Castle Recording Laboratory

{{distinguish|text=[https://www.castlerecordingstudios.com/ Castle Recording Studios], founded 1983}}

{{Short description|Music recording studio in Nashville, Tennessee}} {{Infobox company | name = Castle Recording Laboratory | logo = | logo_caption = | image = | image_caption = | former_name = | former type = | type = | traded_as = | industry = [[Recording studio]] | genre =  | fate = Closed | predecessor = | successor = | foundation = Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. ({{Start date|1946}}) | founder = Carl Jenkins, George Reynolds, Aaron Shelton | defunct = {{End date|1956}} | location_city = Nashville, Tennessee | location_country = U.S. | locations = 1 | area_served = | key_people = | products = | brands = | services = | revenue = | operating_income = | net_income = | aum =  | assets = | equity = | owner = | num_employees = | parent = | divisions = | subsid = | homepage =  | footnotes = | intl = | bodystyle = }}

'''Castle Recording Laboratory''' (also referred to as '''Castle Studio''', or '''The Castle''') was a recording studio established in [[Nashville, Tennessee]], in 1946 by [[WSM (AM)|WSM]] broadcast engineers Carl Jenkins, George Reynolds and Aaron Shelton. The Castle was Nashville's first commercial recording studio, producing close to half of the songs on the country music charts between 1947 and 1955.<ref name="Blevins">{{cite web |first=Charlene |last=Blevins |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/hank-williams/castle-studios-nashville-tennessee-1948/ |title=Hank Williams – "Lovesick Blues" – Castle Studios – Nashville, Tennessee (1948) |publisher=Paste Media Group |accessdate=21 September 2021 }}</ref> Castle Studio was where [[Hank Williams]] recorded almost exclusively for his entire career,<ref>{{cite web |first=Brian |last=Turpen |url=http://hpcisp.com/~turp/cincinnatimarkerstudio.html |title=Hank's Historical Marker in Cincinnati and the Herzog Studio |publisher=Hank Williams Books |accessdate=21 September 2021}}</ref><ref name="Kingsbury"/> and [[Paul Cohen (record producer)|Paul Cohen]] and [[Owen Bradley]] recorded artists like [[Ernest Tubb]], [[Red Foley]], [[Kitty Wells]], and [[Webb Pierce]] before Bradley co-founded [[Bradley Studios]].<ref name="Cooper"/>

==History== ===Early history=== In 1946, recognizing demand for local [[recording studio]] services in Nashville, [[WSM (AM)|WSM]] broadcast engineers Carl Jenkins, George Reynolds and Aaron Shelton established Castle Recording Laboratory (named after the radio station's nickname "Air Castle of the South"). The engineers utilized an 8-input mono [[mixing console]] designed by Reynolds and WSM's facilities at the [[National Life and Accident Insurance Company]] Building at 7th Avenue North and Union Street after broadcast hours, with signals transferred via telephone line to a [[Disc cutting lathe|recording lathe]] at WSM's backup transmitter site {{convert|12|miles}} away.<ref name="Kingsbury">{{cite book |title=The Encyclopedia of Country Music |last=Kingsbury |first=Paul |year=1998 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York, New York |isbn=978-0-19-517608-7 |page=88 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tLZz02EzmBYC&dq=castle+recording+laboratories&pg=PA88}}</ref>

Less than a year later, Castle Recording recorded [[Francis Craig|Francis Craig and His Orchestra's]] [[Ryman Auditorium]] performance of "[[Near You]]" for [[Bullet Records]], which became the first number one song recorded in Nashville and the number one song of 1947.<ref>{{cite web |first=Noel |last=Murray |url=https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/pop-history/article_c2c64884-e63a-5847-8713-ee649085aa61.html |title=Pop History: Francis Craig and Nashville's first-ever hit record |publisher=Nashvillescene.com |accessdate=21 September 2021}}</ref>

===Tulane Hotel=== The subsequent demand for Castle Recording's services was too much for its owners to accommodate in WSM's studios after hours, and in 1947, with a $1,000 loan from [[SunTrust Banks|Third National Bank]] to convert a banquet room on the second floor of the Hotel Tulane at 206 8th Avenue North into a recording studio equipped with their mixing console, an [[Ampex|Ampex Model 200]] tape recorder, and a [[Scully Recording Instruments|Scully]] [[Disc cutting lathe|lathe]],<ref name="CMWW">{{cite magazine|last=Snoddy|first=Glen|title=Nashville, The Recording Center|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/70s/72/Record-World-Country-Music-Who%27s-Who-1972_428.pdf|magazine=Country Music Who's Who|publisher=Record World|date=1972|access-date=10 May 2024}}</ref> establishing the first commercial recording space in Nashville.<ref>{{cite web |first=Bill |last=Carey |url=https://www.nashvillepost.com/business/education/a-1-000-loan-produces-an-industry/article_99529551-92eb-5138-8e63-07d76fec3901.html |title=A $1,000 loan produces an industry |publisher=Nashville Post |accessdate=21 September 2021}}</ref><ref name="Cooper">{{cite web |first=Peter |last=Cooper |url=https://www.mixonline.com/recording/history-lesson-365977 |title=History Lesson: Nashville's Music Milestones from the Bradleys to the Outlaws and Beyond |publisher=Mix Online |accessdate=21 September 2021}}</ref> Castle cut master discs for all major labels (except [[RCA Records|RCA]]), and independent labels like [[Bullet Records]].

Between 1947 and 1955 the Castle Recording Laboratory produced close to half of the songs on the country music charts.<ref name="Blevins"/> [[Hank Williams]] recorded his first demos at Castle Recording on December 11, 1946, and went on to record almost exclusively at Castle while it was in operation.<ref>{{cite web |first=Brian |last=Turpen |url=http://hpcisp.com/~turp/cincinnatimarkerstudio.html |title=Hank's Historical Marker in Cincinnati and the Herzog Studio |publisher=Hank Williams Books |accessdate=21 September 2021}}</ref><ref name="Kingsbury"/>

[[Paul Cohen (record producer)|Paul Cohen]] and [[Owen Bradley]] recorded artists like [[Ernest Tubb]], [[Red Foley]],<ref>{{cite web |first= |last= |url=https://countrymusichalloffame.org/artist/owen-bradley/ |title=Owen Bradley |publisher=Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum |accessdate=21 September 2021}}</ref> and [[Webb Pierce]] at Castle Recording before Bradley went on to co-found [[Bradley Studios]].<ref name="Cooper"/> In May, 1952, [[Kitty Wells]] recorded "[[It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels]]" at Castle Studio. The song became the first No. 1 ''[[Billboard magazine|Billboard]]'' [[Hot Country Songs|country hit]] for a solo woman artist.<ref name="CountryHOFKW">{{cite web|title=Kitty Wells|url=https://www.countrymusichalloffame.org/hall-of-fame/kitty-wells|date=1976|access-date=August 13, 2024}}</ref>

Castle Recording Laboratory shut down in 1956 in light of WSM enacting new policies designed to limit employees' outside business interests, as well as the planned demolition of the Tulane Hotel. The studio's founders continued their WSM careers.<ref name="Kingsbury"/>

==References== {{Reflist}}

[[Category:1946 establishments in Tennessee]] [[Category:1956 disestablishments in Tennessee]] [[Category:Recording studios in Tennessee]] [[Category:Music of Nashville, Tennessee]]