of Bob Wills’ “Old Fashioned Love” closing the film with the lines; “Although the land may change to sea, There'll be no change in me, I've got that old fashioned love in my heart.” Origins MacMahon stated that the idea for the film was born out of a desire to understand on a practical level how the pivotal 1920s recordings were made, “you can only truly appreciate history, and understand why things were done the way they were done, by actually going out and doing them yourself.” Two initial sessions were filmed at the producers' expense prior to the commissioning of the films by the BBC and PBS. These were with Frank Fairfield and The Americans. This was done, according to MacMahon, “as a proof of concept and to ensure the look and style of the film was indelibly stamped from the outset with our own artistic sensibilities and thereby limit the level of outside interference.” He also added “The American Epic Sessions film was the carrot to get the three historical films made. This meant we shot Sessions way ahead of the production of the rest of the films to engender an incentive to tackle the vast undertaking that was the historical films. Making Sessions was like the Olympic 100 metres. The historic films were the marathon.” MacMahon has commented that he prefers to shoot the endings of films first so he can determine the pace to the climax more effectively. Film production Location The film was shot in one main location: Vox Recording Studios in Hollywood, California. Originally built in 1936 and named Electro-Vox, the studio is “said to be the oldest private recording studio in the world”. The studio was emptied of all current sound recording equipment and furniture, then dressed in period fixtures and fittings before bringing in the Western Electric Recording System. The set designer attempted to make the studio feel as close to how a studio would have felt in the 1920s in an attempt to give the musicians the feeling of being taken back in time to an actual recording session as described in the American Epic documentary series. The film had one secondary location, Sophie's Seat Design in Hollywood, California, which was featured when former upholsterer, Jack White, took the broken belt of the recording lathe to be re-sewn. Artist selection The artists were principally chosen by MacMahon in consultation with the