United Sound Systems Recording Studios
N 42° 21.743 W 083° 04.334
17T E 329356 N 4692091
Address is 5840 Second St. Detroit. Plenty of parking around it.
Waymark Code: WMWGP3
Location: Michigan, United States
Date Posted: 09/03/2017
Views: 6
United Sound Systems Recording Studios
1939 Italian American violinist and sound engineer James "Jimmy" Siracuse (1903-1988) converted his 1916 house into the new home for United Sound Systems, one of Detroit's firs independent recording studios. He offered recording, transcription and production services for radio programs, record companies, musicians, singers and private citizens, including families who made recordings to send to soldiers during World War II. In 1946 the internationally broadcast Inter-Racial Goodwill Program was recorded here. Artists who created music here in the 1940s and 1950s included John Lee Hooker, Johnnie Ray, Dizzy Gillespie, Jackie Wilson and Alberta Adams.
Side 2
James "Jimmy" Siracuse enlarged this studio to accommodate orchestras and motion picture production in 1965. Marv Johnson's 1959 song "Come To Me," recorded here, was the first single for Tamla Records (later Motown Records). African American guitarist, producer and entrepreneur Don Davis (1938-2014) bought the studio in 1972. He worked with new and established artists from all musical genres, but especially soul, disco, funk, and rhythm and blues. Among them was Johnnie Taylor. His 1976 song "Disco Lady" was the first single certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. By the mid-2000s United Sound had closed. It reopened ion 2014.
Parking nearby?: yes
Registered Site #: S0744
Historical Date: Not listed
Historical Name: Not listed
Description: Not listed
D/T ratings: Not listed
website: Not listed
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