Ardent Studios is an American recording studio located in Memphis, Tennessee , United States . The studio was founded in the late 1950s by John King, Fred Smith, and John Fry. Over time, it has become a commercially successful recording studio.
14-524: Ardent Studios was founded by John Fry , John King, and Fred Smith, in 1959. Initially, it was a studio in John Fry's family garage, where he recorded his first 45s for the Ardent Records label. Equipment in the studio included an Altec tube mixing console , Ampex 2-track tape recorder, a Pultec equalizer, and Neumann microphones. In 1966, the studio moved to a commercial location shared with
28-483: A bookshop. Tom Dowd was consulting with Auditronics on an early multitrack console for nearby Stax Records , and Fry ordered the same input modules for his second mixing board. When the studio upgraded to a Scully 4-track tape recorder, Ardent became the first 4-track studio in Memphis. It was also the first studio in the area to use EMT plate reverbs. Looking towards the future, on October 25th, 1968, Fry Acquired
42-685: The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (Grammy organization), and chairman of the Memphis and Shelby County Music Commission. He was also a board member of the Memphis Music Foundation, Visible School Music, and Worship Arts College. He was the chairman of the University of Memphis Music Industry Advisory Board. Fry received the 2006 Distinguished Achievement in the Creative and Performing Arts Award from
56-447: The 2000 Madison parcel of land and broke ground on the future home of Ardent Studios, marking the beginning of a new chapter in its evolution. On Thanksgiving weekend, 1971, Ardent Studios fully moved to its current location on Madison Avenue, consisting of two studios, A and B. In 1980, Ardent expanded once more, Adding studio C. In 2022-24, Ardent underwent a large-scale renovation in all of its control rooms and common areas, keeping
70-706: The College of Communication and Fine Arts at the University of Memphis . On November 6, 2014, Fry was inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame . At the time of his induction, fewer than fifty people were in the MMHF. Fry died of cardiac arrest in a Memphis hospital on December 18, 2014, at the age of 69. Ardent Records Ardent Records is an American record label based in Memphis , which
84-711: The Stax catalog was recorded at Ardent; the major Stax artists recorded there, except for Otis Redding , who died in 1967. Fry had served as the national president of the Society of Professional Audio Recording Services (SPARS); chairman of the Tennessee Film, Entertainment, and Music Commission; chairman of the Memphis Film Commission; president and national trustee of the Memphis Chapter of
98-796: The drummer for Big Star , an early Ardent group whose first two albums appeared on the Ardent Records label in the early 1970s. All three Big Star albums were in Rolling Stone 's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time . The song “In The Street” from their first album became the theme for “ That 70s Show .” In the 2000s, younger artists such as The White Stripes , 3 Doors Down , Cat Power , North Mississippi Allstars , The Raconteurs , Low Cut Connie , and Guy Sebastian recorded at Ardent. The soundtracks for Hustle and Flow and Black Snake Moan were also produced at Ardent. As of February 2024, there are four studios available, each corresponding to
112-1033: The first four letters of alphabet and differing in and musical gear, mixing and recording capacities. Ardent Studio recorded Sam & Dave , Led Zeppelin , Isaac Hayes , Leon Russell , and the Staples Singers , and in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s recorded James Taylor along with ZZ Top , The Tragically Hip , George Thorogood , The Allman Brothers , Bob Dylan , R.E.M. , Joe Walsh , and Jimmie and Stevie Ray Vaughan . Ardent became home to young producers and engineers such as Jim Dickinson , Terry Manning , Joe Hardy, John Hampton , Paul Ebersold, and later Skidd Mills, Jeff Powell, Brad Blackwood , Pete Mathews, and Jason Latshaw. The studio also helped record soundtracks for Hustle and Flow and Black Snake Moan . 35°8′15″N 89°59′40″W / 35.13750°N 89.99444°W / 35.13750; -89.99444 John Fry (record producer) John Edward Fry (December 31, 1944 – December 18, 2014)
126-419: The live rooms original and intact. Ardent currently has four studios and one mastering vinyl mastering suite. Studio A: houses a 72 Channel Neve 88RS. Studio B: SSL 9080 J series Studio C:72 Channel Custom Wunder Console with 1073 type modules. Studio D: Neve 8424 Mastering Neumann VMS70 lathe. All rooms have Pro Tools HD and Studer A800 and 827 Multitracks. The studio is managed by Jody Stephens ,
140-530: The long delayed first release of Third/Sister Lovers , recorded in 1974. The label was revived in the 1990s with two divisions: Alternative Mainstream and Contemporary Christian. Former Big Star guitarist Alex Chilton released recordings on the Ardent mainstream division, which also released recordings by bands such as Spot, Jolene, Two Minutes Hate, The Idlewilds, Neighborhood Texture Jam, and Techno-Squid Eats Parliament. The mainstream division of Ardent Records
154-655: Was best known for his work on the first three Big Star albums and as the band's mentor. Ardent Studios was used by recording artists including Led Zeppelin , Bob Dylan , James Taylor , ZZ Top , R.E.M. , Stevie Ray Vaughan , Al Green , the Allman Brothers Band , B.B. King , the White Stripes , the Replacements , and Three 6 Mafia as well as Stax Records recording artists including Cat Power , M.I.A. , and Big Star . About 20 percent of
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#1732791831848168-462: Was closed in the mid-1990s. Ardent's Christian label issued its first Christian releases in 1995. Initial projects included albums from Big Tent Revival , Skillet , and Smalltown Poets . To date, Ardent Records has released more than 35 albums by artists such as Todd Agnew , Jonah33 , Smalltown Poets , Satellite Soul, Clear, All Together Separate , Brother's Keeper, Justifide, Before You Breathe, NonFiction, and Joy Whitlock. In 2005, Ardent signed
182-560: Was founded by John Fry in 1959. Ardent of the 1960s and 1970s featured pop music acts and was distributed by Stax Records from 1972 until 1975. It is best remembered today for Big Star , whose first two albums, released in 1972 and 1974, helped define the style known as power pop . The label was initially an attempt by the R&;B -focused Stax to move into rock music , but distribution problems prevented any releases from succeeding. Big Star became widely known through 1980s reissues and
196-501: Was the founder of Ardent Records in Memphis, Tennessee . It includes Ardent Studios; two record labels, Ardent Records (Christian label) and Ardent Music (mainstream label); and a production company, Ardent Film Department. The business was founded in 1959. It moved into commercial spaces at 1457 National Street in 1966. Fry engineered and produced an eclectic array of records. As of 2014 , Ardent Studios had recorded over 70 gold and platinum albums and singles, many for Stax Records. He
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