THE BIRTHPLACE of Southern rock A feeling of reverence washed over blues musician Hughes Taylor as he walked through the door of Capricorn's Studio A. He could hear the echoes of every song recorded in the room by the Allman Brothers Band, the Marshall Tucker Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd and other legendary artists who made the music that helped put Macon on the map in the 1970s. " My mind just kind of drifted away, " the 26-year-old Macon native recalls. " The recording studio has been carefully preserved-even some of the cigarette stains are still there-so stepping into that room is like stepping back in time. At the same time, I felt so at home there. It's easy to be creative in a place built for fueling creativity. " If the walls of Capricorn's celebrated Studio A could talk, they would tell stories about the birth of Southern rock and the men and women who brought it into the mainstream. They would chronicle the hard times and the years when the music didn't flow. But those walls also would recount how, after being shuttered for four decades, the Macon studio was 18 Georgia Magazine April 2022 Capricorn Studios is still 'Macon music' after 50 years By Amber Lanier Nagle Top: A mural depicting Phil Walden and brothers Duane and Gregg Allman is painted in the alley near Mercer Music at Capricorn in Macon. It was painted by Jeks, a muralist from North Carolina. Above right: A photograph of Capricorn co-founders Phil Walden (at left) and Frank Fenter with an unknown man (seated) overlooks a display of Capricorn memorabilia. Right: Blues musician Hughes Taylor has recorded music twice at the renovated Capricorn studio. STEPHEN SCHMIDT REBEKAH HOWARD CHRISTOPHER IAN SMITH PHOTOGRAPHY