Have you heard of the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio? The transportable facility, also known as the RSM, was the first professional mobile recording studio ever put into use. The RSM was conceived in 1968 by the late Rolling Stones tour manager and touring piano player, Ian Stewart.
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Since the band was frustrated about the limitations and restrictions of using a commercial recording facility, Stewart came up with the idea of having a truck with high-quality recording equipment inside that could be driven to any location where a band or artist wanted to work on music. Specifically, The Rolling Stones wanted to record at Stargroves, a country estate Mick Jagger had bought in East Woodhay, U.K.
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With Stewart overseeing the project, a group of talented engineers and producers was consulted in the making of the RSM, including studio legend Glyn Johns. The Helios Electronics company, which was known for making high-quality professional mixing consoles, produced the first working version of the RSM.
After initially being used for The Rolling Stones project, the mobile studio was soon made available to rent by other artists. Some extremely famous and popular albums were recorded during the 1970s and ’80s with help from the RSM.
In 1985, Stones bassist Bill Wyman purchased the studio. In 1987, Wyman launched the Ambition Invention Motivation Success (AIMS) project, which gave young bands and artists the opportunity to record high-quality demos with the mobile facility.
The Rolling Stones Mobile Studio is now owned by the National Music Centre in Calgary, Canada. It remains a fully functional, albeit stationary, studio.
Here’s a look at four famous albums that were at least partly recorded using the RSM:
‘Led Zeppelin III’ by Led Zeppelin (1970)
Led Zeppelin began recording its self-titled third studio album in late 1969 at Olympic Studios in London. After taking a break to write some more material, the band gathered at Headley Grange, a mansion in rural Headley, U.K., in May and June 1970.
The band hired the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio to record many tracks for Led Zeppelin III at Headley Grange.
The album included the Top-20 hit “The Immigrant Song,” as well as such other popular tunes as “Friends,” “Celebration Day,” “Since I’ve Been Loving You,” “Gallows Pole,” and “Tangerine.”
Led Zeppelin III topped the Billboard 200 for four weeks in the fall of 1970. The band also recorded parts of its Led Zeppelin IV and Houses of the Holy albums with the RSM.
‘Sticky Fingers’ by The Rolling Stones (1971)
Sticky Fingers was the first Rolling Stones studio album to feature recordings the band made using the RSM. Much of the album was recorded at Jagger’s aforementioned Stargroves estate.
Sticky Fingers featured the chart-topping “Brown Sugar” and was packed with other classic tunes. Among them are “Sway,” “Wild Horses,” “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking,” “B*tch,” “Dead Flowers,” and “Moonlight Mile.”
The album spent four straight weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May and June 1971.
‘Who’s Next’ by The Who (1971)
The Who began work on its classic fifth studio album, Who’s Next, with the RSM. The band used the studio at Jagger’s Stargroves estate to record part of “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” the unforgettable anthem that closes the album.
“Won’t Get Fooled Again” was one of The Who’s biggest U.S. chart hits, reaching No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Who’s Next, meanwhile, peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200.
‘Machine Head’ by Deep Purple (1972)
Deep Purple famously used the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio to record its most successful album, 1972’s Machine Head. The band brought the facility to Montreux, Switzerland, to work on the album in December 1971.
Deep Purple recorded in various locations in Montreux. While the band was working on the album, a fire broke out during a concert by Frank Zappa and the Mothers at the nearby Montreux Casino. The casino burned to the ground. And the incident inspired Deep Purple to write its signature song, “Smoke On The Water.”
The tune’s lyrics include two references to the RSM. The first verse is: “We all came out to Montreux, on the Lake Geneva shoreline / To make records with a mobile.” One of the final verses is: “We ended up at the Grand Hotel / It was empty, cold and bare / The Rolling truck Stones thing just outside / Making our music there now.”
Machine Head is Deep Purple’s highest-charting album to date, peaking at No. 7 on the Billboard 200. “Smoke on the Water,” which reached No. 4 on the Hot 100, is one of the all-time great rock anthems.
(Photo by Keystone Features/Getty Images)
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