Tucked away in an industrial park in Doraville, the mundane exterior of Studio One didn’t begin to portray the history and influence that originated inside its hallowed walls. Showcasing a diverse group of talent from Lynyrd Skynyrd and .38 Special to Ronnie James Dio, Journey and disco queen Alicia Bridges, in the ’70s and ’80s, Studio One firmly established its place in music history.
Filmmaker Tracy Misner has set out to share the history of this legendary place in his upcoming film, tentatively called Studio One Documentary. He interviews two dozen icons of the Southern Rock world, like Studio One co-founder Buddy Buie, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Gary Rossington and Johnny Van Zant, legendary producer Al Kooper and so many more.
Check out the trailer for the film here.
Set to be released this summer, the film offers insight into the music created there and what made this unconventional location feel like home to the brilliant talents that made the music that is a part of our lives. Leading up to the film’s release, we are sharing some stories about how some of the great music of Studio One came to be.
The backstory of the Lynyrd Skynyrd song “Sweet Home Alabama” was covered by a couple of the interviewees that had a hand in creating the hit. There are many stories concerning the iconic tune. One could spend countless hours online researching the various theories of the song’s meaning or the “feud” or lack thereof with Neil Young and what Skynyrd thought about Governor George Wallace. Possibly even more intriguing are the stories of how the song came to be and its role in Second Helping.
Al Kooper was visiting Atlanta, searching for musical talent. He had a relationship with the Candymen. They had been the backup band for Roy Orbison but then became successful independently. They, in turn, had a connection to Studio One in Doraville through their lead singer Rodney Justo, later to become the first lead singer for the Atlanta Rhythm Section, and through their manager, Buddy Buie.
Kooper first signed Atlanta band Mose Jones to a contract and recorded an album with them. Mose Jones keyboardist Steve McRay is one of Tracy’s interviews. Kooper then saw Lynyrd Skynyrd playing in a club called Funnochio’s in July 1972. It took some time and persuasion, but he eventually signed Skynyrd to a management contract and agreed to produce their first album.
Bob “Tub” Langford was an engineer on Skynyrd’s first album, Pronounced, as was the legendary Rodney Mills. Both are interviewed in the documentary. When the album was completed, Kooper did not yet have Skynyrd signed to a contract with a record company. He traveled to L.A. to set up SOS Records, which would release the Pronounced album in conjunction with MCA. While there, he ran into his friend Pete Townsend from the Who. They were setting up a tour in the fall to support their album “Quadrophenia.” Townsend asked Kooper if he had a band that could support them, and he suggested Skynyrd. Townsend accepted.
After wrapping the recording of Pronounced, the band returned to Jacksonville and continued practicing in the now-famous “Hell House. That’s where Sweet Home Alabama came into existence. Gary Rossington remembered that it all started with a riff he was playing. Van Zant told him to keep playing it, and Gary and Ed soon finished the melody, and Ronnie had written the words. The melody for the song was written in about 15 minutes, and the lyrics in less than two hours.
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Ed King dreamt the guitar solos in his sleep, saying they came to him note for note. According to producer Al Kooper, the solos were recorded in the wrong key, but it just worked, and the band didn’t want to change it.
Ronnie Van Zant insisted that the band go into the studio immediately to record the new song, as he felt it was unique and didn’t want to lose anything. The band headed to Studio One and recorded just that song in June 1973. The rest of the album Second Helping wasn’t recorded until the following year at Record Plant Studios in L.A.
After the line that mentions Neil Young, you can barely hear “Southern Man” in the background. Rumors persisted for years that it was a sample of a Young vocal, but producer Al Kooper sang the line. Without the knowledge or permission of the band, the song includes backup vocals by two of the most prolific and noted studio singers, Merry Clayton and Clydie King. Kooper added them in L.A. Clayton had provided lead vocals with Mick Jagger on the Rolling Stones hit “Gimme Shelter” and tracks with Ray Charles, Ringo Starr, Coldplay, and others. King appeared with Humble Pie, the Rolling Stones, Steely Dan, and Joe Walsh.
In a 2014 interview, Ed King said they knew that they would have a hit with the song. After the recording was finished, he recalled Ronnie Van Zant saying, “There’s our Ramblin’ Man.” King later said, The Allmans had their big hit and he said that was ours. I believed it, too—it was just a very cool song, from the moment we wrote it—it was like a feel-good song.”
