Of Course Ardent Studios is Awesome.

Mixing board, Ardent Records

No matter how familiar I get with Memphis, there are still some things in the city that will always hold a certain special mystique. These are places that I’ve always wanted to see but don’t think I’ll ever have access to.

Ardent Studios is one of those places (so is the Memphis Tigers’ gym and the place where they make Dinstuhl’s candy). Some of the greatest records ever made have been recorded at Ardent. The Replacements recorded “Pleased to Meet Me” there. Local legends Big Star made “Third/Sister Lovers” at Ardent.  Bands like REM, the White Stripes, Booker T. and the MG’s and Cat Power have recorded there.

This morning, Ardent’s assistant studio manager Dan Russo and label rep Joseph Davis were kind enough to show me around the legendary studio this afternoon.

The prettiest drum kit ever.

Ardent was started in a Memphis house’s sewing room by John Fry and Fred Smith (yes, that Fred Smith). The studio moved to its current location (on Madison, across the street from the Quik Check) in 1972. The business grew when Stax records started giving Ardent their overflow work. Every Stax artist except Otis Redding was either recorded or mixed at Ardent at some point.

These days, the Ardent label and studio are still active and still owned by John Fry. Many of the bands that record there are Christian rock bands. Others just want to record in the same studios that so many amazing records were recorded in. If I had a band, I know I would want to work with them – they’re insanely nice people who make really great records.

Dan Russo and Joseph Davis