Studio completes Memphis-to-Nashville move

MEMPHIS, Sept. 1 (UPI) -- House of Blues Studio D -- the Memphis studio for Isaac Hayes, Sam the Sham and Three 6 Mafia -- says it's completed its trek to its new home in Nashville.

The move complete, Studio D will be part of Gary Belz's House of Blues studio complex while the main House of Blues facility will remain in operation in Memphis, The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal reported Tuesday.

"Memphis has been very good to us over the years, but at the same time Nashville has a base and is still growing," Belz said. "We've had a surplus of (recording) rooms in Memphis for a while and a lack of rooms in Nashville, so the move made sense."

The Studio D building is steeped in history dating back five decades, billed as the state-of-the-art Sounds of Memphis studio when built in the late 1960s.

Through the years the studio drew out-of-town artists, including Stevie Ray Vaughan, Collective Soul, Matchbox 20 and Travis Tritt, and high-profile pop and hip-hop acts -- such as Justin Timberlake, Erykah Badu and Three 6 Mafia -- Studio D couldn't escape the industry-wide downturn, the newspaper said.

The move began Monday and ended Tuesday, Belz said. The relocated Studio D is expected to be operational before the end of the year.