This tour comes directly after the CMHoF because it has to: You can only purchase tickets for it in conjunction with CMHoF admission, which is fine. If you care enough about touring this humble studio on Music Row, you’re going to enjoy the museum too, so it’s all good. All tours leave from the CMHoF via shuttle, so don’t show up on Music Row unless you’re only interested in getting a photo of the exterior (Trust me: you’re not.). For the uninitiated, RCA Studio B was a hotbed of recording activity from the time it opened in 1957 until the early 1970s (it closed in 1977). The people running these tours have a true passion for the music, the city, and making both come alive for you, and you need that if you’re essentially just walking around an old room. Tour guides will happily engage the crowd, asking where everyone’s from, quizzing folks on music history, and guiding the group as you listen to songs, sometimes with full mood lighting to help you experience the way the studio felt during certain recordings. Many Elvis songs were recorded here, including “Are You Lonesome Tonight?,” multiple gospel hits, and “Fever,” which is shown off expertly by the tour guide through a few moments spent bathed in red-light—the same way Elvis had producers set the mood to get the song’s sultry sound right. Other hits cut here include The Everly Brothers’ “All I Have to Do Is Dream,” Roy Orbison’s “Only the Lonely,” and Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You,” which is particularly affecting to hear in the spot the legend laid it down. Because this tour is necessarily grounded in history, it is a lot of standing around, listening, talking, and reflecting, so it’s not great for kids.
Nashville
Travel Guide
Nashville› Attraction
Historic RCA Studio B
Music Row (departure from CMHoF), USA
James R. Martin / Shutterstock
Our Rating
Hours
Daily 9am-5pm
Phone
615/416-2001
Prices
Admission only when bundled with the Country Music Hall of Fame for $51.95 adults, $41.95 children ages 6–12; free ages 5 and under
Web site
Historic RCA Studio B
Map
Music Row NashvilleNote: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.