Studio Spotlight
The Sound Emporium
If you were to take a trip to Music City USA to try to locate the recording studios which have recorded some of the greatest hits in the history of popular music, you would spend most of your time visiting museums. But, there is one place that is not just open for business— it has been cranking out some of the greatest hits of all-time since “Cowboy,” Jack Clement, first opened its doors more than 50 years ago. The list of hitmakers that have recorded in this place is astounding and could easily include: Johnny Cash, Don Williams, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, Keith Whitley, Clint Black, Trisha Yearwood, Shania Twain, Alison Krause, Kenny Chesney, Kacey Musgraves, Cole Swindell and Jason Isbell. It could also include Ray Stevens, John Denver, Chuck Berry, Cyndi Lauper, Robert Plant, Sheryl Crow, Eric Clapton, Al Green, Todd Rundgren and yes, even Alvin and the Chipmunks. It has also been a place where a number of classic film soundtracks have been recorded, as well, including: Smokey and The Bandit, Urban Cowboy, 8 Seconds, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Cold Mountain and Walk the Line. Since 1969, some of the greatest hits in popular music and soundtracks for feature films and even popular television programs have been recorded in one place in Nashville, Tennessee— the Sound Emporium.
The “Cowboy”
The story of one of the most legendary recording studio facilities in America starts with “Cowboy,” Jack Clement, who was a protege of Sam Phillips— the iconic producer of Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash. Jack Clement was a native of Memphis, Tennessee, who after graduating from high school, joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1950 and was stationed in Washington D.C. During his stint in the U.S. Marine Corps, Clement, who had always had a love for music, attended college and came into his own as a musician. Having the desire to return to Memphis and to make music on his own, he came back to Tennessee in 1954 and started a band, a small record label and returned to college. After his record label released their first song, he realized that he did not have the means to distribute the music that he was creating, so he brought his music to none other than Sam Phillips at Sun Records— who was so impressed with him that he gave him a job. After just a few months of working at Sun Studio, Sam Phillips began turning over more of the production responsibilities to him and a legend was born.
“Cowboy,” Jack Clement would produce some of the seminal hits in the new rock and roll revolution of the late 1950s and early 1960s. The first major artist that he would produce was Johnny Cash, but he would also produce both Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins, too. During this time, he was not only producing hit songs, he was also authoring them, as well. Classic hit songs such as, “Ballad of a Teenage Queen,” “Guess Things Happen That Way,” “Just About Time,” “Fools Like Me,” and “It’ll Be Me,” were all written by “Cowboy” Jack Clement. He was not only a talented musician, a fabulous producer and a great songwriter, but he was also becoming a brilliant engineer who liked to push the sonic envelope for what was possible in the recording studio— even in the early days of the process of professional music recording. After having tremendous success at Sun Records, Clement moved to Nashville, where he would work with another iconic producer, Chet Atkins, at RCA Records. Never one to rest on his laurels, Clement started another publishing company, Jack Music, Inc., and became interested in creating his own recording studio. It was also during this time, that he became one of the very first independent producers in Nashville and created a second publishing company with Bill Hall— with whom, he would also have an interest in a pair of Texas-based recording studios in Beaumont and Houston. He never stopped writing and producing hit songs, but his publishing companies also became very successful, as he employed such successful songwriters as Allen Reynolds and Dickey Lee who penned a number of early hit songs for George Jones. He also had a knack for finding new artists and as legend would have it, he took a chance in 1965 on a young man from Mississippi, named Charley Pride, who would later become one of the true icons in country music.
By the fall of 1968, “Cowboy” Jack Clement had become one of the true success stories in Nashville and as his publishing companies and production interests had grown and developed, he realized that he would need a singular place where he could focus all of his tremendous energy and talent into creating great music.
The Sound Emporium was established by one of the true legends in the history of popular music, "Cowboy," Jack Clement, pictured here with a top hat and a trombone in the gallery area that has been created to pay homage to the rich history of the facility. Images taken by Searchlight Media-- provided courtesy of The Sound Emporium.
A place where legends are made is born—
The construction of Jack Clement Recording Studios began in the spring of 1969. When it was completed, it opened its doors for its very first recording sessions on November 6, 1969. From the beginning, it was a special place for recording great music and it would not take long for it to become an iconic Nashville institution. Just three months after the studio opened its doors, one of the greatest hit albums of 1970 on both the country and the pop charts was recorded in the facility, including the title track, which was also a number-one, classic hit song, “Everything is Beautiful,” by Ray Stevens. The song would win a Grammy-Award in 1971, as Ray Stevens would garner the award for the Best Male Vocal Performance for that year. During its first year of operation, the facility was so busy and booked with clients, that Clement started working on the house next door which would soon become Studio B.
Throughout the 1970s, Jack Clement Recording Studios became a place where artists, producers and engineers came to record some of the greatest hits in popular music. During the 1970s, artists such as Merle Haggard, Charley Pride, Don Williams, Waylon Jennings, Donna Fargo, Roy Clark, Tompall Glaser, Willie Nelson, Marie Osmond, Crystal Gayle, Gene Watson, Kenny Rogers, Asleep At The Wheel, Dottie West, B.J. Thomas, Ronnie Millsap, Johnny Cash, Charlie Rich, Moe Bandy, Dolly Parton, Debbie Boone, Ray Price and Joe Stampley each recorded at Jack Clement Recording Studios. Of those artists mentioned above, Donna Fargo, Don Williams, Kenny Rogers, Moe Bandy, Gene Watson, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings would record songs that became country music staples during the decade of the 1970s. The song, “The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A.,” was released by Donna Fargo in 1971 and it has become one of the most memorable hits in the genre. The collaboration between Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings would produce a country music classic, “Mamas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys,” which when it was released in 1978, instantly became a hit. And it doesn’t stop there, as Kenny Rogers and Dottie West would record the first of many hit duets, “Don’t Fall in Love With a Dreamer,” at Jack Clement Recording Studios. In 1978, Kenny Rogers would also record another legendary country music song, “The Gambler,” at Jack Clement Recording Studios. It is one of the greatest hit songs of all-time. Two other artists, Joe Stampley and Moe Bandy would record a number of hit songs in the facility during the 1970s. Also, the sound track for the popular feature film, Smokey and The Bandit, starring Burt Reyonds and Sally Field was recorded at Jack Clement Recording Studios. But, there were two artists who helped bring country music into the 1980s and both would have several hit songs that were recorded at Jack Clement Recording Studios— Don Williams and Gene Watson. In fact, most of Don Williams’ 16 number-one hit songs during his career were recorded at the facility. By the end of the decade, it was clear that the studio facility that “Cowboy,” Jack Clement had created had become a place where legends were made, but, in 1979, the recording studio facility was sold and soon, it would have a new name— the Sound Emporium. As a new decade dawned, the newly christened recording studio facility was about to step into an era of unprecedented success.
The 1980s—
Even though it would have a new name, the success of the facility only continued to blossom, as the Sound Emporium would be an integral part of some of the greatest hit songs of the 1980s. In February, 1980, the studio would open its doors to record one of the greatest film soundtracks ever to be produced in the history of popular music. The soundtrack for the feature film, Urban Cowboy, starring John Travolta and Debra Winger, launched an era of popularity for country music in the early part of the decade of the 1980s. While some of the material for the feature film was recorded at the Sound Emporium, so was the parody of it, Urban Chipmunk— starring Alvin and the Chipmunks— Alvin, Simon and Theodore, of course. The music from the film would launch a new era in popularity for country music and many of the great hit songs from this period were recorded at the Sound Emporium by such artists as Don Williams, Kenny Rogers, Gene Watson, Mickey Gilley, Lee Greenwood, Earl Thomas Conley and Dolly Parton. During the 1980s, a number of country music artists and acts would record at the Sound Emporium in the early stages of their careers including: The New Grass Revival, Kathy Mattea, George Strait, Patty Loveless, Sawyer Brown and Reba McEntire. The Sound Emporium would also host such rockers as Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, The Fabulous Thunderbirds and R.E.M. during the 1980s. Plus, country music legends Conway Twitty, Glen Campbell and Mel Tillis would also record in the facility during the 1980s. But, by the end of the decade, a true country music legend would record some of the greatest hits of the 1980s at the Sound Emporium— Keith Whitley. Each of the singles released from his album, Don’t Close Your Eyes, would reach number-one, including: “Don’t Close Your Eyes,” “I’m No Stranger to the Rain,” and “When You Say Nothing at All.” His final album, I Wonder Do You Think of Me, was released posthumously and included a pair of number-one hits, including, the title track, “I Wonder Do You Think of Me,” and “It Ain’t Nothin.’” Though Keith Whitley would not live to see the tremendous success and impact that his music would have well into the future, as I compose these sentences for this article, (just a few moments ago), I learned that he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. While the 1980s marked a decade of success for the Sound Emporium, the studio would continue to record hit making artists and acts throughout the country music boom of the 1990s and other popular film soundtracks, as well.
This image gives us a sneak peek inside the legendary Studio A of The Sound Emporium. Images taken by Searchlight Media and provided courtesy of The Sound Emporium.
A Country Music Revolution—
As a new decade dawned for the Sound Emporium, the studio would continue recording some of the greatest hitmakers in popular music. The genre of country music was never more popular— in part, because of a renaissance fueled by the unparalleled success of Garth Brooks at the beginning of the decade. It should be noted, by the way, that Allen Reynolds who produced Garth Brooks, had been a songwriter and a producer who spent much of the early part of his career as a protege of “Cowboy,” Jack Clement and recorded quite a few of his early sessions at the Sound Emporium when it was Jack Clement Recording Studios. The success of Garth Brooks launched a traditional resurgence in country music that would last until the early 2000s and would propel the genre to new heights. Many of the songs of the country music boom of this period were recorded at the Sound Emporium by artists like Randy Travis, Alan Jackson, Trisha Yearwood, Restless Heart, Alabama, Collin Raye, John Anderson, Martina McBride, Pam Tillis, Sawyer Brown, John Michael Montgomery, Sammy Kershaw, Wynonna Judd, Vince Gill, George Strait, Reba McEntire, Little Texas and Travis Tritt. In fact, the albums by Trisha Yearwood, such as her self-titled debut album which would yield the classic hit single, “She’s In Love With the Boy,” and the title track from her third album, The Song Remembers When, were legendary hits. Alan Jackson’s album, Don’t Rock the Jukebox, which featured four hit singles, including the title track, was a country music classic— parts of which were recorded at the Sound Emporium. There were amazing compilation tribute albums such as the Rhythm, Country and Blues album which featured Marty Stuart and the legendary Staples Singers, and an album in tribute to Merle Haggard which saw Leroy Parnell, Diamond Rio, Steve Wariner and Marty Stuart, as well, that were also recorded at the Sound Emporium. Even though country music has always been a staple of Nashville recording studios, the Sound Emporium, even during the boom of the 1990s, continued to host hit-makers from other genres of popular music such as CeCe Winans, Peter Cetera, Hootie and the Blowfish, and Steven Curtis Chapman. Film soundtracks continued to be recorded at the Sound Emporium. In 1993 and 1994, music for the soundtracks for the feature films, Maverick and 8 Seconds, and later, in 1999, the soundtrack for the feature film, O’Brother, Where Art Thou, starring George Clooney were also recorded at the Sound Emporium. The studio was not just a place where the country music revolution was fueled— it was, and is to this very day, a place where great popular music from every genre is recorded.
In fact, the studio has remained busy with great music being recorded for popular artists, film soundtracks and even television programs. Over the course of the past two decades, it has hosted such artists and acts as Taylor Swift, Patty Griffin, Elvis Costello, Kenny Chesney, Don Henley, The Alabama Shakes, Jason Isbell, Indie Arie, Kacey Musgraves, Zach Williams, Pop Evil, Maren Morris, Pharrell Williams and Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. The soundtracks for such popular feature films as Cold Mountain and Walk the Line were recorded at the Sound Emporium during this period and produced by Grammy-Award winning producer, T-Bone Burnett. The television program, “Nashville,” which aired on ABC made the studio its base of operations. In fact, the studio has never been busier— an amazing fact to consider in a time in which many other legendary recording studio facilities have closed their doors. Beginning in the late 1990s, digital audio workstations had started to supplant traditional tape machine technologies for recording music. This enabled many artists and their producers to open up their own home studio facilities. While the trend may have been convenient for artists and producers, it also meant that quite a few recording studio facilities would struggle to stay in business and many of them, by 2008, had started closing their doors. By 2010, this transition was complete and as the music industry began to also struggle mightily with the advent of digital streaming services starting to replace the physical distribution of their products, the trickle-down effect was devastating for the music recording industry as a whole. But, through it all, the Sound Emporium has remained— part of its appeal, is the vibe that you feel when you walk into the legendary facility, but perhaps the other crucially important component to its success has, without a doubt, been the remarkable people who have worked there throughout its long and storied history.
This image gives us a look inside the lounge of The Sound Emporium. Images taken by Searchlight Media and provided courtesy of The Sound Emporium.
This place has a great vibe, but it has always had a wonderful supporting cast, too—
Every legendary recording studio has great gear, a great mic locker and a fabulous console, but increasingly few of them have the crucial element which keeps artists, musicians, engineers and producers coming through their doors, time and time again— Vibe. The legendary space at the Sound Emporium has not always existed in exactly the same form. The studio has both expanded and gone through a number of cosmetic changes throughout its long and storied history. Each time I have had the privilege of visiting a legendary recording studio facility, I can always hear the great music of the past that was recorded in those amazing spaces. If I had the honor of being able to walk through the Sound Emporium, I know that I would hear such songs as “Everything Is Beautiful,” by Ray Stevens, “The Gambler,” by Kenny Rogers, “Good Ole Boys Like Me,” by Don Williams, “When You Say Nothing At All,” by Keith Whitley and “She’s In Love With the Boy,” by Trisha Yearwood. But, in visiting the Sound Emporium, one would quickly have to snap back into reality because it is no museum, as many legendary recording studio facilities have become today. It is a place where you can hear the great music of the past, for sure, but you can also hear the great music of today being made, as well. While it is true, to an extent, to say that the rich and storied past of the facility continues to lure great artists, musicians, engineers and producers in the professional music industry to do their very best work at the Sound Emporium, it is by far and away not the only reason. Walls, ceilings, control rooms, isolation booths, consoles, microphones and monitoring systems cannot record great music and there would be no vibe in any legendary recording studio facility without having a fabulous staff to work with the clients who have come to produce their great music. Simply put, you cannot have a legendary recording studio facility without having great people to run its day-to-day operations. Throughout its rich and storied history, the Sound Emporium has always had a fabulous staff and three of those figures in addition, of course, to “Cowboy,” Jack Clement, its founder, have helped forge the studio throughout the years into one of the very best places to record great music.
In 1969, when the Sound Emporium first opened its doors, “Cowboy,” Jack Clement was under no illusion that it takes great people to make a recording studio a great place for artists to do their very best work. And from the beginning, he knew that he would need a great engineering mind to record the continuous flow of great artists who would come to work in the studio. The great engineering mind who would help put the studio on the pathway to success in those early days was the legendary Charlie Tallent, who had been working on a research project into the intricacies of human hearing while being a Phd candidate at Vanderbilt University when he was tapped by Clement to work in the facility. He had also worked at another famous recording studio in town on a part-time basis, the famed Bradley's Barn. From the beginning, Tallent, would design the acoustic spaces that would help to make the studio a success, plus, he would lead a team of three amazing assistant engineers who would become the backbone of the first staff. It was Tallent who also helped to bring the best in recording technologies for the time— including: state-of-the-art, Quad 8 recording consoles (Quad 8 was an offshoot of Electrodyne, a company which manufactured the first true consoles featuring channel strips for the professional music recording and broadcast industries that were made in America and quite literally powered some of the greatest hit songs of the 1960s), 16-track analog tape machines, a great selection of tube-based and solid state gear (new at the time) and a fabulous array of microphones into the facility. His work enabled the recording studio to be constantly booked with A-list artists and performers throughout the 1970s and into the early 1980s. He also had a knack for finding talented young engineers, one of which, Garth Fundis, would help lead the studio into the era of tremendous success it would experience during the country music boom of the 1980s, 1990s and into the early 2000s.
Garth Fundis began his storied career as an assistant recording studio engineer in 1972. For almost forty years, he would remain a vital component to the great success of the Sound Emporium. He would work his way up from being an assistant engineer, to engineering records, to writing songs and to eventually become one of the top producers in the history of country music. Fundis would produce such notable acts as Alabama, Don Williams, Keith Whitley, The New Grass Revival and Trisha Yearwood. Under his leadership, the studio would acquire a pair of new consoles— a state-of-the-art Neve console for Studio A and a Trident console that would reside in Studio B, plus, the gear and the mic locker would become updated during his tenure. The studio continued to draw acts from across the popular music spectrum. Film soundtracks and television shows, plus commercials, were recorded at the Sound Emporium. In fact, if there was a song that was a hit in country music during the 1980s and 1990s, there is a likelihood that it may have been produced by Garth Fundis and recorded at the Sound Emporium. During his tenure, he would hire a new studio manager for the Sound Emporium. She was a pioneer and truly one of the great figures in the rich and storied history of the Sound Emporium. It would be the leadership of Juanita Copeland that would bring the studio into both the present and its future, too.
Under the leadership of Juanita Copeland, the Sound Emporium has not just moved into the future, but it has also expanded— opening-up two new rooms in the process. The studio has also updated its consoles, adding a pair of top-of-the-line, sweet-sounding, API consoles into both Studios A and B. And to top it off, the studio has never been busier— an amazing fact, considering its long and storied history. After working at Mercury Records in Nashville, Juanita, was hired by Garth Fundis to be the Operations Manager for Almo Sounds, a record label owned by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss. Fundis had been hired as the Director of the Nashville office for the label, which was housed in the Sound Emporium. After working in a variety of capacities, in 2005, Garth Fundis elevated her to the position of studio manager. Immediately, she brought her presence— tremendous leadership and like those great figures who came before her— a knack for finding the right people to come to work in the storied facility. She is a true pioneer. In the world of professional music recording, there have been very few women in positions of leadership, but she has been the leader for a storied recording studio facility for almost twenty years and during that time, she has also brought quite a few young women, as fabulous engineers, into the business of music recording. She will tell you that you have to do the work better than everyone else, plus, you have to do it with both class and integrity. She will also tell you that if you do not possess either of those two elements, working in a place like the Sound Emporium may not be for you. She is the person who will greet you at the door. She is the person who will make sure that your time working in the Sound Emporium is a great experience for everyone involved. She is an original— and there is no doubt that she not only has the respect of her fabulous staff and her fellow recording studio managers throughout Music City, U.S.A. but also from the artists, engineers, producers and musicians who have come to record in the legendary recording studio facility over the years. She has also overseen the studio during a pair of ownership changes within the past 15 years, including the gifting of the studio to Lipscomb University in Nashville. However, unlike other legendary recording studio facilities that may have a similar arrangement, the Sound Emporium operates just as it has since 1969. Juanita Copeland is not just the General Manager, she is also the Chief Operating Officer of the Sound Emporium.
This image gives us a sneak peek inside the control room of the legendary Studio A of The Sound Emporium with its state-of-the-art API Legacy console. Images taken by Searchlight Media and provided courtesy of The Sound Emporium.
A State of the Art Recording Studio Facility—
The Sound Emporium is a state-of-the-art recording studio facility that is located, not on, but near, Nashville’s famed Music Row. It possesses four amazing studio rooms, an array of both vintage analog and state-of-the-art digital gear, an impressive microphone locker and of course, a fabulous staff that will be there to meet the needs of your production.
At the Sound Emporium, there are two main studio facilities that can be used primarily for tracking and mixing and two smaller rooms that can be used for mixing, overdubs and listening. Studio A has a large recording space that can be used to accommodate almost any project of any scale or scope. The main recording area in Studio A measures 32X45 (or, 1,440 square feet), plus, it features three separate isolation booths (including, a sweet drum room) and amp closets, as well. Studio A also features a live echo chamber— a feature that only a historic recording studio could provide for a client. The control room in Studio A measures 20X22 (or, 440 square feet). Studio B also features a sizable space for recording at 20X22 (or, 440 square feet) and four distinct isolation booths. Both Studio A and Studio B have high ceilings and are known for their amazing drum sounds. Studio G— named for the legendary Garth Fundis is a smaller space that features a vocal booth and is an excellent space for vocals, overdubs, voice-overs, audiobooks and for (in-the-box) mixing projects, as well. Studio Z is also an excellent small space that can be used for either overdubs or mixing. Both Studio G and Studio Z feature great control room spaces for listening and can be used for a variety of tasks.
Inside the control rooms of each of the studios at the Sound Emporium you will find both classical analog and state-of-the-art digital gear, a fabulous mic locker, exquisite monitoring systems and amazing consoles. In Studios A and B, you will find amazing gear, including dynamics processors from Universal Audio (including classical models from Teletronix and UREI), DBX, SPL, UBK, Empirical Labs, Tube-Tech, Smart, Standard Audio and Undertone Audio. In both studio control rooms you will also find microphone preamps and equalization units from Boulder, Burl Audio, Neve, Pultec, Undertone Audio, Standard Audio, Avalon, Tube-Tech, Universal Audio, Shadow Hills and Daking. Studio A still features its classic live reverb chamber (a true original), and both control rooms possess digital reverb and delay units from EMT, Lexicon, AMS, Yamaha and TC Electronics. The amazing microphone locker at The Sound Emporium includes vintage and classic models from ADK, AEA, AKG, Audio-Technica, Beyerdynamic, Coles, Electro-Voice, Manley Labs, Neumann, Oktava, Pearl, RCA, Royer, Sony and Studer (both rooms also feature a Yamaha NS-10 subkick) and the smaller rooms also have access to excellent microphones for any music recording task. The control rooms feature monitors from ATC, Yamaha, ProAc, Mackie and Dynaudio (plus, subwoofers from Adam Audio and JBL). The studios also feature a state-of-the-art Mytek cue system. Both Studios A and B feature exquisite 48-channel API Legacy consoles (Studio A has a Legacy AXS with Final Touch automation, while Studio B has a Legacy Plus). Studio A is equipped for tracking in both analog and digital (with 64 channels of Pro-Tools I/O) and Studio B is equipped to track in digital (also with 64 channels of Pro-Tools I/O), but gives clients the capability of mixing to analog. Studios G and Z both feature the ability to record, edit and mix in Pro-Tools.
The Sound Emporium features the key ingredient that makes a recording studio a legendary place for making great music— a staff that is fabulous and dedicated to doing their very best work for you as their client. The fabulous staff at the Sound Emporium is managed by Juanita Copeland. The Chief Engineer at the Sound Emporium is Skyler Chuckry who after interning in multiple studios in Music City U.S.A. has become the chief engineer for the legendary recording facility. This is a tremendous milestone, not just for the Sound Emporium, but, also for the engineering community in Music City, U.S.A. The Sound Emporium is the only major recording studio facility in Nashville to have women in the positions of both Chief Engineer and Chief Operations Officer. David Paulin is the Senior Staff Engineer and the Lead Technician for the Sound Emporium. He had been an assistant to an established engineer before becoming a member of the staff. Joanna Finley and Grant Wilson are both Staff Engineers at the Sound Emporium and both of them have worked on Music Row interning in other recording studios prior to becoming members of the staff. Whether you are a seasoned hitmaker, or stepping into a legendary recording studio for the very first time, if you are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work on a project at the Sound Emporium, you will have the dedication, energy and full support of an amazing staff.
Even though it is not a museum, and it is a busy recording studio which welcomes the very best in the music business through its doors each day, the facility has made a tremendous nod to its rich history through its decor. There are many items from the long and storied history of the facility on display in the hallways and in a curio cabinet in the lobby. There is a hallway that is dedicated to its founder, “Cowboy,” Jack Clement, that has a six-foot tall blown-up picture of the legendary music business icon. If she is ever having a bad day, Juanita Copeland can always look just outside of her door and across the hallway to see the giant, smiling face of “Cowboy,” Jack Clement, which always serves to remind her of one of his most famous quips, when he would say, “Remember, we are in the fun business. If you aren’t having fun, we aren’t doing our job.” That quote, which can also be found painted on the hallway just outside of Studio B, serves as a reminder that the recording facility is a place where the joy of creating music happens everyday. Not only has there been a conscious effort to keep alive the spirit of “Cowboy,” Jack Clement, but there is also a wall honoring Garth Fundis who actually owned the facility for a greater length of time than anyone in its storied history. The decor of the studio also serves to remind us of something else, and that is that the Sound Emporium is a place where great art has been made— beautiful music, which will outlive all of us.
This picture showcases the amazing staff of The Sound Emporium in the control room of Studio B. At the top, from left to right are pictured the following: Joanna Finley (Staff Enginer), David Paulin (Staff Engineer/Lead Technician) and Grant Wilson (Staff Engineer). At the bottom, from left to right are pictured: Skyler Chuckry (Chief Engineer) and Juanita Copeland (President/Chief Operating Officer and General Manager). Images taken by Searchlight Media and provided courtesy of The Sound Emporium.
It is not just a survivor, it is a true gem—
Let’s just be honest, there are very few recording studios that are like the Sound Emporium that remain open today and serving the needs of the professional music industry. Since 1969, some of the greatest hits in the history of popular music have been recorded inside the walls of this legendary recording studio facility. Throughout its history, it has always had an amazing staff of wonderful people who have truly made it a place in Nashville where great music has always been recorded. And thanks to the amazing people who are working there today, the Sound Emporium will always be there— a place where great music will always be made. It is a true gem and so are the people who have worked throughout its long and storied history to make it so.
If you would like to find out more information about the Sound Emporium, you can visit their amazing website at www.soundemporiumstudios.com.
Special Thanks and Acknowledgement
I would like to take a moment to thank Ms. Juanita Copeland for her assistance with this project. The Sound Emporium has been recording the best in popular music since it opened its doors in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1969. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of the wonderful people who have worked at the Sound Emporium over the years who have made it a wonderful place to record great music.
How can I listen to the great songs that were recorded at the Sound Emporium?
With either the Apple Music, the Spotify, or the YouTube playlist, you can listen to the music and or watch the music videos from the groups and artists who were listed in the article that was written about the legendary recording studio facility, the Sound Emporium. Some of the greatest and most memorable songs in the history of popular music have been recorded in this fabulous and iconic Nashville, Tennessee, recording studio facility. Each playlist features a collection of just some of those great songs that have been recorded there since it opened its doors in 1969.