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  sideburnslim (sideburnslim) 3-Pundit Username: sideburnslim Post Number: 68 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 68.41.175.175 |
Here's a link to a story about the studio. http://www.metrotimes.com/edit orial/story.asp?id=6258 | ||
David Meikle (david_meikle) Moderator Username: david_meikle Post Number: 127 Registered: 3-2004 Posted From: 81.130.211.124 |
SBS see other thread. What else do you plan to write about? (Message edited by david meikle on May 20, 2004) | ||
Randy Russi (randy_russi) 4-Laureate Username: randy_russi Post Number: 75 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 169.139.180.100 |
Why did Berry use this studio in the early days as opposed to Hitsville? Anyone? I think Mary Wells recorded "Bye Bye Baby" at this studio. | ||
S.R. (fury13) 1-Arriviste Username: fury13 Post Number: 7 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 12.2.196.4 |
Hitsville wasn't operating until late '59 or early '60, right? | ||
sideburnslim (sideburnslim) 3-Pundit Username: sideburnslim Post Number: 70 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 68.41.175.175 |
Gordy didnt even own the house on Grand Blvd. when they recorded "Come to Me." | ||
Ron Murphy (ron_murphy) 3-Pundit Username: ron_murphy Post Number: 48 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 68.42.90.140 |
Berry Gordy used 4 local studios to record at before "Hitsville" began operating near the end of 1959. United Sound Systems and Special Recordings is where the bulk of the pre-Hitsville masters were recorded, however a few were done at B-B productions. now as far as I know only demos were recorded at a very small studio located in a garage called Echolic Recorders over on Cameron street, but the only masters that may have been recorded there may have been The Fidelitones and The Cute Teens in 1958 and both of those were sold to Aladdin Records. when Tamla 101 "Come To Me" by Marv Johnson was released in January 59 Mr. Gordy had just moved to a bigger apartment located at 1719 Gladstone right near the corner of 12th St., with the huge royalty check received from United Artists Records from the sale of the Marv Johnson master, the house at 2648 West Grand Blvd. was spoted in July and then purchased on August 2nd 1959. DJ Bristoe Bryant's equipment from his B-B Recording Studio was also purchased in late August and this was the beginning of the Hitsville studio. the 1st official master recorded at Hitsville was "Way Over There"(1st version w/o strings) by The Miracles this recording was assigned master number H55501, however knowing the song was a hit but not recorded right, Gordy took everyone to Chicago using Riley Hampton to arrange the song better with strings added. it took about 2 months more to get the Hitsville studio fixed up so that they could get decent recordings, however until Mike Mclean was hired in January 1961 to head up the engineering it was at that point that the studio started to turn out top quality masters, and in the beginning and up to around the end of 1963 anyone could rent Hitsville to record at if they wanted to. I hope this answers some questions about the early days of Motown. | ||
Ron Murphy (ron_murphy) 3-Pundit Username: ron_murphy Post Number: 53 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 68.42.90.140 |
here is a recording log sheet used at United..this shows the Marv Johnson recording of "Come To Me"..notice that there were 7 takes and the 7th one was picked as the best one. the note on the side says that the master 7th take was given to Berry Gordy on 2-8-59 which must have been the master taken to United Artists in New York, which means the original Tamla 101 issue was cut off of a copy from this master tape. I wonder what the 6 other takes sounded like? I have many of these log sheets that were stored in the tape boxes along with the reel of tape ,however United run the tape off the reels in order to use the blank reels again so I was only able to recover the box and the blank reel along with these log sheets | ||
Ron Murphy (ron_murphy) 3-Pundit Username: ron_murphy Post Number: 54 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 68.42.90.140 |
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Randy Russi (randy_russi) 4-Laureate Username: randy_russi Post Number: 77 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 169.139.180.100 |
Yes, I'm well aware of all that, but Mary's record came out perhaps in late 60. I think Hitsville was already open by the time she recorded, yet BYE BYE BABY was done at United. I also believe some others were recorded at United or even Chicago even after Hitsville was running. | ||
Ron Murphy (ron_murphy) 3-Pundit Username: ron_murphy Post Number: 56 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 68.42.90.140 |
no Randy Tamla 101 was released in January 59 and issued on UA 2-21-59... check out the dates and also read my post of Thursday May 20th also who said Bye Bye Baby was cut at United.. it was cut at Hitsville and released November 1960 and as Motown had money available the record was slowly pushed until charting in early 61 after early on in 1960 the only Motown records cut outside of Hitsville were Miracles and some Eddie Holland tracks which were done in Chicago mostly using Riley Hampton's arrangments I think the last one may have been "I'll Try Something New" after that point everything was recorded at Hitsville until Motown opened the LA division in 64. | ||
Robb_K (robb_k) 5-Doyen Username: robb_k Post Number: 244 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 204.108.65.10 |
What was that reference in the article about United to Marvin Gaye's 1970 record having tracks recorded there? I've also heard that there were a few special projects or situations in which treacks were recorded at United well after Hitsville was running and had good equipment ready to go. Could these have been situations in which United had a special facility needed for a special requirement? Or could it have been during a recording overload at Hitsville? | ||
Randy Russi (randy_russi) 4-Laureate Username: randy_russi Post Number: 79 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 169.139.180.100 |
Ron, according to the Mary Wells box set "Looking Back 1961-64" issued on Motown in 1993 BYE BYE BABY was recorded at United Sound Studios. I did question that, but the prod. of the project Carey Mansfield had really researched, according to what he told me, and said that's where it was done. I also think Mable John confirmed this as she was there when it was recorded or something like that. | ||
Randy Russi (randy_russi) 4-Laureate Username: randy_russi Post Number: 80 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 169.139.180.100 |
P.S. I said Mary's record came out in late '60, NOT Tamla 101! I think BYE BYE BABY was Motown 103.  | ||
Ron Murphy (ron_murphy) 3-Pundit Username: ron_murphy Post Number: 61 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 68.42.90.140 |
sorry Randy I mis-read your post, well about Bye Bye Baby.. this is something I have not heard before..but it is true that Motown was having trouble with the studio and could be posiable that it had to be done at United, now in a earlier interview back when Mary Wells was still at Motown she talked about how she took 19 takes on it and that's why she sounded kind horse/or different than later recordings, she also mentioned how the tape recorder had to be helped by hand because it wouldn't run right. but once again because of the date of the recording being in the time period where things at Hitsville were still not working properly the person doing that research may have been correct. I'm real close on being able to sit down with 2 of the first people at the studio this summer,and get as much information as I can to fill in some of the question marks. | ||
Randy Russi (randy_russi) 4-Laureate Username: randy_russi Post Number: 81 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 169.139.180.100 |
That's great, Ron! Find out what you can about Mary's first recording. I know she told me the record was out for about a year before it's peak on the charts. They would issue it in different markets. I'd like to know the exact date she recorded and, yes, she had told me she did 22 takes before Berry was satisfied. | ||
S.R. (fury13) 1-Arriviste Username: fury13 Post Number: 10 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 12.2.196.4 |
Ron, was the Bristoe Bryant equipment that was moved to Hitsville the same setup that was used to record the Falcons' "You're So Fine"? Was that over on Forest? | ||
Ron Murphy (ron_murphy) 3-Pundit Username: ron_murphy Post Number: 62 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 68.42.90.140 |
Hello S.R. yes "You're So Fine" was recorded at Bristoe's studio,which was located at 63 East Alexandre which was his home with the studio in the basement, on the Falcon's recording lead Joe Stubbs was put in the bathroom for separation purposes..when you play that record again listen to the funny sound on Joe's vocal because of that the place on Forest Ave. was only the offices of Flick-Contour Records(65 E. Forest) Bristoe Bryant's B-B Recording Studio was just a few blocks North, both running just off Woodward Ave. | ||
Erik T (erik_t) 2-Debutant Username: erik_t Post Number: 26 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 64.228.108.49 |
On a more current note, I read on 1 Nation that recording was being done at United Sound just last week..? | ||
Erik T (erik_t) 2-Debutant Username: erik_t Post Number: 28 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 64.228.108.119 |
... And I was right... www.MetroTimes.com (check down left side for link to George Clinton's recording there at the moment... | ||
Erik T (erik_t) 2-Debutant Username: erik_t Post Number: 29 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 64.228.108.119 |
Oooops, sorry about that sideburnslim, I must have stalled (my computer must have stalled) the first time I saw this thread, I thought I was adding new info... sometimes a little slow on the draw! |
