CMPE Media

The studio which launched Duane Allman to stardom may not last much longer. Capricorn Recording Studio, located in Macon, has been placed on the Georgia Trust’s 2010 “Places in Peril” list. Some of the issues noted include extensive weather damage, vandalism and burglary, and the dilapidated state of the surrounding buildings. This may not mean much to fans of artists like the Marshall Tucker Band, the Charlie Daniels Band, and Dixie Dregs, which were all launched from the studio.Capricorn was founded in 1969 when founders Phil Walden and Frank Fenter started the Capricorn Record Series, which became noteworthy after releasing the Allman Brothers Band‘s debut album later that year. Two years later, the studio released what many still consider its most acclaimed album, the Allman Brothers’ double LP At Fillmore East. In 1979 the studio went under for the first time, but was relocated to Nashville in 1991. There, it became a part of the Warner Records label and held its own in a changing industry, recording artists like Widespread Panic, Cake, and 311.However, changing owners and other problems led to the studio’s closing in 2000. At one point, the building was under the protection of Mercer University. However, the studio was finally foreclosed upon at the end of last year. It has stood as a reminder of its glory days since then, but now even that appears in danger of changing. Fans interested in seeing the “birthplace” of some of their favorite artists should make the journey while they still can.