and Historic RCA Studio B will be closed tomorrow, January 10. Please stay safe and warm, and check back here and at CountryMusicHallofFame.org for updates.

01/08/2025

Elvis Presley celebrated his twenty-ninth birthday quietly at Graceland in Memphis on January 8, 1964. But four days later, he roared into the new year in style, showing up at RCA Studio B in Nashville on his motorcycle at 6:30 p.m. It was time for a session.

The first thing Elvis did when he walked in the studio was to send someone out for takeout food to feed himself and the assembled team of crack studio musicians. On hand were guitarists Grady Martin, Harold Bradley, and Scotty Moore; bassist Bob Moore; drummers D. J. Fontana and Buddy Harman; keyboard player Floyd Cramer; saxophone and vibraphone player Boots Randolph; and background vocalists Millie Kirkham and the Jordanaires.

They soon launched into a five-hour session during which Presley recorded three songs: a faithful, rocking rendition of Chuck Berry’s “Memphis, Tennessee,” the passionate “It Hurts Me” (written by Joy Byers and Country Music Hall of Fame member Charlie Daniels), and an English language remake of an Italian hit, the airy ballad “Ask Me,” written by Domenico Modugno, who wrote the 1958 international hit “Volare.” Two out of the three tracks they cut became pop hits in 1964: “Ask Me” reached #12, and “It Hurts Me” peaked at #29.

1964 was a much bigger year for Elvis in Hollywood. He had three movies released that year: "Kissin’ Cousins," "Viva Las Vegas," and "Roustabout." Combined the movies grossed more than $16 million—worth about $158 million in today’s dollars. He was, after all, the King.

Elvis would not return to record at Studio B until February 1965. Between 1958 and 1977, he recorded more than 240 songs at the famed studio. (Pictured: Elvis on his Harley-Davidson with actor Nick Adams, 1956. Photo by Robert Dye.)

Preservation of Historic RCA Studio B is made possible through a partnership between the Mike Curb Family Foundation and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

01/16/2022

Out of concern for our staff and guests, tours of Historic RCA Studio B will be closed to the public today, January 16, at 1:00 PM due to winter weather conditions. For updates, please continue to check back here and at CountryMusicHallofFame.org.

01/07/2022

Due to continued inclement weather conditions, tours of Historic RCA Studio B will remain closed to the public tomorrow, Friday, January 7. Please check back here and and at CountryMusicHallofFame.org for updates.

01/06/2022

Due to inclement weather in the Nashville area — and out of concern for our staff and visitors — Historic RCA Studio B will be closed today, Thursday, January 6. Please stay safe and warm, and check back here and at CountryMusicHallofFame.org for updates.

12/13/2021

On Sunday, December 19, take a free tour of the studio, as part of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's Ford Community Day.

Made possible by the Ford Motor Company Fund, the annual event is one way the Museum aims to give back to the community that supports its cultural and educational mission all year long.

Free Studio B tours (and Hatch Show Print tours) will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, and you'll also be able to explore the Museum and enjoy a schedule of special programs, all for free.

Learn more: https://countrymusichalloffame.org/ford-community-day-2021/

12/08/2021

John Hiatt with the Jerry Douglas Band's "Leftover Feelings" — recorded in Historic RCA Studio B in 2020 — vies for the Best Americana Album Grammy at the 64th annual awards show on January 31, 2022.

The project highlights both Hiatt and the Douglas Band's empathetic musicianship and the legacy of the historic Nashville recording studio, operated since 1977 by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Drawing inspiration from recording methods of the past — particularly those popularized in the studio's mid-century heyday — the group made music in real time, listening and reacting in spontaneous performance. The results cement the project as an indelible part of Historic RCA Studio B’s story and Americana music’s history.

Learn more about "Leftover Feelings" and watch "All the Lilacs in Ohio," the first video released from the album, here: https://countrymusichalloffame.org/john-hiatt-jerry-douglas-leftover-feelings/

John Hiatt with The Jerry Douglas Band: ‘All the Lilacs in Ohio’ “All the Lilacs in Ohio” is the first video released from John Hiatt with The Jerry Douglas Band’s album, Leftover Feelings. This project and video were recorded in Historic RCA Studio B, continuing the studio’s legacy as a...

04/14/2021

From CMT: the premiere of “Long Black Electric Cadillac,” from John Hiatt with the Jerry Douglas Band's collaborative album "Leftover Feelings," recorded here in Nashville at Historic RCA Studio B.

"Take your road trips seriously. But not yourself," Hiatt says

03/03/2021

Premiering on the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's website: “All the Lilacs in Ohio,” the first video from John Hiatt with The Jerry Douglas Band’s forthcoming album, "Leftover Feelings."

The video and album were captured in Nashville's Historic RCA Studio B, continuing the studio’s legacy as a “temple of sound,” and creating documentary resources for use by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

The new album will be available May 21, 2021. Watch the video here: https://countrymusichalloffame.org/john-hiatt-jerry-douglas-leftover-feelings/

01/21/2021

Our family at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum appreciates the support of so many people who love music, history, and Nashville. That support lets us keep sharing these stories.

In looking back at 2020, the Museum was fortunate to have so many believe in its mission — and it was that mission that led the charge within its virtual programming, its overall digital presence, a reopening of the building itself, and through the online fundraiser BIG NIGHT (At The Museum).

“The Sources of Country Music,” a painting by Thomas Hart Benton appropriately draws us into the year that tried the country’s foundation. Fittingly, a recitation by CEO Kyle Young of the Barbara Ras poem “A Wife Explains Why She Likes Country,” along with the John Prine song “Souvenirs,” anchor the imagery here and emphasize both loss and hope — hallmarks of the music itself.

Prine was to have been the Museum’s 2020 Artist-In-Residence, and that series, which honors those who have contributed so mightily to the music, is another point of emphasis here, reminding us all of the year that should have been, and of the profound expectation of brighter days ahead.

This look back at 2020 also features: Tim McGraw, Dolly Parton, Keith Urban, Kane Brown, Brad Paisley, Dan Tyminski, Carlene Carter, Marty Stuart, Ashley McBryde, Keb' Mo', Rodney Crowell, Lucinda Williams, Reba McEntire, Matraca Berg, Ray Benson, The War and Treaty, Emmylou Harris, and Miranda Lambert.

Throughout a year of hardship and challenge for everyone, the Museum relied on the support of many artists, the broader music community, and fans around the ...

12/29/2020

Starting on January 5, Historic RCA Studio B will be open five days a week, Thursday through Monday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, and closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. These hours will be in place for the remainder of January.

11/02/2020

Voting is a right, a privilege, and a duty. We hope you'll go out and make your voice heard today — Historic RCA Studio B will reopen on Wednesday.

You can reserve timed tickets for November 4 and beyond here: https://countrymusichalloffame.org/buy-tickets/

08/25/2020

Historic RCA Studio B will reopen for tours at a limited capacity beginning Thursday, September 10. Learn more at www.studiob.org.

08/24/2020

The Nashville Scene's annual Best of Nashville reader poll is live now, and you can vote through August 30. If you've toured and loved Historic RCA Studio B, we hope you'll pick us for “Best Tourist Tour.”

Click here to browse the categories and cast your votes: https://www.nashvillescene.com/bon2020 #/