The United Sound Systems recording studio is significant for the musical contributions made there by some of the country's most prominent artists of many genres in American music, primarily by the influential, African-American artists of the jazz and rhythm and blues eras. The United Sound Systems Recording Studios was Detroit's first major recording studio and where the first Motown record was recorded. It also is known for its innovation in sound production in the recording industry.
United Sound Systems has been a place where musical innovation and technological experimentation have blended together to create some of the music industry's major technical and engineering advances. From blues and jazz, to country and rock, to soul and funk and now techno; the United Sound studios were recording almost continually from 1933 until 2018, and was considered one of the oldest independent studios in the country.
The United Sound Studios was founded in the early 1930s by James "Jimmy" Siracuse. There is some debate about its exact location. Although, Detroit music historians continue to debate this issue, they all agree that United Sound Studios' first studio was in the Cass Corridor. According to early city directories, the United Sound Studios was located at 5051 Cass Ave., which was also the home of Siracuse and his wife, Shyla (Esther). Polk Detroit City Directories between the years 1920 and 1930 list the United Sound Studios occupying the first floor of the residential building.
The United Sound Studios remained at 5051 Cass Ave. until 1939 when Jim Siracuse moved the studios to its present location at 5840 Second Ave. James and his wife leased the building on Second Avenue for 10 years. In 1949, Siracuse purchased the property from William C. Hollands and Clarke D. and Violet Hollands, who owned it as an investment/income property. The building at the Cass Avenue location was demolished in the late 1940s when the area was redeveloped by Wayne State University and is presently the site of the Science Hall.
Jimmy Siracuse came from a musical family. His father Joseph was a concert and opera singer (baritone); his bother Tony worked many years for Gunn Music House, dealers in "automatic" musical instruments and jukeboxes. During the 1920s, Jimmy Siracuse rented space at Gunn Music for his business, Siracuse Music House, specializing in "musical merchandise." In 1946, Tony left Gunn Music to start Circle Music, a jukebox and vending machine firm. Ten years later, in 1956, Tony Siracuse sold Circle Music and came to work with his brother Jimmy at United Sound Studios. Later, Jimmy Siracuse's, son Joseph joined the company as sound engineer, and when United Sound Studios incorporated in 1962, he became corporate vice president.
Jimmy Siracuse was a pioneer in adapting residential spaces to accommodate the technical and engineering aspects of the music industry. He and Tony, a sound engineer, utilized his knowledge of building and designing jukeboxes to develop and produce a unique sound that incorporated the building itself as a musical instrument. This manipulation of sound became known by artists worldwide as the "Temple of Sound." The Siracuse brothers' ability to transform spaces designed for residential use to produce unique musical sounds became synonymous with United Sound Studios. The United Sound Studios soon became known as the place where innovation and technological experimentation was instrumental in creating the modern sound that would redefine music globally. Musicians from all genres found their way to Detroit and United Sound to record.
For the first couple of decades, the United Sound Studios was best known for producing advertising jingles for radio and later television. During this period, the studio was primarily used by local businesses to produce jingles for commercials that were aired on local radio and television shows. Jingles used in commercials for local shows such as "Bill Kennedy," "Soupy Sales," "Milton the Clown" and "The Rita Bell Show" were recorded there. The Michigan-based Kellogg Co. produced and recorded all of its advertising jingles at United Sound for 10 years.
A number of well-known artists recorded their early hits at United Sound, beginning in 1942 with the song "Bomb Tokyo," co-written by Jimmy Siracuse. In 1947, as part of the Jazz Discography Project, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Duke Jordan, Tommy Potter and Max Roach recorded "Klaustance" for Savoy Records. In 1948, John Lee Hooker recorded the landmark record "Boogie Chillen" at United Sound for Sensation Records.
Sensation Records was an outgrowth of Pan-American Distributing Co., a Detroit-based company owned by John Kaplan and Bernie Besman. In July 1947, the partners formed Sensation Records. Kaplan, an accountant, handled the money, and Besman, a pianist and former band leader who performed under the name Dean Dennis, handled the artistic talent. With the success of Hooker's initial recording, other Detroit-based musicians signed with Sensation Records, including T.J. Fowler, vibraphonist Milt Jackson and country blues singer Sylvester Cotton; all of whose early recording sessions took place at United Sound.
The success of United Sound continued into the 1950s and '60s with recording artists such as Jack Scott and Del Shannon. Detroit-based country singer and songwriter Jimmy Work recorded two of his most successful hits at United Sound, "Making Believe" and "That's What Makes the Jukebox Play." In 1966, the Rationals recorded their classic 'blue-eyed soul' version of Otis Redding's "Respect" at United Sound. In 1969, the funky edge sound produced in 'Studio A' can be heard in the recordings of Bob Seger's "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man" and Isaac Hayes' "Hot Butter Soul."
In 1950s, Dave Usher, former jazz and A&R man ("artists and repertoire," a high-profile point man/producer for a record label) partnered with jazz great Dizzy Gillespie to form Dee Gee Records a Detroit-based record company. The company mostly released jazz records, but would release pop and R&B records under the label. Usher recorded R&B legend Little Willie John's first record "Mommy, What Happened to Our Christmas Tree?" at United Sound when John was just 14. In 1952, Usher produced Jackie Wilson's first record, "Danny Boy" and "Rainy Day Blues," at United Sound as a favor to jazz musician Billy Mitchell.
Berry Gordy Jr., founder of Motown Records, spent his early years in the United Sound Studios. An auto worker at Ford Motor Co. and aspiring songwriter, Gordy had aspirations of recording his songs under his own record label. Though never employed by United Sound, Gordy spent a great deal of time at "Studio A" observing the technicians as they experimented with producing new sounds inspired by the eclectic group of session musicians who recorded regularly there. According to Joe Siracuse, Gordy learned the basics of the music business and how to mix and produce tracks as he sat in on sessions in the studios. Gordy would use his own primitive recording equipment and bring his tapes in to have the levels corrected at the studio. Gordy recorded his first session, "Come to Me" with singer Marv Johnson, in 1958 at United Sound. The Miracles also cut their first singles at United Sound under Gordy's Tamla Records. A year later, in 1959, with a loan from his family, Gordy purchased the former Gene LeVett photography studio, a former residential building located at 2648 W. Grand Blvd., and started Motown Records. Gordy named his new headquarters "Hitsville USA."
The Don Davis era
Don Davis had an unconventional career that took him from the world of music to the button-down halls of finance. A Detroit native, Davis was a three time Grammy-winning producer whose love for music began at an early age. Known for having a keen ear for sound, Davis taught himself to play the trumpet and saxophone while in grade school. In 1955, Davis graduated from Detroit Central High School and formed his own jazz group, the Don Davis Trio. By the 1960s, Davis had become a fixture on the Detroit music scene. He soon gained a reputation as an excellent guitar player, and was in high demand as a session musician working with many of the Detroit's independent record labels including Northern, Thelma, Golden World, Ric-Tic and Revilot. In 1960, Barrett Strong's hit "Money" (That's the What I Want) and Mary Wells' "Bye Bye Baby," both recorded for Motown, featured Davis' guitar work.
By the mid-1960s, Davis had moved behind the controls in the studio and was writing and producing. Davis was a producer at Motown Records during its golden era of the '60s. In 1967, he became the Detroit-based producer for Memphis' Stax Records, which was looking to capture a bit of that Motown magic. His first major success came a year later, in 1968, with Johnnie Taylor's hit "Who's Making Love?", on which he played guitar. The song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart and No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. Dave Marsh, a national music critic described the song as "a mostly perfect blend of Southern and Northern soul." Davis would collaborate with Taylor on many of his hits in the 1970s, including "Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone," a 1971 R&B, No. 1 hit, which Davis co-wrote. In 1976, Davis co-wrote and produced Taylor's mega-smash "Disco Lady." The song spent four weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and six weeks on the R&B Billboard chart, and was the first record to ever be certified "platinum" by Billboard. Taylor recorded both songs at United Sound. Davis worked for Stax Records for several more years before leaving to establish his own label, Groovesville Music.
In 1971, Davis purchased the historic United Sound Studios, even then Detroit's oldest and largest recording studio. With his music credentials firmly established, Davis began the process of repositioning United Sound on the music scene. Davis modernized the recording studios and updated much of the recording equipment, including the purchase of a new console designed by Daniel Flickenger. He established "The Company," a house rhythm section that played for everyone who recorded at the studio. Under Davis' leadership, United Sound regained its reputation as one of the world's premier recording studios. Notable artists such as Burt Bacharach, Aretha Franklin, The Staple Singers, The Dells, The Dramatics, Carla Thomas and David Ruffin are among the many artists who recorded at the United Sound Studios. In 1970, George Clinton rented studio space and recorded Funkadelic's "Free Your Ass, and Your Mind Will Follow." The United Sound Studios became the home studio of Clinton's Parliament-Funkadelic. In the following years, Clinton returned to the studio to record "Cosmic Slop" (1973), "Chocolate City" (1974) and Parliament's "Mothership Connection" (1975). In 1985, Aretha Franklin recorded "Who's Zoomin' Who" at the studios.
Davis established himself as a banker having founded First Independence Bank in 1971. It was the only African-American-owned and operated commercial bank in the state of Michigan when it opened. Davis found the banking business taking up more of his time, as he grew First Independence to over $200 million in assets to become the 12th largest African-American-owned bank in the United States. Despite his long career in the music industry, Davis closed the doors at United Sound in the 1990s.
In 2004, Roger Hood and his wife, Aretha, purchased the studios and reopened them on a limited basis until 2008. Hood was a business law instructor at Wayne County Community College. In 2009, Danielle Scott purchased United Sound, and she set out to restore and promote the historic legacy of the United Sound Studios. Unfortunately, the studio was closed in 2018 and has been threatened by demolition as part of an expansion of Interstate-94. The building is now owned by the State of Michigan.
Architectural description
Originally constructed in 1916 as a private residence, the United Sound Systems building is a large, two-story, brick home that has been expanded and significantly altered to accommodate a recording studio.
Located at 5840 Second Ave., the building was once typical of a neighborhood in which many houses have since been replaced by larger institutional and commercial buildings. It faces west onto the street, and is situated atop a slight rise from grade level which necessitates several steps on its approaching concrete walkway.
The building is faced with common-bond brick and topped by a hip roof covered in asphalt shingles. Eclectic decorative features include a double, arched dormer with simplified wood pilasters, decorative brackets at the corners of open eaves, stepped chimneys, limestone string courses, and a rectangular brick spandrel between first and second-story windows on the west facade. Rectangular bay windows, clad in wood, project from the north and south face of the building. Three wall chimneys also add texture to the side (north and south) elevations.
Window and door openings have been altered in a manner reflecting the change in use from a residence to a studio. Windows have been replaced with glass block or vinyl windows, or covered with wooden boards. The front door has been replaced with a commercial hollow metal door. A window opening on the west facade of the first floor appears to have been enlarged to accommodate a large, aluminum display window. An original, glazed wood door, flanked by wood sash windows, remains on the second story, but the porch served by this entrance has since been removed. Remaining wooden areas on the west facade are painted blue, while the bay windows are painted gray.
The building was expanded significantly in 1956 when a large addition was constructed. This windowless, concrete block section has a flat roof, the height of its coping matching the cave line of the original building. The walls of this addition are blank except for two roll-up steel doors on the rear (east) elevation. The concrete walls are presently painted a light gray. Prior to the construction of this addition, building permits indicate brick garages constructed in 1917 and 1947.