Quonset Hut Studio

Quonset Hut Studio was a music recording studio established in 1954 in Nashville, Tennessee by brothers Harold and Owen Bradley as Bradley's Film & Recording Studios and later operated as Columbia Studio B. The Quonset Hut was the first commercial recording studio in what would later become known as Music Row.^[1][2][3] It is now a recording classroom for Belmont University.

Quonset Hut Studio

Formerly	Bradley's Film & Recording Studios
Industry	Recording studio
Founded	Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. (1955 (1955))
Founder	Owen Bradley, Harold Bradley
Defunct	1982 (1982)
Fate	Closed
Successor	Columbia Studio B
Headquarters	Nashville, Tennessee , U.S.
Number of locations	1

History

In 1954, producer Owen Bradley, along with his brother Harold Bradley, purchased a house at 804 16th Avenue South in Nashville^[2] for $7500^[4] to convert into a film and recording studio. The Bradleys tore out the first floor of the house to create recording space in the basement. They also attached a surplus Army Quonset hut^[3] that they bought^[1] to the back of the house to use as a television studio for filming musical performances.^[1] The original Studio A was inside the house.^[5]

In 1958, the basement space became too crowded and the recording end of the Studios moved into the Quonset Hut, which became Studio B. The recording facility was an instant success, attracting business from the Decca, Columbia, Capitol, and Mercury labels. The Bradleys sold the studio to Columbia Records in 1962, and both later worked with Chet Atkins on building RCA Studio A, which was completed in 1965.^[6] Columbia operated the studio from 1962 through 1982, when it was converted into office space.^[7]

In 2006, philanthropist Mike Curb bought the structure and had it restored. Today it serves as a recording classroom for Belmont University.^[7] In 1965, a new studio, which measured 58 feet by 37 feet wide, and was 25 feet high, was planned. It opened on 22 October, 1965, as the new Studio A. The old Studio was demolished during the construction of the new one.^[5] Studio A was reopened as a recording classroom for Belmont University in 2014.^[8]

Notable recordings

Patsy Cline's "Crazy", Brenda Lee's "I'm Sorry" and Bobby Vinton's "Blue Velvet" were produced at the recording studio, and artists across different genres including Tammy Wynette, Johnny Cash, the Byrds, Elvis Costello, Gene Vincent and Simon & Garfunkel recorded music there.^[9]

References

1. Kosser, Michael (2006). How Nashville Became Music City, U.S.A.: 50 Years of Music Row. Hal Leonard. p. 12. ISBN 9780634098062.
2. Hoobler, James A. (2008). A Guide to Historic Nashville, Tennessee. The History Press. p. 105. ISBN 9781596294042.
3. Roy, James V. (April 2004). "RCA Victor Studio B Nashville". ScottyMoore.Net. Archived from the original on February 7, 2013. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
4. Kosser, Michael (2006). How Nashville Became Music City, U.S.A.: 50 Years of Music Row. Hal Leonard. p. 11. ISBN 9780634098062.
5. Sanders, Daryl (2020). That Thin, Wild Mercury Sound: Dylan, Nashville, and the Making of Blonde on Blonde (epub ed.). Chicago: Chicago Review Press. pp. 99–100. ISBN 978-1-61373-550-3.
6. "Nashville Skyline: New Life for the Quonset Hut". Mixonline.com. 2009-11-01. Archived from the original on 2013-03-04. Retrieved 2013-02-01.
7. Skates, Sarah (June 30, 2011). "Quonset Hut Hosts Reunion Celebration". Music Row. Archived from the original on September 4, 2011. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
8. Chenoweth, Paul (May 19, 2014). "Historic Columbia Studio A Reopens as Educational Space for Belmont Students". Belmont. Archived from the original on November 27, 2022. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
9. Fox, Randy (March 20, 2012). "Back at the Quonset Hut". WPLN/Nashville Public Radio. Archived from the original on May 19, 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2013.