Creative Workshop Recording

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Creative Workshop Recording

Creative Workshop, established in 1970, is a historic recording studio in Nashville, Tennessee. It He and his engineer Travis Turk wasted no time doing this.
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Creative Workshop is a historic recording studio founded in 1970 by songwriter and producer Buzz Cason. It was the very first recording studio established in Nashville’s Berry Hill district and was one of the first independently owned studios built in all of Nashville. Berry Hill is unique in that it is an incorporated city located within the Metro Nashville city limits. Regardless of its modest s

ize (only .9 square miles) Berry Hill is now home to nearly 40 recording studios. Creative Workshop was originally built as a place for Cason to develop and produce new artists. Before the paint could even dry on the walls they were in the studio tracking a young songwriter from Mobile named Jimmy Buffett. At that time Buffett was signed as a writer for Cason's publishing company, Let There Be Music. The first record they produced in the new studio was Jimmy’s record “High Cumberland Jubilee”. Also in those early days Papa Don Schroeder came in and produced Carl Carlton’s million-seller hit, “Everlasting Love” (written by Buzz Cason and Mac Gayden), on the 8-track machine at Creative. Other notable sessions during this original incarnation of Creative Workshop (1970-75) included the Doobie Brothers, Leon Russell, Brenda Lee, Ray Griff, and a particularly legendary late night when Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood and the rest of their band, Faces, came in to jam as the tape rolled after their show at Municipal Auditorium in 1975. When Travis Turk left Creative Workshop to take a job at Eastern Sound Toronto, Brent Maher became the new chief engineer and oversaw the building of a brand new, state-of-the-art control room and renovation to the live tracking room in 1976. Designed by the world-renowned Eastlake/Westlake studio designer Tom Hidley, the “new” Creative Workshop quickly became a favorite for artists and producers alike. The control room featured Hidley’s signature drop-ceiling, natural Oak siding, and stone accent-walls. The tracking room was modernized to fit the taste of the mid-seventies as well. It was treated by Hidley and his crew to offer minimal reflections, which gave the engineers the flexibility to add depth to their mixes by using the two chambers (located off of the east side of the tracking room) and the EMT 140 plate. The design also included green s**g carpeting aplenty which added to the “deadness” of the room. This original design was captured in all of it’s glory in the opening scene of the cult-classic documentary “Heartworn Highways” (see below). The studio saw great success in the late seventies and eighties, producing several number 1 hits. Some notable artists to come through during those days were Roy Orbison, Merle Haggard, Olivia Newton-John, Larry Gatlin, and Randy Van Warmer. Since the late 80’s Joe Funderburk has been the chief engineer. Recently in early 2017, Parker Cason, Buzz’s son, oversaw a restoration of the studio to help bring back the feeling of the original ‘76 renovation. Though the original green s**g carpet is gone, the cozy vibes of the affectionately coined Friendly Forest remain intact. As it approaches it’s 50th year of operation, Creative Workshop continues to enchant and inspire artists from around the world.

12/03/2025

Yay Jen!!!

11/21/2025

Congrats Paul! About time! To quote Chris Stapleton, "The 33rd time is the charm!"

Renowned steel guitarist Paul Franklin made history at the CMA Awards on November 19th when he won Musician of the Year. Paul had been nominated for the award 32 times, but this was his first win in the category! 🏆 🎶

View the complete list of winners from the 2025 CMA Awards here >> https://go.countryrebel.com/CMAs25WinList

11/20/2025

Fun time today at the Friendly Forest filming some content with Kristian Bush and Keith Stegall for The Heartland Network.

11/18/2025

Fantastic session last night at the Friendly Forest with Dawson Steagall and producer Keith Stegall (no relation) and engineers John Kelton and Travis Humbert. What a band! Eddie Bayers on drums, Brent Mason on electric guitar, Glenn Worf on bass, Joel Key on acoustic guitar, Gary Prim on keys, and Scotty Sanders on steel guitar. Give Dawson a follow to hear some great COUNTRY music!

11/03/2025

Godspeed John. You were simply the best.

10/17/2025

Check out this amazing musical novel by legendary songwriter, producer and OG Creative Workshop engineer, Brent Maher. Congrats Brent on this wonderful new project!

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09/19/2025

A huge congrats to Keith Stegall for this! Can't wait to see what's ahead!

07/17/2024

Doug MacLeod’s Raw Blues 2, an album I produced, is nominated for Acoustic Blues Album of the Year by Blues Blast Magazine. Please consider voting for it if you love listening to it as much as we loved making it. We recorded it at Creative Workshop Recording with Joe Funderburk engineering. Thank you!

05/03/2024

Oh boy - the world has lost yet another amazing, groundbreaking artist - Duane Eddy has left the building... RIP, you trailblazer!

04/18/2024

The world has lost another wonderful musician - Dickie Betts of Allman Brothers Band fame has left the building... RIP

01/24/2023

Check out my World Cafe session recorded at Creative Workshop Recording in Nashville right now! https://n.pr/3QZv6XI

07/06/2020

Catching up with the songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer about a half-century of making records in Berry Hill

Address

2804 Azalea Place
Nashville, TN
37204

Website

http://creativeworkshoprecording.com/

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