Woodland Sound Studios

Last updated
Woodland Studios
Industry Recording studio
Founded1967;57 years ago (1967)) in Nashville, U.S.
Founder Glenn Snoddy
Defunct2001 (2001)
Headquarters
Nashville, Tennessee
,
U.S.
Number of locations
1

Woodland Studios is a music recording studio located at 1011 Woodland Street in East Nashville, Tennessee originally founded in 1967. The studios have been the site of numerous notable recordings by artists including Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Jimmy Buffett, Billy "Crash" Craddock, Kansas, Neil Young, Charlie Daniels Band, Tammy Wynette, George Strait, Indigo Girls, and others.

Contents

Since 2001 the studios have been owned by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings.

History

1967 to 1979

Built in a 1920s-era movie theater building located in East Nashville, Woodland was designed and constructed under the supervision of former Bradley and Columbia Studios recording engineer Glenn Snoddy for the parent company of the Crescent-Loew movie theater chain. The facility included a recording studio as well as administrative space for gospel label Nashboro Records and Excellorec Publishing. [1] In 1968 the studio replaced its original Altec mixing console with a new 24-input 16-buss console with quad capabilities, four echo sends, two cue busses, and simultaneous four, two, and mono mixdown facilities, making Woodland one of the most advanced facilities at the time. [2] By 1969 Snoddy was Woodland's president and chief technical officer, with Jim Pugh serving as the studios' chief engineer. [3] That year the original building was expanded to add a second 16-track studio (Studio B), [2] and advertised that it had a Moog synthesizer, as well as a custom lighting system designed to change color and fluctuate with the music in the studio. [4]

The studio hosted recording sessions for Nashboro as well as outside clients, and quickly made a name for itself, hosting sessions for such artists as Linda Ronstadt, Joan Baez, and Gordon Lightfoot. [5] Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan recorded the duo's most successful single, "Tennessee Bird Walk" at Woodland in 1970, and Billy "Crash" Craddock recorded several albums at the studio, including the album named after his first Top 10 song, "Knock Three Times". [6]

In August 1971, Will the Circle Be Unbroken , the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's landmark collaboration with an earlier generation of bluegrass and country-and-western players, including Roy Acuff, "Mother" Maybelle Carter, Doc Watson, Earl Scruggs, Randy Scruggs, Merle Travis, Pete "Oswald" Kirby, Norman Blake, Jimmy Martin, Vassar Clements and others, was recorded at Woodland Sound Studios. [5] [7]

Jimmy Buffett realized early career success with two albums recorded at Woodland: Living and Dying in 3/4 Time (1973) and A1A (1974). [8] Ferlin Husky recorded his 1974 album Champagne Ladies and Blue Ribbon Babies at the studio. In 1975, Woodland added a mastering studio designed by Tom Hidley. [2]

In 1976 Woodland upgraded Studio B from 16 to 24 tracks with a new Neve mixing console. [2] The following year, Kansas moved the recording sessions for their album Point of Know Return to Woodland, and recorded their hit "Dust in the Wind" at the studio. [9] That same year, Neil Young recorded portions of his album Comes a Time at Woodland. [10] Barbara Mandrell also recorded portions of her 1977 album Love's Ups and Downs at the studio, the first of many albums she'd record at Woodland into the 1980s.

In December 1978, Woodland's Studio A was upgraded with a Neve 8078 mixing console. [2] Around the same time, when Charlie Daniels and his band were recording Million Mile Reflections at Woodland, he realized the album needed a song that featured fiddle, and he wrote "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" at the studio, with the song becoming the band's biggest hit. [11]

Other artists recording at Woodland in the 1970s included Roy Clark, Freddy Weller, Hank Thompson, Carol Channing, Mary Costa, and the Bobby "Blue" Bland. [2]

1980 to 2000

Snoddy sold the studios to AVI in 1980 but continued to work at Woodland for the next 10 years. [9] The Oak Ridge Boys recorded their 1981 album Fancy Free at the studio, including its hit single "Elvira", and Tammy Wynette utilized Woodland's facilities to record Soft Touch the following year. George Strait recorded Right or Wrong , including the singer's third number-one song, "You Look So Good in Love", at Woodland.

Other artists recording at Woodland in the 1980s included Christy Lane, Donna Fargo, John Conlee, Conway Twitty, Eddie Rabbitt, Roy Head, Rosanne Cash, Amy Grant, J. J. Cale, Earl Thomas Conley, and Clint Black. [9]

In 1991, Robert Solomon, who had gotten his start at Woodland as an engineer in the 1970s, took over running the studio. [12]

Other artists who recorded at Woodland in the 1990s included the Indigo Girls, Aaron Tippin, and the Fixx, whose 1999 album title 1011 Woodland referenced the studios' street address.

On April 16, 1998, the studio was seriously damaged by a mile-wide tornado, which led to the studio falling into disrepair and contentious litigation between Solomon and the building's owners. As of December 2000, Solomon was no longer running the studio, which sat vacant and was condemned. [12] [8] [13]

2001 to present

In 2001, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings purchased the studio. Both had recorded at Woodland in the mid-90s for Welch's album Revival , as well as during the recording of Ryan Adams' album Heartbreaker , and wanted to preserve the studios' more than 30-year history. [14] [15] [9] [10]

In 2010 Robert Plant and Band of Joy recorded their Band of Joy In 2011, Gillian Welch's The Harrow & the Harvest was recorded at the studio. [10]

In March 2020, the studio sustained damage from yet another tornado, which tore the roof off the studio. Welch and Rawlings rebuilt the studio over the next four years. Their 2024 album Woodland was both recorded at, and is named after the studio. [16]

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References

  1. ↑ "Nashboro Records to the Fore". Billboard. 12 October 1968. p. 62. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Wood, Gerry (12 May 1979). "Woodland's World". Billboard. p. 50. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  3. ↑ Kirby, Kip (12 May 1979). "A 12 Year Odyssey: Woodland Studio's Rich Diversity". Billboard. pp. 49–56. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  4. ↑ "Nashville Studios - At Full Schedule" (PDF). Billboard. October 17, 1970. p. CM48. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  5. 1 2 "Dylan, Cash, and the Nashville Cats: A New Music City - Part 4: Artists That Followed". Country Music Hall of Fame. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  6. ↑ McNutt, Randy (August 7, 2011). "Ghosts of Nashville's Recording Studios, Part 1". Home of the Hits. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  7. ↑ Cooper, Peter (1 May 2008). "History Lesson: Nashville's Music Milestones from the Bradleys to the Outlaws and Beyond". Mix. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  8. 1 2 Heinrichs, Audra (25 August 2024). "Gillian Welch and David Rawlings Survived a Devastating Storm to Make New 'Woodland' Album". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Oermann, Robert K. (23 May 2018). "Nashville Recording Pioneer Glenn Snoddy Passes". Music Row. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  10. 1 2 3 Mulvey, John (31 August 2011). "Gillian Welch and David Rawlings: "Until a song is right, we basically exist in a state of misery"". Uncut. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  11. ↑ Tamburin, Adam (9 June 2016). "CMA Fest 2016: 5 tidbits from Charlie Daniels". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  12. 1 2 Wood, E. Thomas (23 February 2001). "Woodland Studios in legal whirlwind". Nashville Post. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  13. ↑ Clark, Rick (1 July 1999). "Facility Spotlight: Nashville's Woodland Studios: Surviving The Storm". Mix. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  14. ↑ Kois, Dan (24 August 2024). "Howdy Howdy for 30 Years: How Gillian Welch and David Rawlings do it". Slate. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  15. ↑ Isbell, Jason (23 August 2024). "Gillian Welch and David Rawlings Talk to Jason Isbell About Their New Album Woodland and the Art of Songwriting". GQ. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  16. ↑ Pelly, Jenn (7 September 2024). "'Woodland' is the sound of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings rebuilding together following disaster". NPR. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
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