A lot has been made of Memphis’ role in the development of popular music, and most history revolves around the rise and fall of Sun Studios, and the subsequent dominance of Stax, but that version of the story neglects the importance of the boutique studios. 

This series tells the story of the smaller studios that ended up bearing a huge load of the work that came from this area. So far, we’ve covered the early years of Hi Records (aka The Royal Recording Studio) and Fame, so with this show, we move our attention to the new kids on the block, American Studios. Chips Moman developed a reputation as a hitmaker when he worked at Stax, but disagreements with the label management forced him to go out on his own. It is quite remarkable to see just how fast the hits followed him. 

Featured songs include;

1) This Time – Troy Shondell

2) It’s Wonderful – The Ovations

3) Wooly Bully – Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs

4) Keep on Dancing – The Gentrys

5) Born a Woman – Sandy Posey

6) I’m Living Good – Dan Penn

7) I’m Living Good – The Ovations

8) Feed the Flame – Dan Penn

9) Far from the Maddening Crowd – Dan Penn