The Monarchy of Music at Royal Studios
Just when you think you know Memphis, there’s usually something new (or old) to discover. It’s one of the hallmarks of our city…the unexpected and the little known nooks and crannies that keep residents and visitors alike intrigued. As a born and bred Memphian, I grew up knowing my fair share of Memphis history. I drove past Sun Studios on the regular and even heard stories about where my grandfather saw Johnny Cash playing for some friends or where Elvis once rented an upstairs apartment in my neighborhood. But I never once heard of Royal Studios and the magic it has been producing for decades. And then, in 2014, Bruno Mars swept the charts with a song that just felt like Memphis. It wasn’t a coincidence… ‘Uptown Funk’ captured the heart of the Delta because it was recorded right here in one of the most unassuming but historically charged studios in the city. The song came in a long line of mega hits produced by the Royal and continued to cement the studio’s place in music history for generations to come.
The Legend
The small brick building at 1320 Willie Mitchell Boulevard was built in 1915 as the Shamrock Theatre, one of the first moving picture theatres in the city. The theatre was constructed only four years after the first silent film debuted in Memphis and was later converted to a sound theatre and renamed the Royal. The Royal Theatre was in use until 1955 and then was leased as a recording studio for sixty dollars a month to Joe Coughi, a local musician, and converted into a recording studio. Hi Records was born and Royal Studios became part of the landscape of Memphis music.
The Journey
Within the first few years of recording, Royal was already producing hits. Songs like “Don’t Be Cruel” were selling a million copies or more. But with the passing of Coughi in 1969, session trumpetier Willie Mitchell, took over the reigns of the studio and began steering the music away from its rockabilly roots. Royal became the ‘House of Instrumentals’ for a distinct R&B vibe. Al Green recorded ‘Can’t Get Next to You’ and ushered in a whole new era of sound. In fact, over the next four years, Green and Mitchell produced four number one hits out of Royal, rivaling the success of Stax and creating a new, vibrant place for Memphis soul. Even though the studio’s success began to dim in the light of 1970’s disco, the studio managed to live on, and has continued to thrive, producing an ethereal soul-filled sound that no other studio in the world can produce. From the slanted floors that create an expansive sound, to the exposed walls, there is just something gritty, magical, and purely Memphis about the music produced at Royal. Everyone from Rod Stewart, John Mayer, Ike and Tina Turner and Mark Ronson have captured that sound and taken the magic to Platinum, Gold or a Grammy.
Just a few of the many albums that have been recorded at Royal Studios
The Visit
The studio is small but the magic is real. Willie Mitchell’s son “Boo” Mitchell now runs Royal and tours are available upon request. Contact Royal from their website and do yourself a favor…there’s nothing more Memphis than visiting the sacred ground where so many hits have been born.