John Fry is the founder of Ardent Music, LLC in Memphis, TN, which includes Ardent Studios, two record labels, Ardent Records (Christian label) and Ardent Music (mainstream label), and a production company, Ardent Film Department. Originally founded in 1959, the business didn't become official until 1966.

The studio has been used by Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...

, Big Star, Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...

, Isaac Hayes

Isaac Hayes

Isaac Lee Hayes, Jr. was an American songwriter, musician, singer and actor. Hayes was one of the creative influences behind the southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwriter and as a record producer, teaming with his partner David Porter during the...

, B.B. King, R.E.M.

R.E.M.

R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...

, Stevie Ray Vaughan

Stevie Ray Vaughan

Stephen Ray "Stevie Ray" Vaughan was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan and frontman for Double Trouble, a band that included bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. Born in Dallas, Vaughan moved to Austin at the age of 17 and...

, The Replacements, The White Stripes

The White Stripes

The White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...

, Cat Power

Cat Power

Charlyn Marie Marshall , also known as Chan Marshall or by her stage name Cat Power, is an American singer/songwriter and occasional actress and model. Cat Power was originally the name of Marshall's first band, but has come to refer to her musical projects with various backing bands...

 and M.I.A.

M.I.A. (artist)

Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam , better known by her stage name M.I.A. , is an English singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, painter and director of Sri Lankan Tamil descent. Her compositions combine elements of hip hop, electronica, dance, alternative and world music. M.I.A...

. About 20% of the Stax catalog was recorded at Ardent and every major Stax artist has recorded there other than Otis Redding who died in 1967.

Fry has engineered and produced a plethora of records, many for Stax, but is mostly known for his work on the first three Big Star albums and as the band's mentor.

Fry has served as national President of the Society of Professional Audio Recording Services (SPARS), Chairman of the Tennessee Film, Entertainment, and Music Commission, Chairman of the Memphis Film Commission, Chairman of the Memphis and Shelby County Music Commission, Vice-Chairman of the Memphis Music Foundation, Board Member of Visible School Music and Worship Arts College, President and National Trustee of the Memphis Chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (Grammy Organization), and Chairman of the University of Memphis Music Industry Advisory Board. He was the recipient of the 2006 Distinguished Achievement in the Creative and Performing Arts Award from the College of Communication and Fine Arts at the University of Memphis.

To date, Ardent has amassed over 70 gold and platinum albums and singles.

External links

• Ardent Studios homepage
• Interview with John Fry from GoMemphis.com