RCA Studio B, 1611 Roy Acuff Place, Nashville, TN (2025)

10/03/2025

"I have appreciated Chet Atkins as a musician since long before the tracks on this album were written; in fact, since I was the ripe young age of seventeen," said George Harrison in the liner notes of "Chet Atkins Picks on the Beatles.” "'I'll Cry Instead,' 'She's a Woman,' and 'Can't Buy Me Love,' having a country feeling about them, lend themselves perfectly to Chet's own style of picking, which has inspired so many guitarists throughout the world (myself included, but I didn't have enough fingers at the time)."

Rock guitar history is filled with hundreds of guitarists who drew from Atkins's musical fountainhead. His impact on rockabilly, in particular, was immeasurable. Scotty Moore, Elvis Presley's original guitarist, played fingerstyle, and Atkins's use of the EchoSonic amp inspired Moore to purchase his own. Carl Perkins alternated blues-inspired single-string work with fingerstyle, while Cliff Gallup, Gene Vincent's guitarist, was also an Atkins fan.

Singer-guitarist and rockabilly icon Eddie Cochran was a fingerstylist, and his use of the Gretsch 6120 Atkins guitar made it the instrument of choice for many rockabilly pickers, including Brian Setzer. Rockabillies constitute only a portion of Atkins-influenced rockers. Duane Eddy, known for his twangy sound, was a proficient fingerstyle player (and 6120 user). Mark Knopfler and John Fogerty learned from Atkins, and even Ted Nugent claimed him as an inspiration.

During the Beatles' peak years, Harrison played Gretsch's Atkins Country Gentleman and Tennessean models; his solos on the band's "She's a Woman," "I'm a Loser," "I Feel Fine," and "What Goes On" all invoked Atkins. The admiration was mutual. "Chet Atkins Picks on the Beatles," recorded in RCA Studio B, was released in 1965. The album, which interprets a selection of Beatles songs, showcases Atkins’s appreciation for the architecture of their songwriting.

By blending country fingerpicking with pop and early rock sensibilities, Atkins left a lasting impact on contemporaries and successors alike, proving that artistry, precision, and a distinctive personal sound can resonate across generations and genres.

09/26/2025

On January 30, 1968, Bobby Goldsboro recorded “Honey” at RCA Studio B, creating a massive hit. Though a global smash at the time, its sentimental lyrics now divide listeners. That's because the song's story of deep love and loss—told from the man's point of view—presents a picture of his wife as being childlike and dependent.

Goldsboro co-produced “Honey” alongside Bob Montgomery, head of A&R for United Artists Records’ country division. Together, they crafted an emotional soundscape defined by ethereal background vocals and Don Tweedy’s lush string arrangement. The first performance was flawless.

Montgomery told "Billboard," “We cut it perfectly on the very first take. Everyone looked at each other as if to say, ‘Is that it? Did we miss something?’” There was excitement in the room. Pianist Larry Butler recalled, “All of us who played that night knew that ‘Honey’ was going to be a huge record. In fact, most of us called our wives at home so we could play it for them over the phone.” The magic they felt in the studio foreshadowed the song’s immense public connection.

Released in February 1968, “Honey" became a massive crossover success, selling over a million copies in its first three weeks and becoming the best-selling record of the year. It spent five weeks at No. 1 on "Billboard’s" Hot 100 and three weeks at No. 1 on the Hot Country Singles chart.

“Honey” was named the Country Music Association’s Song of the Year. Goldsboro received a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Pop Vocal Performance, Male, and songwriter Bobby Russell earned two nominations for the song: Best Country Song and Song of the Year. In a fascinating twist, Russell lost both awards to himself, as another of his hits, “Little Green Apples,” received the trophy in both categories.

Pictured: Bobby Goldsboro receives an award from the Music Operators of America honoring "Honey" as Record of the Year, October 1968.

09/22/2025

There wasn’t much call for honky-tonk sounds in 1970s Nashville, with the country industry having shifted toward the polished productions of Billy Sherrill, Jerry Kennedy, and Owen Bradley for the time being. And yet Kentucky-born, Florida-raised Gary Stewart helped stage a honky-tonk and rockabilly revival that resulted in a handful of signature hits and one classic album.

With 1974’s “Drinkin’ Thing,” Stewart found his way into the country Top Ten after years of playing the barrooms of southern Florida. The title track fared even better, reaching No. 4. Roy Dea produced Stewart’s debut album “Out of Hand,” a 1975 release that garnered positive reviews for its raw, back-to-basics approach to country music. “Stewart has a fine voice, capable of cutting through the smoke and pinning you to the wall with its unashamed emotion and energy,” wrote one critic in the "Houston Post."

The biggest single from “Out of Hand” was also the biggest of Stewart’s career. In 1975, RCA issued “She’s Actin’ Single (I’m Drinkin’ Doubles),” a Wayne Carson song that Stewart recorded at RCA Studio B. A barroom weeper that Stewart sings with urgency and palpable frustration, it became the sole No. 1 hit of his career.

Years later, Stewart’s influence was still felt. Historian Bill Malone called him “one of the finest young honky-tonk singers of the modern period” in his book “Country Music USA,” while Dwight Yoakam had applied Stewart’s lessons to his own career. “Gary Stewart was a very bright spot for honky-tonk music about ’74 or ’75, ’76,” he told the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in an oral history interview. “There was an element of youth in that. There was an element of recklessness in the approach. There was an austerity of production. See, that’s the key in honky-tonk music.”

09/12/2025

At one time or another, virtually every top session player or background vocalist in Nashville recorded in RCA Studio B, creating lasting memories—and music—in the process. "I cut my first Nashville session there backing up Ann-Margret," said Country Music Hall of Fame member Charlie McCoy, "and the first big hit I played on, Roy Orbison's 'Candy Man,' was recorded there, too."

With his harmonica and other instruments, McCoy has graced the recordings of a broad range of artists, from ELVIS PRESLEY and Bob Dylan to Waylon Jennings and Loretta Lynn. His trademark harmonica style, distinguished by its speed, precision, clarity, and unerring phrasing, was radically different from the down-home approach of his predecessors and re-established the mouth organ as a voice in country music.

As a young musician, and at the encouragement of rising country star Mel Tillis, McCoy moved to Nashville in 1960 and recorded several sides as a rock & roll singer and guitarist, but it wasn't until he played harmonica on "Candy Man" in 1961 that his luck began to change. “It got Roy another hit and me a career,” McCoy said. The calls for session work came flooding in.

In the ensuing decades, McCoy worked thousands of sessions, often as many as four hundred in a single year. He can be heard on recordings by a virtual who’s who of country music: “500 Miles Away from Home” (Bobby Bare), “Orange Blossom Special” (Johnny Cash), “Old Dogs, Children, and Watermelon Wine” (Tom T. Hall), “Only Daddy That’ll Walk the Line” (Waylon Jennings), “He Stopped Loving Her Today” (George Jones), “What’s Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Loser Out of Me)” (Jerry Lee Lewis), “My Tennessee Mountain Home” (Dolly Parton), “Take This Job and Shove It” (Johnny Paycheck), and “Delta Dawn” (Tanya Tucker).

09/02/2025

Gillian Welch & David Rawlings first attempted to record Welch’s third album, "Time (The Revelator)," in Los Angeles, but they couldn’t find the vibe they were looking for. Returning to Nashville, Rawlings, who produced the album, began searching for a studio space and found RCA Studio B. The studio had ceased its operations for RCA over twenty years earlier, in 1977, though it was subsequently reopened by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum for public tours and occasional recording projects.

“One day, I drove by Studio B, and the door was open. I thought, ‘Oh, my God, that’s Studio B. I’ve never been in there.’ I walked in, heard my footsteps on the floor, and knew that I liked the sound of the room.”

It proved to be the perfect place to record an album filled with songs that are richly layered examinations of time, truth, myth, music, and even references to Johnny Cash and ELVIS PRESLEY, who famously recorded more than 200 songs at Studio B. The historical significance would add another layer of meaning to the sessions.

Performing without other musicians, the duo created raw and intimate tracks with no overdubs and “a tremendous number of first takes,” according to Welch.

“Dave just said, ‘Play “Revelator,”’ and we used the mic test,” she recalled, giving an example of their instinctive approach. Rawlings added, “We played it once and it was great because we hadn’t played it in months. We got that first take feeling.”

An acoustic album with rock & roll sensibilities, "Time (The Revelator)" features ten songs that are musically sparse and sometimes dissonant yet lyrically hefty and expansive, culminating with the nearly fifteen-minute “I Dream a Highway.” Encompassing the themes of the preceding nine songs, it’s at once a plaintive coda as well as a gorgeously rambling open ending.

08/29/2025

Trumpet player Al Hirt is rightfully associated with his hometown of New Orleans, but his biggest hits were recorded in Nashville. Take the 1963 instrumental tune “Java,” for example. Its origins are all New Orleans: composed and performed by a young Allen Toussaint and recorded at Cosimo Matassa’s studio in the French Quarter, it was credited to "Tousan" on an album called “The Wild Sound of New Orleans.” Producer Danny Kessler titled all the songs after racehorses of the era, so "Java" is apparently not a peppy ode to coffee.

“Java” made its way to Nashville before Hirt got around to it. A-Team pianist Floyd Cramer cut a version that came out in 1962, eventually reaching No. 49 on the "Billboard" Hot 100.

Hirt recorded the bulk of his 1963 album “Honey in the Horn” in Nashville at RCA Studio B. He worked with the cream of the Nashville crop—Chet Atkins produced the project, the Anita Kerr Singers added the “oohs” and “aahs,” and members of the A-Team brought their usual instrumental brilliance. Hirt’s version is reminiscent of Cramer’s arrangement, but with trumpet in place of the lead piano melody.

By most measures, “Java” was a smash, reaching No. 4 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. Hirt would work in other modes throughout the years, but he returned to Nashville for more. In 1964, he reunited with Atkins and recorded the albums “Sugar Lips” and “Cotton Candy.” Though he couldn’t duplicate the success of “Java,” the title tracks for both albums became Top Forty hits on the "Billboard" Hot 100.

08/15/2025

When Elvis Presley entered RCA Studio B on the evening of May 25, 1966, the air held a feeling of expectation. He needed a hit.

Having spent his immediate post-Army years making Hollywood movies, Presley turned out early 1960s recordings consisting of primarily lightweight soundtrack fare with a few exceptions. “Crying in the Chapel,” recorded for Presley’s first gospel album, "His Hand in Mine" (1960), wasn’t included on the initial release of the album and was left unheard until it was issued as a single in 1965. It peaked at No. 3 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 on June 12 that year, and the song’s success prompted RCA to encourage Presley to record more religious songs. This renewed focus led to the sessions for "How Great Thou Art," Presley’s second gospel album.

Jake Hess, former lead singer of the Statesmen and Presley’s childhood idol, was one of the eleven vocalists present for the recording sessions for "How Great Thou Art." “He wanted a big sound, and we sung like Elvis wanted it sung," said Hess. "I don’t think he cared so much how we blended, he just wanted that big sound.” The sessions carried positive energy, with Presley deeply involved in the song arrangements. His performance on the title track reflected the rehearsing he’d done with entourage members Red West and Charlie Hodge at home at Graceland—his tremendous range and versatility were on brilliant display.

Presley won his first Grammy, for Best Sacred Performance, for “How Great Thou Art in 1967, the same year the album was released. The album was certified gold by the RIAA in February 1968 and has since been certified triple platinum.

08/06/2025

Eddy Arnold had an enviable run through the 1940s and early 1950s, scoring twenty-one No. 1 hits through 1955. Then he hit a relative lull in his career with fewer songs high on the charts. But in 1959 he scored a No. 5 hit with Jimmy Driftwood’s “Tennessee Stud.”

It was a hard-earned success on Arnold’s part. The song’s rhythm was just off-kilter enough that Arnold struggled through the session trying to figure out when he was supposed to begin singing.

“Eddy had a hard time doing that song,” RCA Studio B engineer Bill Porter told the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in an oral history interview. “For some reason, he couldn’t figure out where to come in, and we did seventy-two takes on that song. Not all the way through, but seventy-two starts. He had a little trouble trying to adjust to one of the parts to come back in again. And even Chet [Atkins] was starting to get upset with him. . . . Really was funny.”

Whether it was that seventy-second take that did the trick or not, it’s hard to say. In the end, Arnold’s recording of “Tennessee Stud” has since become a standard covered by numerous artists including Johnny Cash, the Meat Puppets, and Doc Watson.

07/31/2025

"Their stuff fit us like a glove, because it was designed to fit," said Don Everly. "Boudleaux would sit down and talk with us. A lot of his songs were written because he was getting inside our heads—trying to find out where we were going, what we wanted, what words were right."

Husband and wife Boudleaux and Felice Bryant wrote more than six thousand songs together in a variety of different musical styles. Many would come to be regarded as pop and country classics, including several recorded by the Everly Brothers in Studio B.

The first Bryant song the Everlys accepted was "Bye Bye Love," previously rejected by thirty different acts. Recorded at RCA's McGavock Street studio in Nashville, the Everlys' catchy performance combined high-pitched sibling harmony, rock & roll rhythms, and the simple, direct story of a broken romance. It was the duo's first hit, reaching No.1 on the "Billboard" country chart and No.2 on its pop chart.

Next, the Everlys took the Bryants' "Wake Up Little Susie"—recorded at the same studio—to No.1 on both charts. In 1958 and 1959, they had continued success in country and pop with Bryant classics such as "All I Have to Do Is Dream," "Bird Dog," and "Devoted to You," all recorded at the Nashville studio on 17th Avenue South later known as RCA Studio B.

Once the Everlys' career ignited, the Bryants faced stiff competition from other music writers and publishers. "Our material did get preference," Boudleaux said. "But it had to stand the test." It passed with flying colors. All told, the Everlys recorded twenty-nine Bryant songs, with some selling millions worldwide.

Those hits helped make the Everlys rich and world-famous, heightened Studio B's visibility, and expanded Nashville's reputation as a diverse music center. Moreover, Chet Atkins said the Bryant-Everly alliance gave Boudleaux and Felice tremendous international impact: "Many of their songs, recorded by the Everly brothers, greatly influenced the Beatles, who, in turn, influenced the whole world of music."

07/23/2025

Guy Clark was the quintessential Texas singer-songwriter, and his 1975 debut album, "Old No. 1," is considered a classic. Highly influential, the album features a stripped-down musical approach, but it could easily have sounded quite different.

Clark was signed to RCA Records by A&R man Mike Lipskin on the condition that he would produce the album. Lipskin enlisted the "Memphis Boys"—a formidable group of studio musicians assembled by producer Chips Moman in Memphis—to create backing tracks for Clark at RCA Studio A, along with the Muscle Shoals Horns and drummer Jerry Carrigan. However, Clark simply hated the result, considering it too much like mainstream 1970s country music and not representative of him.

“The producer pi**ed me off," Clark later said. "I walked into the studio one day and found he’d flown in an entire horn section to play on my record. The charts had been written and the session planned out without asking me anything. It would have been an absolute disaster had I put that record out.”

Legend has it that Clark told RCA he’d change his name and leave town if they released the album. The label complied with his wishes, but Clark had already used most of his recording budget on the Lipskin sessions. Clark then enlisted Neil Wilburn, who had recorded Clark’s song publishing demos, to help him save the album.

Clark and Wilburn surreptiously slipped into RCA Studio B and got to work. Using those demo tracks, and with support from singer-songwriter friends Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, and Steve Earle, plus fiddler Johnny Gimble, pianist David Briggs, and harmonica player Mickey Raphael, Clark and Wilburn created the laid back, authentic sound of "Old No. 1." It was released on November 7, 1975, the day after Clark’s thirty-fourth birthday.

07/16/2025

One of country music’s most colorful personalities, Jerry Reed was also a blazingly original guitar player whose fingerstyle riffs have influenced generations. The Georgia native made his way to Nashville in the early 1960s and quickly picked up session work, having caught the attention of his hero Chet Atkins. Reed played on sessions for a variety of the era’s biggest stars, including Waylon Jennings, Charley Pride, and Bobby Bare.

In 1964, Atkins signed Reed to RCA Records, where Reed continued his working relationship with Atkins, who encouraged him to embrace his idiosyncrasies and not worry about fitting in. The advice worked: Reed’s artistic and songwriting career got a jolt with the revved-up 1967 single “Guitar Man,” which he cut at Studio B with Atkins producing. Shortly after, Elvis Presley cut his own version of “Guitar Man” at Studio B. When it came to playing the intricate lead guitar part, Presley went straight to the source and brought in Reed for the session.

Reed’s wild-man persona was only in its beginning stages at the time but was becoming fully realized by the early 1970s, just before his Hollywood stardom began. His musical artistry came into full view when he started releasing country-funk bombs like “Amos Moses” and “When You’re Hot, You’re Hot” that emphasized his sense of groove and nimble playing alongside his singing.

Atkins had been a huge influence on Reed as a guitarist, but the effect went both ways. In 1970, Atkins recorded the collaborative "Me and Jerry" with Reed, featuring versions of songs by Paul Simon, Oscar Hammerstein, and Merle Travis. Reed returned the favor in 1972 with "Me and Chet," taking on everyone from Franz Liszt to Hank Williams. Reed joined Atkins as a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2017.

07/09/2025

Born to a poor farming family near Wellston, Oklahoma, Norma Jean Beasler would become a popular recording artist and television star of the 1960s. Known primarily for her role on "The Porter Wagoner Show," she starred opposite Wagoner for six years before returning home to Oklahoma, passing the mantle to Dolly Parton in 1967.

With the encouragement of her aunt, Norma Jean learned to play guitar and made her radio debut at the age of twelve. The promising young singer looked to Kitty Wells as a source of musical inspiration as well as a model for a successful career in country music. While still in school, Norma Jean had three weekly radio spots on Oklahoma City’s KLPR and toured with several western swing bands.

Norma Jean's big break came in 1958 when she joined the cast of ABC-TV's "Ozark Jubilee," where she met Wagoner during an early guest appearance. She moved to Nashville and joined Wagoner in 1961 on his syndicated TV show, billed as Pretty Miss Norma Jean. In 1963, she began recording for RCA. Her first hit, "Let's Go All the Way," was recorded in RCA Studio B and reached No. 11 on the country charts in 1964.

Though they only occasionally recorded as a duo, Wagoner functioned as her producer on most of Norma Jean's recordings. Of her twenty-two chart records, her highest was "The Game of Triangles" (No. 5), recorded with Bobby Bare and Liz Anderson. Norma Jean had her last RCA chart record in 1971 with “The Kind of Needin’ I Need.” In a full-circle moment, she scored her last chart hit in 1982 with "Let's Go All the Way" once again, this time in a duet with Claude Gray.

Pictured: Norma Jean and Chet Atkins, 1967

RCA Studio B

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