Arguably the most famous recording studio in the world, London’s Abbey Road is where the Beatles and their producer George Martin made music history again and again.
You can hear some of what the Beatles—and many other artists—have done over the years at Abbey Road in our May Hear the Music and Extended Play sections. But why not see the place in use too? Luckily, you don’t have to hop on a plane to England to do that anymore. Just head on over to Google’s extraordinary Inside Abbey Road website, which takes you right through the building’s front door and shows you all its major facilities, with George Martin’s son Giles, a noted producer himself, providing an in-depth tour. While you’re there, you can also learn about how stereo sound was invented, watch a film of the very first recording session at Abbey Road in 1931, play with virtual facsimiles of the studio’s vintage equipment, and lots more. If you’re at all interested in how music is recorded, you’ll definitely want to check this site out. Below is a short video trailer for Inside Abbey Road; at the end of it, you can click on a button that will take you directly to the site. If that’s too much trouble, use this link instead.
One more thing: Remember reading about the orchestral session at Abbey Road for the Beatles’ “A Day in the Life”—the one where they asked the musicians to put on false noses and other party-gag items? Well, that session was filmed, and some of the footage was later used for the song’s official video, which does a good job of capturing the wacky, celebratory atmosphere of that historic event.