Bell Sound Recording Studio

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The Bell Sound Recording Studios were a 1950 in New York City founded by record labels independent studio .

Foundation phase

Founders Allen Weintraub and Dan Cronin met as classmates at Brooklyn Technical High School and started out as trained radio mechanics with the Bell Recording Co. in a shop on 73 Mott St, New York's Chinatown . The studios were founded in June 1950 with initial capital of US $ 600. Weintraub and Cronin initially began recording for weddings or radio test broadcasts.

From April 1953 they expanded their business area to music recordings for record labels and took on March 30, 1953 with the doo-wop group The Crows on the Gee produced by George Goldner , in which Weintraub acted as a sound engineer . The song became the first hit parade of the new studios, as it reached number 14 on the US hit parade . George Goldner produced most of his doo-wop groups at Bell-Sound in the future . Larger studio rooms were needed for such music recordings. The studio therefore moved to 89th West Street, where four music tracks were created for Faye Adams in August 1953 . Among them was the first big hit, the later million seller Shake A Hand . The song produced by Al Silver marked the transition between gospel and rhythm & blues and took first place in the rhythm & blues chart for 10 weeks. The next move to 46th St / 8th Ave was due in 1955. Increasing studio occupancy made another move to 237 West 54th Street necessary in 1957, where the studios took up the largest area of ​​a five-story building and had reached their final location. It was a former multi-storey car park in which four recording rooms (studios A to D) were built; Studio A was the largest, it was on the top floor and was suitable for recording entire orchestras . Studio B was slightly smaller than Studio A, could accommodate around 20 to 25 musicians, and had a small vocal booth. Studio C could accommodate up to ten people and was for the production of demo recordings used while Studio D for quadraphonic - and later for voice recordings ( voice-over ) was used. Studios B and C were next to each other on the second floor, with the audio mixing and mastering rooms between the two recording rooms .

The 1950s

Bell Sound was one of the great studios in the USA as early as the 1950s. It was here in December 1955 that the doo-wop classic Why do Fools Fall in Love was written for Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers in Studio A , accompanied by Jimmy Wright and his band of 5 musicians . Wright's bluesy tenor saxophone - Solo contrasted with the angelic voice of just 13-year-old lead singer Frankie Lymon . After its release on January 10, 1956, the single sold 100,000 copies within 3 weeks; With a total of 2 million copies sold and the status of the first number one hit , the song made the recording studio widely known.

While the big major labels initially only used their own recording studios, independent labels such as Old Town Records mostly booked independent studios such as Bell Sound. But the big labels also began to integrate the Bell Studios from 1957. For example, Decca Records boss Bob Thiele booked the studio for the McGuire Sisters on November 13, 1957 to record Sugar Time with a 16-member band. He valued Bell's innovative isolation options for picking up the rhythm as he heard it, and loved the unusual clarity of every musical element. The song took first place for four weeks in February 1958. Buddy Knox immortalized his rock Your Little Baby To Sleep on March 28, 1957 . On April 5, 1957, Jimmy Bowen was on the list with five songs, which resulted in three singles (including Warm up to be my Baby ; May 1957). In April 1957, Dion & the Belmonts came first for Tell Me Why and returned to the studios for I Wonder Why (April 1958) and the million seller A Teenager in Love (April 1959). The Monotones stood in September 1957 for the doo-wop classic The Book of Love with the distinctive single hit on the bass drum behind the microphones. While recording, a baseball ball flew into the studio and made a thud. The noise was noticed during the sound control, but it fitted as a bass drum replacement and was left in place. Clint Miller took Bertha Lou on here in November / December 1957. The Chantels came to the studio on October 16, 1957 to have Richard Barrett produce their first big hit, Maybe . Buddy Holly , whose main studio was operated by Norman Petty , recorded Rave On at Bell Sound on January 25, 1958, among other things, as the epitome of the good feeling in rock & roll , with Petty (piano), his band and label boss Bob Thiele in attendance. The Flamingos had George Goldner produce the Doo Wop classic I Only Have Eyes for You on October 31, 1958 in a three-hour session without overdubbing . On February 25, 1959, Wilbert Harrison stood in front of the microphone for Kansas City during the night , accompanied by Ike Turner on the piano. The big hit came in less than 30 minutes, causing the studio costs of only 40 US dollars .

Lloyd Price recorded his single Personality, produced by Don Costa , on March 25, 1959, and it reached number 2 on the pop charts. The Drifters booked Bell-Sound very often from 1959 onwards, Ruby Baby / Forty Days (April 13, 1959) and This Magic Moment (December 23, 1959) were created here. Lloyd Price returned for Stagger Lee (September 11, 1958), Where Were You on our Wedding Day (December 4, 1958), Lady Luck (December 8, 1959) and I'm Gonna Get Married (May 25, 1959). Ronnie Hawkins had Forty Days (April 13, 1959) and the Ronnie Hawkins LP (April 29, 1959) produced here. In June 1959, manager Harry Balk brought his instrumental band Johnny & the Hurricanes to Bell Sound to record Red River Rock . During a break from recording he noticed organist Paul Tesluk experimenting. After the request to repeat these passages again, Red River Rock was created. The Everly Brothers made their first recording session outside Nashville at Bell Sound for Let It Be Me on December 15, 1959, on December 17, 1959, Ben E. King, separated from the Drifters, started his solo career in the studio with Show Me the Way (produced by Jerry Wexler ). His second solo session on October 27, 1960 produced Spanish Harlem , followed by Stand By Me on March 27, 1961 .

After moving to Warner Brothers, Bill Haley & His Comets went to Bell Studios on January 7, 1960 to record Candy Kisses , and between January 12 and 27, 1960 material was also created for their first Warner LP Bill Haley and his Comets (April 1960). The doo-wop formation The Capris presented There's a Moon out Tonight (December 1958), an unusual outro from the falsetto voice to the bass , instead of the other way around. Only when it was re-released in December 1960 did it hit the charts (3rd place).

In June 1959, the studios moved to new premises at 135 West 54th Street. Fabian's weak singing talents required many takes , such as his biggest hit, Tiger (June 1959). Frankie Avalon , who is under contract with the same record label Chancellor Records , recorded two top hits here: Venus (February 1959) and Why (November 1959).

The 1960s

Paul Anka

Paul Anka was also a long-time customer of Bell-Sound . He began here on September 4, 1957 under producer Don Costa with I Love You Baby . While his biggest hit Diana was still in the Capitol Recording Studios a few blocks away , he stayed with Bell Studios from his second hit You Are My Destiny (September 27, 1957) until 1961. This was followed by Crazy Love (February 25, 1958), Put Your Head on my Shoulder (August 7, 1958; stayed in the archive for almost a year until it was released on August 5, 1959), and Lonely Boy was the most successful hit (August 27, 1959) 1958), (All Of A Sudden) My Heart Sings / Just Young (November 6, 1958), Puppy Love / Adam and Eve (December 4, 1959), My Home Town (April 15, 1960) or Dance on Little Girl ( February 1, 1961).

Drifters and Dionne Warwick

The Drifters returned to the studios for their biggest hit Save the Last Dance for Me (May 19, 1960), followed by Some Kind of Wonderful / Please Stay / Sweets For My Sweet / Room Full of Tears (February 1, 1961), Up on The Roof (June 28, 1962), On Broadway (January 22, 1963) and I'll Take You Home (April 12, 1963). On July 13, 1961 Dionne Warwick sang for the first time for the Drifters in the background choir of Mexican Divorce , in August 1962 she stood in the studio for the first time as a soloist in Don't Make me Over in front of the microphone. For its producer and composer Burt Bacharach it was the most important recording studio. It was the beginning of a great solo career with hits that began with the title Anyone Who Had a Heart (October 1963).

More artists

Doo-wop came again from Little Anthony & the Imperials with Tears on my Pillow (recorded on May 29, 1958 on a 4-track tape machine) and Going out of my Head (November 1964). One of the first soul singers was Solomon Burke , whose Cry to Me was written on December 6, 1961 at Bell Sound.

Also the great successes of the Shirelles ( Will You Love Me Tomorrow , November 1960; Mama Said , April 1961; Soldier Boy , March 1962) or Del Shannon ( Runaway , January 21, 1961, Hats Off to Lary , May 11, 1961; Little Town Flirt , November 20, 1962) came from the studio. Ferrante & Teicher , two teachers at the Juilliard School , had their two pianos with a large orchestra leveled for the instrumentals Apartment (July 1960) and Exodus (November 1960). Gene Pitney began his career in the studios with (I Wanna) Love My Life Away (January 1961) and Every Breath I Take (August 1961). Further ballads followed with Town Without Pity (October 1961), Only Love can break a Heart (September 1962) and It Hurts to be in Love (July 1964).

Ray Charles recorded several LPs in the studio from which great hits were extracted, such as the single Unchain my Heart (July 5, 1961), the LP Modern Sounds in Country And Western Music vol. 2 (September 5, 1962), the LP Country And Western Meets Rhythm And Blues (the tracks were created in other studios, the mastering took place at Bell-Sound in March 1965).

The original Twist and Shout was created here for the top notes on February 23, 1961. When on May 7, 1962, after completing a recording session with Chuck Jackson (LP Any Day Now ), ten minutes of studio time remained free, music producer Bert Berns let the Isley Brothers come to re-record Twist and Shout with them . Since there was no longer enough time to record a B-side during the spontaneous recording session , the music track on the A-side was used and dubbed the Spanish Twist . Other studio customers included The Four Seasons ( Big Girls Don't Cry , October 1962), Wilson Pickett ( It's Too Late , August 1963), Lesley Gore ( It's My Party , March 30, 1963; Judy's Turn to Cry , March 14 , 1963) . May 1963 and You Don't Own Me , December 1963). Phil Ramone - himself a studio owner - worked as a sound engineer at Lesley Gore under producer Quincy Jones ; by way of overdubbing , she sang again over her original voice, which had already been pre-produced in the Bell Sound Recording Studio.

Studio occupancy was also improved by Garnet Mimms ( Cry Baby , May 1963), The Band ( You know I Love You , September 13, 1961; Further On Up The Road / Nineteen Years Old , September 18, 1961; Who Do You Love , January 1963 ), Lloyd Price (LP Misty , September 1963), Dixie Cups ( Chapel of Love , May 1964) or Them ( Gloria , May 1965). The Rolling Stones , otherwise regular customers at London's Olympic Studios , first came for Time is on my Side (June 1964) and returned for the mastering of the LP Their Satanic Majesties Request (November 1967). Meanwhile at Bell the British The Zombies ( She's Not There , October 1964), Ronettes ( Walking in the Rain , October 1964), The Impressions ( Amen , November 1964), The Strangeloves ( I Want Candy , April 1965), The McCoys ( Hang On Sloopy , July 1965; Fever , November 1965) or The Toys ( A Lover's Concerto , August 1965). Len Barry had all hits produced here, including his 1-2-3 (June 24, 1965), and Bobby Hebb appeared in the studio on February 21, 1966 to record his widely-covered ballad Sunny . On March 7, 1966, Ike & Tina Turner recorded River Deep Mountain High , with producer Phil Spector spending $ 22,000 on the backing track alone , with Ike Turner receiving an additional $ 20,000 to stay away from the studio.

After the surprise success of Hanky ​​Panky, producer Henry Glover ordered the band Tommy James & the Shondells , which had been hastily re-assembled after the surprise success of Hanky ​​Panky, to the Bell Sound Studios, where recordings for the LP of the same name were still taking place in June 1966.

In what are now the largest independent recording studios in New York, radio and television commercials accounted for around 40% of sales in 1967. The Temptations , whose home was the Motown Recording Studios in Detroit, came for their LP In A Mellow Mood ( Ol 'Man River / Hello Young Lovers , recorded between April 7th and October 7th, 1967). On December 26, 1967, the studios introduced the 12-track device, which, in addition to the advanced technology, also posed a problem. The Bell Studios owned the only device in New York for some time, so that the tapes recorded here could not be edited in other studios due to a lack of compatibility.

After co-owner Don Cronin was killed in an airplane accident in January 1968, Weintraub finally sold the studios in November 1968 to Viewlex, which had also belonged to Kama Sutra Records since November 1968 .

The 1970s

The new owners didn't really enjoy the studios. Here's who took Flamin 'Groovies their LP Teenage Head (January 1971) and Roberta Flack their single Feel Like Makin' Love on (June 13 1973). The Hard Rock - band Kiss began on 10 October 1973 to record their first album Kiss , which came in February 1974, the market. During 1974 the recording studio began to have financial difficulties, and finally Bell Sound Studios filed for bankruptcy in November 1977. This proved that the former studio founders succeeded in selling at the height of their success. In December 1974 Viewlex sold an unprofitable business, namely its Audio Visual Division (AVD). This created three operational groups with Buddah Records, Inc. , Electro Sound Inc. and Custom Services , to which, in addition to Bell Sound Studios, Sonic Recording Products, Inc. , Monarch Record Mfg. Co. and several others belonged. Bell Sound Recording Studios finally ceased operations in 1976.

Bell Sound Recording Studios had no legal relationship with the New York independent record label Bell Records , which was founded by Benny Bell in 1945. The Bell Sound Studios , in 1965 by Bill Bell in Hollywood established, had no relationship to the New York recording studio.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Susan Schmidt Horning, Chasing Sound: Technology, Culture, and the Art of Studio Recording , 2013, p. 161
  2. ^ Billboard Magazine of February 24, 1968, Bell Sound Report , pp. 43 ff.
  3. ^ Gordon Thompson, Please Please Me , 2008, p. 289
  4. ^ Arnold Shaw, Honkers and Shouters , 1978, p. 452
  5. ^ Susan Schmidt Horning, Chasing Sound: Technology, Culture, and the Art of Studio Recording from Edison to the LP , 2013, p. 161
  6. ↑ a b Ken Sharp, Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons: Nothin 'to Lose - The Making of KISS 1973-1975, Harper Collins, ISBN 978-0-06-213172-0 , p. 152
  7. ↑ Oral Studio History - An Oral History Podcast of Recording Studios ( Memento of the original from December 23, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ; Website, accessed October 16, 2013  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.oralstudiohistory.com
  8. ↑ Susan Schmidt Horning, Chasing Sound: Technology, Culture, and the Art of Studio Recording from Edison to the LP , 2013, p. 169
  9. ↑ Albin Zak, I Don't Sound Like Nobody: Remaking Music in 1950s America , 2013, p. 96
  10. ^ Joseph Murrells, Million Selling Records , 1985, p. 103
  11. ^ Susan Schmidt Horning, Chasing Sound: Technology, Culture, and the Art of Studio Recording from Edison to the LP , 2013, p. 165
  12. ^ Richard Crouse, Where Wrote the Book of Love? , 1963, no p.
  13. Jump up ↑ John J. Goldrosen, Buddy Holly: His Life and Music , 1979, p. 134
  14. ↑ Sound on Sound from March 2009, Classic Tracks: The Flamingos 'I Only Have Eyes For You'
  15. ↑ Steve Sullivan, Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings , Volume 2, 2013, pp. 304 f.
  16. ↑ David A. Carson, Grit, Noise, & Revolution: The Birth of Detroit Rock 'n' Roll , 2006, p. 41 f.
  17. ↑ Jay Warner, On this Day in Music History , 2004, p. 151
  18. ^ Alan Lorber, Benny Allen was a Star: A New York Music Story , 2010, p. 3
  19. ↑ Jerry Blavat, You Only Rock Once: My Life in Music , 2011, p. 152
  20. ↑ Jerry Blavat, You Only Rock Once: My Life in Music , 2011, p. 153
  21. ↑ Jay Warner, On this Day in Music History , 2004, p. 68
  22. ^ Billboard Magazine, November 23, 1968, Corporate Guns Train Sight on Studios , cover page
  23. ↑ Billboard Magazine, Nov. 12, 1977, Bankruptcy File For Bell Sound , p. 105
  24. ↑ Billboard Magazine, December 14, 1974, p. 8
  25. ↑ Bell Sound Studio page on Discogs.com , accessed October 17, 2013