Where it was recorded

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"The blues had a baby and they called it rock and roll."

-Muddy Waters

What This Chapter Includes:

1. Okeh Records

2. Sun Records

3. Chess Records

4. Norman Petty Studio

5. Stax

6. Fame

7. Muscle Shoals Sound Studio

8. Gold Star Studio

9. Record Labels

10. Columbia

11. Atlantic Records

12. RCA Records

13. Capital Records

14. Sound City

15. The Electric Guitar

Student Project

We are going to have a student project day. A chance for class members to share a "Rock and Roll" 5 minute project. A presentation related to Rock and Roll.

It could be a poem, a song, lyrics, an experience, a youtube video, a memory, an invention, a dance, a picture, a drawing/painting, performance. Creativity and imagination makes it educational and fun.

Due March 7th

You could even video yourself in advance for the presentation. We love live and video performances.

Email me what you plan to do. I will put the program in order for a nice variety of projects.

Homework Questions from last week by our own Rock and Roll Class Students:

Assignment from last week: Please create a True or False, multiple choice, 3 false and one true question. Use one of these artists and email it to me before next Tuesday.

Q1. “St. Louis Blues” is a 1958 American film broadly based on the life of the Father of the Blues:

a. Barney Bigard

b. Cab Calloway

c. William Christopher “W. C.” Handy

d. Nat "King" Cole

Q2. Blues guitarist Robert Leroy Johnson influenced:

a. Eric Clapton

b. Bob Dylan

c. Robert Plant

d. All of the above.

Q3. The Andrews Sisters real names were:

a. Ruby, Dottie and Phyllis

b. LaVerne, Maxene and Patty

c. Janet, Kathy, Peggy, and Dianne

d. June, Bonnie and Anita

e. they were NOT sisters

Questions by Steve

Multiple Choice Question - At Minton’s Playhouse in Harlem Thelonious Monk helped develop a style of Jazz known as:

A) Hiphop

B) Lindyhop

C) Bebop

Question by Janet

1. Billy Holiday received most of her money from record royalties bae cause African-American women were not paid well for singing live. T or F

2. After being convicted on narcotics Billy Holiday never sang in a club that served alcohol. T or F

3. Billy Holliday was the first black female singer employed full-time toured the segregated U.S. South with a white bandleader. T or F

4. Strange Fruit was added to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1976. T or F

Questions by Betty

Three false statements about (Eugene) Earl Bostick

1. Earl Bostic was not influenced by Sidney Joseph Bechet . T or F

2. Earl Bostic never appeared on Soupy Sales show. T or F

3. Earl Bostic was a famous trumpet player T or F

Questions by Margaret

Which member of the Carter family developed a revolutionary method of guitar picking called the Carter Scratch?

1. Jane

2. Stephanie

3. Maybelle

4. June

Question by Mercedes

Whose music did Johnny Cash say he would take to listen to on a deserted island?

a) Hank Williams Jr

b)Beethoven

c)Ma Rainey

d)Fats Domino

Question by Sandy

Answers to Homework Questions from last week by our Rock and Roll Class Students:

Q1. “St. Louis Blues” is a 1958 American film broadly based on the life of the Father of the Blues:

a. Barney Bigard

b. Cab Calloway

c. William Christopher “W. C.” Handy

d. Nat "King" Cole

Q2. Blues guitarist Robert Leroy Johnson influenced:

a. Eric Clapton

b. Bob Dylan

c. Robert Plant

d. All of the above.

Q3. The Andrews Sisters real names were:

a. Ruby, Dottie and Phyllis

b. LaVerne, Maxene and Patty

c. Janet, Kathy, Peggy, and Dianne

d. June, Bonnie and Anita

e. they were NOT sisters

Note: 3a are the McGuire Sisters, 3c are the Lennon Sisters and 3d are the Pointer Sisters

Questions by Steve

Multiple Choice Question - At Minton’s Playhouse in Harlem Thelonious Monk helped develop a style of Jazz known as:

A) Hiphop

B) Lindyhop

C) Bebop

Question by Janet

1. Billy Holiday received most of her money from record royalties bae cause African-American women were not paid well for singing live.

False: Main revenue was club concerts.

2. After being convicted on narcotics Billy Holiday never sang in a club that served alcohol. True.

3. Billy Holliday was the first black female singer employed full-time toured the segregated U.S. South with a white bandleader. True

4. Strange Fruit was added to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1976. True

Questions by Betty

Three false statements about (Eugene) Earl Bostick

1. Earl Bostic was not influenced by Sidney Joseph Bechet . False

Interesting fact in video series Grantchester. Will (the vicar) loved Jazz and one of his favorite Jazz performers was Bechet. Bostic was influenced by Bechet and Bostic in turn influenced John Coltrane.

2. Earl Bostic never appeared on Soupy Sales show. F

(he was featured on that show)

3. Earl Bostic was a famous trumpet player. F (alto sax).

Questions by Margaret

Which member of the Carter family developed a revolutionary method of guitar picking called the Carter Scratch?

1. Jane

2. Stephanie

3. Maybelle

4. June

Question by Mercedes

Whose music did Johnny Cash say he would take to listen to on a deserted island?

a) Hank Williams Jr

b)Beethoven

c)Ma Rainey

d)Fats Domino

Answer: b

Question by Sandy

Nominees for 2024

Mary J. Blige

Mariah Carey

Cher

Dave Matthews Band

Erik B. & Rakim

Foreigner

Peter Frampton

Jane’s Addiction

Kool & the Gang

Lenny Kravitz

Oasis

Sinead O’Connor

Ozzy Osbourne

Sade

A Tribe Called Quest

Let's take a poll!

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Fans can actively vote on the above names.

Here is the site: https://www.rockhall.com/2024-nominees

Information courtesy of Steve.

OKeh Records

OKeh Records (/ˌoʊˈkeɪ/) is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name was spelled "OkeH" from the initials of Otto K. E. Heinemann but later changed to "OKeh". Since 1965, OKeh was a subsidiary of Epic Records, a subsidiary of Sony Music. Today, OKeh is a jazz imprint, distributed by Sony Masterworks.

Early history

OKeh was founded by Otto (Jehuda) Karl Erich Heinemann (Lüneburg, Germany, 20 December 1876 – New York, USA, 13 September 1965) a German-American manager for the U.S. branch of Odeon Records, which was owned by Carl Lindstrom. In 1916, Heinemann incorporated the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, set up a recording studio and pressing plant in New York City, and started the label in 1918.

The first discs were vertical cut, but later the more common lateral-cut method was used. The label's parent company was renamed the General Phonograph Corporation, and the name on its record labels was changed to OKeh. The common 10-inch discs retailed for 75 cents each, the 12-inch discs for $1.25. The company's musical director was Frederick W. Hager.

OKeh issued popular songs, dance numbers, and vaudeville skits similar to other labels, but Heinemann also wanted to provide music for audiences neglected by the larger record companies. OKeh produced lines of recordings in German, Czech, Polish, Swedish, and Yiddish for immigrant communities in the United States. Some were pressed from masters leased from European labels, while others were recorded by OKeh in New York.

OKeh's early releases included music by the New Orleans Jazz Band. The records were popular, and the label issued a series of race records directed by Clarence Williams in New York City and Richard M. Jones in Chicago. From 1921 to 1932, this series included music by Williams, Lonnie Johnson, King Oliver, and Louis Armstrong. Also recording for the label were Bix Beiderbecke, Lillie Delk Christian, Bennie Moten, Frankie Trumbauer, and Eddie Lang. One of the more popular series was Louis Armstrong's Hot Five and Hot Seven. After the success of these records, Armstrong's records were transferred to the popular series as well, which was marketed towards a white audience in 1928. While musicians did not receive much payment for entering the studio, they copyrighted the songs they did record with the hopes that other bands would record the piece; in turn, they would make a steady stream from royalties.

In 1926, OKeh was sold to Columbia Records. Ownership changed to the American Record Corporation (ARC) in 1934, and the race records series from the 1920s ended. CBS bought the company in 1938. OKeh was a label for rhythm and blues during the 1950s, but jazz albums continued to be released, as in the work of Wild Bill Davis and Red Saunders.

The Laughing Record

The OKeh Laughing Record was recorded in Germany by Beka Records in 1920, by most accounts, and then purchased from that record label by OKeh Records in the US. It features who are likely opera singer Lucie Bernardo and Otto Rathke simply laughing for nearly three minutes while accompanied by cornetist Felix Silbers. They recorded six recordings on the same day. It became a best-seller in the US in 1922, and is estimated to have sold around a million records.

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Sun Records

Sam Phillips January 5, 1923 - July 30, 2003

Sam Phillips (Head of Sun Records)

Sam Phillips was born Samuel Cornelius Phillips (January 5, 1923 - July 30, 2003) and was the founder of Sun Records and Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, where Sam produced recordings of Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Howlin' Wolf.

Sam Phillips was the youngest of eight children, born on a 200 acre farm near Florence Alabama. As a child, he picked cotton in the fields with his parents alongside black laborers. He listened and heard black laborers singing in the cotton fields. It made an impression on the young Phillips.

Phillips played a major role in the development of rock and roll during the 1950s, launching the career of Presley. Phillips was the owner and operator of radio stations in Memphis; Florence, Alabama, and Lake Worth, Florida. He was also an early investor in the Holiday Inn chain of hotels and an advocate for racial equality, helping to break down racial barriers in the music industry.

The 2008 tribute Million Dollar Quartet is based on the famous photograph of Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis grouped round Elvis Presley at the piano, the night when the four joined in an impromptu jam at Sun Records' one-room sound studio, the "Million Dollar Quartet" of 4 December 1956.

The Broadway play was nominated for three Tony Awards in 2010: Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical for Escott and Mutrux, and Best Featured Actor in a Musical for Levi Kreis. Kreis won, marking the show's sole Tony win.

A TV series about the label ran for eight episodes on CMT from February to April, 2017.

In 1987, ten years after Presley died, Sun Studio at 706 Union Avenue was converted back into a recording studio, and soon became a tourist attraction for Presley fans and music lovers in general. The studio was also used by several well known acts to record, including U2, Def Leppard, John Mellencamp, the Bogus Bros. and Chris Isaak & Silvertone to name a few. In 2003 it was officially recognized as a National Historic Landmark tourist attraction.

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Chess Records

Leonard Chess bought a large part of Aristocrat Records in 1947. Then in 1950 his brother, Phil, came into the business and they together became the sole business owners of Aristocrat Records. In 1951, They added a third partner, Evelyn Aron, and the Chess Records label of Chicago was born.

Also in 1951, the Chess Brothers made a deal with Sam Phillips, of the Memphis Recording Service.

The most famous and important recording that Phillips gave and sent up to Chess Records was "Rocket 88" by Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats. The "Rocket 88" topped the Billboard magazine's R & B Records chart. "Rocket 88" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998 and was recognized for its influence on rock and roll music.

An important artist out of Memphis was Howlin' Wolf. Howlin Wolf stayed with Chess Records label until his death in 1976.

Many famous artists came out of Chess Records including Bo Diddley, Willie Dixon, Chuck Berry, Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy and others. Many Chess records were covered by other rock and roll artist including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Beach Boys and Eric Clapton.

Mid 50s, the doo-wop groups came into being. Two were the most popular at Chess Records, The Coronets and The Moonglows. Several crossover hits were later recorded including "Sincerely".

1958 saw the first production of LP records. The "Best of Muddy waters", "Best of Little Walter", and "Bo Diddley" albums were some of the first produced.

Chess records was sold in 1969 for 6.5 million dollars. Became "General Recorded Tape". Leonard Chess died in October 1969 of a heart attack. Leonard Chess died in 1972 and at that time the only thing left was the recording studio, Ter-Mar Studios.

In 2008, the universal studios warehouse burned down which was filled with the Universal Music Group recording masters. Master recordings for such artists as Chuck Berry and many more. These masters were considered priceless.

Chess Records was the subject of two films produced in 2008, Cadillac Records and Who Do You Love?. In addition to the Chess brothers, both films feature portrayals of characters based on Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Chuck Berry, Howlin' Wolf and Etta James.

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Norman Petty Studios

Petty and his wife, Vi, founded the Norman Petty Trio with guitarist Jack Vaughn. Due to the local success of their independent debut release of "Mood Indigo", they landed a recording contract with RCA Records and sold half a million copies of the recording, and were voted Most Promising Instrumental Group of 1954 by Cashbox magazine. In 1957, their song "Almost Paradise" hit number 18, and Petty won his first BMI writers' award. The song had various cover versions released, with Roger Williams' version selling the best.

Despite the success of his own records, Petty began construction of his Clovis studio in late 1954. The new studio was state of the art, his estimated spending at about $100,000 (US$1,009,046 in 2021 dollars). With the success of "Almost Paradise", it was completed to its current state in mid-1957. In his original 7th Street studio, aside from songs for his own musical group, he also produced singles (several which were hits) for West Texas musicians Roy Orbison, Buddy Knox, Waylon Jennings, Charlie "Sugartime" Phillips, Sonny West, Carolyn Hester, Johnny "Peanuts" Wilson, and Billy Walker. He also produced all of Buddy Holly's recordings. Also, the hits "Sugar Shack" and "Bottle of Wine" by Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs and "Wheels" by the String-A-Longs were recorded at Petty's studio in the 1960s.

Due to the success with instrumental groups, Petty was a reputable producer for bands of that genre and his Clovis Studio was one of the top "go-to" studios for the guitar instrumental (surf) sound in the early 1960s. Notable musicians who visited during the 1960s were The Champs (featuring members Seals & Crofts and Glen Campbell), J.D. Souther (& The Cinders), Johnny Duncan (country singer), and Eddie Reeves.

Petty produced a number of Canadian recording artists, including Wes Dakus and the Rebels, Barry Allen, Gainsborough Gallery, and the Happy Feeling, all of whom had chart success in their homeland. Norman also produced sessions in England for artists such as Brian Poole & The Tremeloes and Buddy Britten, and in Belgium for Roman Reed, Merino Costa, and The Pebbles, among others. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, recordings produced by Petty, in various musical styles, were issued by virtually every major record label in the United States and Canada, with numerous regional successes.

Petty served as Buddy Holly's producer and also as his first manager until late 1958. Many of Holly's best and most polished efforts were produced at the Clovis studio. After Holly's death, Petty was put in charge of overdubbing unfinished Holly recordings by request of the Holley family (Buddy's parents) and demos, which had charting success overseas.

Wikipedia, Norman Petty, This page was last edited on 23 September 2022, at 21:59 (UTC).

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Stax Records

Stax Records is an American record label, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in 1961 and shared its operations with Volt Records, a sister label created to avoid the impression of favoritism among radio stations playing their records.

Stax was influential in the creation of Southern soul and Memphis soul music. Stax also released gospel, funk, and blues recordings. Renowned for its output of blues music, the label was founded by two siblings and business partners, Jim Stewart and his sister Estelle Axton (STewart/AXton = Stax). It featured several popular ethnically integrated bands (including the label's house band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s) and a racially integrated team of staff and artists unprecedented in that time of racial strife and tension in Memphis and the South. According to ethnomusicologist Rob Bowman, the label's use of "one studio, one equipment set-up, the same set of musicians and a small group of songwriters led to a readily identifiable sound. It was a sound based in black gospel, blues, country, and earlier forms of rhythm and blues. It became known as southern soul music."

Following the death of Stax's biggest star, Otis Redding, in 1967, and the severance of the label's distribution deal with Atlantic Records in 1968, Stax continued primarily under the supervision of a new co-owner, Al Bell. Over the next five years, Bell expanded the label's operations significantly, in order to compete with Stax's main rival, Motown Records in Detroit. During the mid-1970s, a number of factors, including a problematic distribution deal with CBS Records, caused the label to slide into insolvency, resulting in its forced closure in late 1975.

In 1977, Fantasy Records acquired the post-1968 Stax catalogue and selected pre-1968 recordings. Beginning in 1978, Stax (now owned by Fantasy) began signing new acts and issuing new material, as well as reissuing previously recorded Stax material. However, by the early 1980s, no new material was being issued on the label, and for the next two decades, Stax was strictly a reissue label.

After Concord Records acquired Fantasy in 2004, the Stax label was reactivated, and is today used to issue both the 1968–1975 catalog material and new recordings by current R&B and soul performers. Atlantic Records continues to hold the rights to the vast majority of the 1959–1968 Stax material.

wikipedia

Stax Records Artists (not a complete list)

Albert King

Big Star

Booker T. and The M.G.'s

Carla Thomas

David Porter

Eddie Floyd

Frederick Knight

Isaac Hayes

Jean Knight

John Gary Williams

Johnnie Taylor

Little Milton

Mable John

Mel and Tim

Melvin Van Peebles

Nathaniel Rateliff

Otis Redding

wikipedia

Nathaniel Rateliff

Muscle Shoals

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Fame Studios

FAME (Florence Alabama Music Enterprises) Studios is a recording studio located at 603 East Avalon Avenue in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, an area of northern Alabama known as the Shoals. Though small and distant from the main recording locations of the American music industry, FAME has produced many hit records and was instrumental in what came to be known as the Muscle Shoals sound. It was started in the 1950s by Rick Hall, known as the Founder of Muscle Shoals Music. The studio, owned by Hall until his death in 2018, is still actively operating. It was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage on December 15, 1997, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016. The 2013 award-winning documentary "Muscle Shoals" features Rick Hall, the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section (also called The Swampers), and the Muscle Shoals sound originally popularized by FAME.

Early history

FAME (standing for Florence Alabama Music Enterprises) was founded by Rick Hall, Billy Sherrill, and Tom Stafford in the late 1950s. It was first located above the City Drug Store in Florence, Alabama. Two doors down was a pawn shop – "Uncle Sams" – where aspiring artists would buy or pawn their instruments, depending on the trajectory of their careers. The studio was moved to a former tobacco warehouse on Wilson Dam Road in Muscle Shoals in the early 1960s, when Hall split from Sherrill and Stafford. Hall soon recorded the first hit record from the Muscle Shoals area, Arthur Alexander's "You Better Move On" in 1961. Hall took the proceeds from that recording to build the current facility, on Avalon Avenue in Muscle Shoals. In 1963, he recorded the first hit produced in that building, Jimmy Hughes's "Steal Away".

Wikipedia, Muscle Shoals, This page was last edited on 1 September 2022, at 05:46 (UTC).

Muscle Shoals Sound Studio is an American recording studio in Sheffield, Alabama, formed in 1969 by four session musicians known as The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. They had left nearby FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals to create their own recording facility.

They attracted noted artists from across the United States and Great Britain. Over the years, artists who recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio included The Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, George Michael, Wilson Pickett, Willie Nelson, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Joe Cocker, Levon Helm, Paul Simon, Bob Seger, Rod Stewart, Tamiko Jones, Cher and Cat Stevens.

History

Founders

The four founders of the studio, Barry Beckett, Roger Hawkins, Jimmy Johnson and David Hood, were session musicians at Rick Hall's FAME Studios; they were officially known as the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section but widely referred to as "The Swampers," who were recognized as having crafted the "Muscle Shoals sound" in conjunction with Hall.

The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section was the first group of musicians to own a studio and to eventually run their own publishing and production companies. They provided musical backing and arrangements for many recordings, including major hits by Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, and the Staple Singers; a wide range of artists in popular music also recorded hit songs and complete albums at the studio. They had first worked together in 1967 and initially played sessions in New York and Nashville before doing so at FAME. Their initial successes in soul and R&B led to more mainstream rock and pop performers who began coming to record at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, including the Rolling Stones, Traffic, Bob Seger, Elton John, Boz Scaggs, Willie Nelson, Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Dr. Hook, Elkie Brooks, Millie Jackson, Julian Lennon, and Glenn Frey.

3614 Jackson Highway

The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section partnered with Jerry Wexler, who provided start-up funding to found Muscle Shoals Sound Studio at 3614 Jackson Highway in Sheffield. The concrete block building, originally built around 1946, was previously a coffin showroom.

Cher's sixth album was titled 3614 Jackson Highway (1969) and this became the informal name for the studio in 1969.

The first hit to the studio's credit was R. B. Greaves' "Take a Letter Maria". By December 1969, the Rolling Stones were recording at this new location for three days.

1000 Alabama Avenue

The 1979-2005 location, now the home of Cypress Moon Studios

The studio at 3614 Jackson Highway closed in April 1979, relocating to a larger updated facility in Sheffield located at 1000 Alabama Avenue. This location operated until it was closed and sold in 1985 to Malaco Records, Tommy Couch's Jackson, Mississippi-based soul and blues label, which also bought the publishing rights held by the Muscle Shoals Sound. Malaco used the Sheffield studios for its own artists, including Johnnie Taylor, Bobby Bland and Little Milton, as while continuing to operate its own facility in Jackson. The Rhythm Section, minus Beckett, worked with other studio musicians at Malaco Records and at other studios. In 2005, Couch decided to close the Malaco studio on Alabama Avenue because he was having difficulty competing with more technologically advanced studios.

After the closure of the 1000 Alabama Avenue location, the building was taken over by a movie production company. In 2007, this location housed Cypress Moon Productions and the Cypress Moon Studio with functioning recording equipment, which was operating as a recording studio and was open for tours.

Recent history

Although it was no longer a working studio in 2009 and 2010, the Jackson Highway location was rented for recording some or all of two Grammy-nominated albums. Band of Horses's third CD, Infinite Arms, recorded in part at that studio, was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category Best Alternative Album.

Ten tracks of Black Keys's sixth album, Brothers, were also recorded at 3614 Jackson Highway. The album was nominated for a 2011 Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album. Two songs from the album, "Tighten Up" and "Black Mud", were nominated for Grammys: "Tighten Up" for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and Best Rock Song and "Black Mud" for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. Rolling Stone magazine placed the album at number-2 on its list of the Best Albums of 2010 and "Everlasting Light" at number 11 on its list of the Best Singles of 2010. The album was also featured on Spin magazine's Top 40 Albums of 2010.

Chris Stapleton recorded his Grammy winning single, "Cold" at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in December of 2018 and received the Grammy in 2022 thus making the studio one that produces Grammy winning hit records once again.

Restoration and reopening

The original studio building on Jackson Highway, which had become an audio visual retailer and then an appliance store until 1999, changed ownership, the subsequent owner completing some renovations and retaining the old recording equipment, allowing for tours of the property. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in June 2006.

In 2013, the documentary Muscle Shoals raised public interest in a major restoration of the studio, and in June that year, the owner sold the property (without the historic recording equipment) to the Muscle Shoals Music Foundation, an organization that had been formed earlier that year with the goal of establishing a music museum in the historic building. A large grant from Beats Electronics provided an essential $1 million. The state tourism director said that the 2013 Muscle Shoals film had significant influence. "The financial support from Beats is a direct result of their film." Additional donations were made by other groups and individuals.

The building closed when major restoration work began in September 2015, and reopened as a finished tourist attraction operated by the Muscle Shoals Music Foundation on January 9, 2017.The interior is reminiscent of the 1970s, with relevant recording equipment and paraphernalia. According to a journalist who was a recent visitor, the restored studio is impressive: "Muscle Shoals Sound's interior appears much as it did in its prime. .Some guitars and amps. A Hammond organ, Wurlitzer electric piano and black baby grand. The control room with recording console and analog tape machine .There are isolation booths, for vocals, percussion and such..."

The Alabama Tourism Department named Muscle Shoals Sound Studio as the state's top attraction in 2017, even before the Jackson Highway studio reopened. Over 62,000 people from 50 countries and every state in the U.S. have visited since it opened for tours again in 2013.

The studio is a working recording studio at night. Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys recorded a solo project in March 2017. Grammy winning producer Dave Cobb of Nashville recorded rockers Rival Sons in April 2017. Actor Kiefer Sutherland recorded with Swamper David Hood in May 2017. In 2018, Bishop Gunn released the first recording from the studio after the restoration, "Shine" from their album, Natchez. Donnie Fritts released tunes recorded at the studio on his June album, in conjunction with John Paul White and Single Lock Records.

Documentary

Filmmaker Greg Camalier premiered his documentary film Muscle Shoals at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2013. It is about Muscle Shoals sound, and features Rick Hall, FAME Studios, and the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section (Swampers) who had founded the Muscle Shoals Sound Studios. The film includes interviews with Percy Sledge, Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Steve Winwood, Bono, Alicia Keys and many other

You can see the Muscle Shoals Documentary currently on Amazon Prime, Peacock, Hulu

Gold Star Studios

Website

goldstarrecordingstudios.com

Gold Star Studios was an independent recording studio located in Los Angeles, California, United States. For more than thirty years, from 1950 to 1984, Gold Star was one of the most successful commercial recording studios in the world.

Founded by David S. Gold and Stan Ross and opened in October 1950, Gold Star Recording Studios was located at 6252 Santa Monica Boulevard near the corner of Vine Street in Hollywood, the studio name was a combination of the names of the two owners -- (Dave) GOLD and STA(n) R(oss). The studio was renowned for its unique custom-designed recording equipment, which was designed and built by Gold, and for its echo chambers (also designed and built by Gold), which were utilized heavily by producers, most notably, Phil Spector.

Many big bands and orchestras recorded at Gold Star. Band leader Phil Carreon and Vocalist Ray Vasquez recorded at the facility in the 1950s.

Between 1950 and 1984, Ritchie Valens, Eddie Cochran, Phil Spector, Brian Wilson, Sonny & Cher, Buffalo Springfield, Duane Eddy, Jimi Hendrix, Neil Young, The Ronettes, Dick Dale, The Righteous Brothers, Iron Butterfly, Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass.

Goldstar Studios website

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Record Label or Record Company

A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing, promotion, and enforcement of copyright for sound recordings and music videos, while also conducting talent scouting and development of new artists ("artists and repertoire" or "A&R"), and maintaining contracts with recording artists and their managers. The term "record label", derives from the circular label in the center of a vinyl record.

Within the mainstream music industry, recording artists have traditionally been reliant upon record labels to broaden their consumer base, market their albums, and promote their singles on streaming services, radio, and television.

Columbia Records

Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the American Graphophone Company, the successor to the Volta Graphophone Company. Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in the recorded sound business, and the second major company to produce records.

Columbia is one of Sony Music's four flagship record labels, alongside former longtime rival RCA Records, as well as Arista Records and Epic Records.

Atlantic Records

In 2004, Atlantic and its sister label Elektra were merged into the Atlantic Records Group. Craig Kallman is the chairman of Atlantic. Ahmet Ertegun served as founding chairman until his death on December 14, 2006, at age 83.

In 2007, the label celebrated its 60th anniversary with the May 2 PBS broadcast of the American Masters documentary Atlantic Records: The House that Ahmet Built and the simultaneous Starbucks CD release of Atlantic 60th Anniversary: R&B Classics Chosen By Ahmet Ertegun.

That year also saw Atlantic reach a milestone for major record labels. According to the International Herald Tribune, "More than half of its music sales in the United States are now from digital products like downloads on iTunes and ring tones for cellphones", doing so "without seeing as steep of a decline in compact disc sales as the rest of the industry."

RCA Records

RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Arista Records, and Epic Records. The label has released multiple genres of music, including pop, classical, rock, hip hop, afrobeat, electronic, R&B, blues, jazz, and country. Its name is derived from the initials of its defunct parent company, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA). RCA Records was fully acquired by Bertelsmann in 1987, making it a part of Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) and became a part of Sony BMG Music Entertainment after the 2004 merger of BMG and Sony; it was acquired by the latter in 2008, after the dissolution of Sony/BMG and the restructuring of Sony Music. RCA Records is the corporate successor of the Victor Talking Machine Company, founded in 1901, making it the second-oldest record label in American history, after sister label Columbia Records, founded in 1889.

The RCA catalogue includes records by influential artists such as Elvis Presley, David Bowie, The Kinks, Nina Simone, Diana Ross, Harry Belafonte, ABBA and Sam Cooke. As of 2021, the label's roster included A$AP Rocky, Ateez, Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, Chris Brown, Cage the Elephant, Christina Aguilera, Miley Cyrus, Craig David, D'Angelo, Dave Matthews Band, Doja Cat, Foo Fighters, Kirk Franklin, Becky G, G-Eazy, Childish Gambino, Grayson Hugh, Martin Garrix, H.E.R., Enrique Iglesias, Kesha, Alicia Keys, Khalid, Kings of Leon, Normani, Pentatonix, P!nk, Mark Ronson, Shakira, The Strokes, SZA, Three Days Grace, Bryson Tiller, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Walk the Moon, ZAYN and Tate McRae.

Wikipedia

Capital Records - Label, Recording Studio

Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note in the United States in 1942 by Johnny Mercer, Buddy DeSylva, and Glenn E. Wallichs. Capitol was acquired by British music conglomerate EMI as its North American subsidiary in 1955. EMI was acquired by Universal Music Group in 2012, and was merged with the company a year later, making Capitol and the Capitol Music Group both distributed by UMG. The label's circular headquarters building is a recognized landmark of Hollywood, California.

Both the label itself and its famous building are sometimes referred to as "The House That Nat Built." This refers to one of Capitol's most famous artists, Nat King Cole. Capitol is also known as the record label of the Beach Boys, and as the U.S. label of the Beatles (their native label being Parlophone), especially during the years of Beatlemania in the U.S. from 1964 to 1967.

Sound City

Sound City Studios is a recording studio in Los Angeles, California, known as one of the most successful in popular music. The complex opened in 1969 in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles. The facility had previously been a production factory of the English musical instrument manufacturer Vox. Throughout the late twentieth century, the studio became known for its signature sound, especially in recording drums and live performances of rock bands.

Hundreds of rock artists spanning five decades have recorded at Sound City, including Johnny Cash, Neil Young, Fleetwood Mac, Elton John, U2, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Bob Dylan, Guns N' Roses, Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, Tool, Slayer, Rage Against the Machine, Death Cab for Cutie, and Fall Out Boy. Over one-hundred albums recorded at Sound City have achieved gold and platinum certifications.

The studio leased time for public use until 2011; in 2011 the owners closed the studio and much of the equipment was sold off. From 2011 to 2016, the studio was leased by Fairfax Recordings, who used it as their own exclusive in-house studio. In 2017 the studio was re-opened for public use and has continued to host artists in the years since. The complex was the focus of the documentary Sound City (2013), directed by musician Dave Grohl. Grohl purchased some of the equipment sold in 2011, including the rare Neve Electronics 8028 mixing console that has been credited with creating the "Sound City sound"; it has since been re-installed at Grohl's Studio 606.

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Guns and Roses

Who Invented the Electric Guitar

Invented in 1932, the electric guitar was adopted by jazz guitar players, who wanted to play single-note guitar solos in large big band ensembles. Early proponents of the electric guitar on record include Les Paul, Eddie Durham, George Barnes, Lonnie Johnson, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, T-Bone Walker, and Charlie Christian. During the 1950s and 1960s, the electric guitar became the most important instrument in popular music. It has evolved into an instrument that is capable of a multitude of sounds and styles in genres ranging from pop and rock to folk to country music, blues and jazz. It served as a major component in the development of electric blues, rock and roll, rock music, heavy metal music and many other genres of music.

The demand for amplified guitars began during the big band era; as orchestras increased in size, guitar players soon realized the necessity in guitar amplification and electrification. The first electrically amplified stringed instrument to be marketed commercially was a cast aluminium lap steel guitar nicknamed the "Frying Pan" designed in 1931 by George Beauchamp, the general manager of the National Stringed Instrument Corporation. Commercial production began in late summer of 1932 by the Ro-Pat-In Corporation (Electro-Patent-Instrument Company), in Los Angeles.

In 1934, the company was renamed the Rickenbacker Electro Stringed Instrument Company. In that year Beauchamp applied for a United States patent for an Electrical Stringed Musical Instrument and the patent was later issued in 1937. Early electric guitar manufacturers include Rickenbacker in 1932; Dobro in 1933; National, AudioVox and Volu-tone in 1934; Vega, Epiphone (Electrophone and Electar), and Gibson in 1935 and many others by 1936.

By early-mid 1935, Electro String Instrument Corporation had achieved success with the "Frying Pan", and set out to capture a new audience through its release of the Electro-Spanish Model B and the Electro-Spanish Ken Roberts, which was the first full 25-inch scale electric guitar ever produced. The solid-body electric guitar is made of solid wood, without functionally resonating air spaces. The first solid-body Spanish standard guitar was offered by Vivi-Tone no later than 1934.

Gibson's first production electric guitar, marketed in 1936, was the ES-150 model ("ES" for "Electric Spanish", and "150" reflecting the $150 price of the instrument, along with matching amplifier). It became known as the "Charlie Christian" pickup. The ES-150 achieved some popularity but suffered from unequal loudness across the six strings.

A functioning solid-body electric guitar was designed and built in 1940 by Les Paul from an Epiphone acoustic archtop as an experiment. His "log guitar" — a wood post with a neck attached and two hollow-body halves attached to the sides for appearance only — shares nothing in common for design or hardware with the solid-body Gibson Les Paul, designed by Ted McCarty and introduced in 1952.

Solid-body

Unlike acoustic guitars, solid-body electric guitars have no vibrating soundboard to amplify string vibration. Instead, solid-body instruments depend on electric pickups, and an amplifier

Chambered-body

Some otherwise solid-bodied guitars, such as the Gibson Les Paul Supreme, the PRS Singlecut, and the Fender Telecaster Thinline, are built with hollow chambers in the body. To reduce weight, to achieve a semi-acoustic tone or both.

Semi-acoustic

Semi-acoustic guitars have a hollow body similar to an acoustic guitar and electromagnetic pickups mounted directly into the body. They work in a similar way to solid-body electric guitars except that because the hollow body also vibrates, the pickups convert a combination of string and body vibration into an electrical signal.

Electric acoustic

Some steel-string acoustic guitars are fitted with pickups purely as an alternative to using a separate microphone. They are regarded as acoustic guitars rather than electric guitars because the pickups do not produce a signal directly from the vibration of the strings, but rather from the vibration of the guitar top or body, and the amplification of the sound merely increases volume, not alters tone.

Where would Rock Music be without our electric guitar?

1.Heinemann also wanted to provide music for audiences neglected by the larger record companies. OKeh produced lines of recordings in German, Czech, Polish, Swedish, and Yiddish for immigrant communities in the United States. True or False

2. The first electrically amplified stringed instrument to be marketed commercially was a cast aluminium lap steel guitar was nicknamed the ________________ _____.

3. RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by __________.

4. Stax was influential in the creation of_____________ soul and ___________ soul music.

5. Okeh musicians did not receive much payment for entering the studio. They hoped other bands would play their copyrighted music and earn money through___________________

6. Who had the hit "Mood Indigo"?____________________

7. What became a best-seller in the US in 1922, and is estimated to have sold around a million records?__________________________

8. Many of Holly's best and most polished efforts were produced at the_______________studio.

9. Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in the recorded sound business, and the second major company to produce records. True or False

10. This studio was renowned for its unique custom-designed recording equipment, and for its echo chambers , which were utilized heavily by producers, most notably, Phil Spector. Name the studio.___________________________

11. Who was Stax's biggest star who died in 1967?______________

12. Rick Hall of FAME studio originally had the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section called?_______________

13. The term "record label", derives from the circular shape of a record. True or False

14. What label is The House that Ahmet Built?_______________

15. The label itself and its famous building are sometimes referred to as_____________________.

Quiz Answers

2. The first electrically amplified stringed instrument to be marketed commercially was a cast aluminium lap steel guitar was nicknamed the ________________ _____. Frying Pan

3. RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by __________. Sony

4. Stax was influential in the creation of_____________ Southern soul and ___________Memphis soul music.

5. Okeh musicians did not receive much payment for entering the studio. They hoped other bands would play their copyrighted music and earn money through___________________ royalties

6. Who had the hit "Mood Indigo"?____________________Norman Petty Trio

7. What became a best-seller in the US in 1922, and is estimated to have sold around a million records?__________________________ The Laughing Record

8. Many of Holly's best and most polished efforts were produced at the_______________studio. Norman Petty Clovis studio.

9. Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in the recorded sound business, and the second major company to produce records. True or False

11. Who was Stax's biggest star who died in 1967?______________Otis Redding

12. Rick Hall of FAME studio originally had the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section called?_______________ The Swampers

13. The term "record label", derives from the circular shape of a record. True or False

Comes from the label in the center of a vinyl record.

14. What label is The House that Ahmet Built?_______________Atlantic Records

15. The label itself and its famous building are sometimes referred to as_____________________.

"The House That Nat Built.

Homework:

Read and Review material/videos that I did not have time for this chapter.
Begin to think and create your class project.
Something to think about.- How might the blues be different if slavery had never existed and African Americans had been welcomed immigrants in the United States?
Listen to at least ten songs of the 40's,50s this week. Any genre.

Student Project:

It could be a poem, a song, lyrics, an experience, a youtube video, a memory, an invention, a dance, a picture, a drawing/painting, performance. Creativity and imagination makes it educational and fun.

Due March 7th

You could even video yourself in advance for the presentation. We love live and video performances.

Email me what you plan to do. I will put the program in order for a nice variety of projects.

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