The Church Studio facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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The Church Studio
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The Church Studio
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| Location | 304 S. Trenton Ave., Tulsa, Oklahoma |
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| Architect | Chris Lilly (renovation) |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
| Website | The Church Studio |
| NRHP reference No. | 100001595 |
| Added to NRHP | 8 September 2017 |
The Church Studio is a famous recording studio in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A talented musician, songwriter, and producer named Leon Russell started it in 1972. This special studio is inside an old church building. Many people say it's the heart of the "Tulsa Sound," which is a unique style of music from that area.
How the Studio Started
The building was first built in 1915. It was a church called Grace Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1972, Leon Russell bought the church and some nearby buildings. He turned the church into a recording studio. He also made it the home for his record company, Shelter Records, which he started with his friend Denny Cordell.
Later, Leon Russell sold the building. In 1987, a Tulsa musician named Steve Ripley bought it. Steve was the leader of the band The Tractors. He owned the studio until 2006.
Famous Musicians Who Recorded Here
Many famous musicians recorded music at The Church Studio when Leon Russell owned it. Some of these artists include:
- Willie Nelson
- Eric Clapton
- Bonnie Raitt
- Dr. John
- JJ Cale
- The Gap Band
- Freddie King
- Peter Tosh
Tom Petty, a very well-known musician, signed his first record deal with Shelter Records. He did this with his early band, Mudcrutch.
The studio has a special mixing console called a NEVE 8068. This equipment was bought from Daniel Lanois. You can even see this mixing console on the cover of Bob Dylan's album Time Out of Mind.
Leon Russell became very famous for his music. He was added to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame. When he passed away in 2016, fans left flowers, paintings, and notes on the church steps to remember him.
Bringing the Studio Back to Life
In 2009, new owners, Jakob and Randy Miller, announced they wanted to bring The Church Studio back to life as a music place. The next year, the city of Tulsa even renamed the street where the church is located "Leon Russell Road."
In 2016, a Tulsa business owner named Teresa Knox and her husband Ivan Acosta bought the building. They planned to fix it up, which they thought would take about two years. They also wanted to get it listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Their goal was to use it as a recording studio and a place for the community.
After five years of hard work, The Church Studio reopened on March 1, 2022. This date was special because it was 50 years after Leon Russell first bought the building!
Today, the studio is a place for tourists to visit. It has a modern recording studio, a place for concerts and events, and it's home to The Church Studio Archive. It also has a school where people can learn about audio engineering.
Many musicians have visited the newly restored studio. It offers both old-style analog recording and new digital recording methods. Some of the artists who have been there include:
- Joe Bonamassa
- 38 Special
- Air Supply
- Tommy Emmanuel
- Ray Wylie Hubbard
In 2022, the band Dropkick Murphys recorded their album, This Machine Still Kills Fascists, at the studio. The songs on this album use lyrics written by Woody Guthrie, who was from Oklahoma.
At the new entrance of The Church Studio, there is a life-sized bronze statue of Leon Russell. It shows him as he looked in 1972 when he bought the church. The statue includes his denim jacket, snake-skinned boots, a cross necklace, and his famous top hat. Artist Jim Franklin created the statue, and it took three years to finish.
The Church Studio was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2017. This happened because it is very important to American music and is known as the heart of the Tulsa Sound.
