Universal Recording Corporation

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The Universal Recording Corporation was a recording studio operated by Bill Putnam in Chicago in 1946 , which in a short time has developed into the largest independent recording studios in the USA.

Foundation phase

The founders were Putnam and the sound engineer AB "Bernie" Clapper. Both started in Evanston north of Chicago in 1946 and then set up a small recording studio at 46 East Walton Street in Chicago that specialized in radio broadcasts. On August 24, 1946, they moved to the penthouse on the 42nd floor at 20 Wacker Drive above the Opera House, which opened on November 9, 1929, where they focused on commercial studio recordings. An advertisement about this appeared on August 31, 1946 in the music magazine Billboard . In October 1946, George Tasker was added as a unit manager. In the same year, Murray Allen also started in the studio, which she later acquired. The Universal Recording Corporation soon rose to become the leading recording studio in Chicago, accepting commissioned productions from the independent labels founded and based here after the war. These included in particular Mercury Records (founded in December 1945), Chess / Checker Records (April 1947) and Vee-Jay Records (April 1953). All three independent labels developed into well-known record companies that had a large part of their extensive catalogs recorded by Universal. During the day they preferred recordings with big bands , at night the blues musicians came for cheaper rates.

Vitacoustic Records

In Vitacoustic Records it was a short-lived record label that Putnam in March 1947 as the recording studio was established at the same address, to be able to self-produced recordings to market independently. Putnam brought in Lloyd Garrett and Jack Buckley as founding partners. George Tasker also took on A&R duties. The Billboard edition of March 29, 1947 also reported on the founding of the label about a three-dimensional recording technology developed by Universal Recording Studios . Putnam would make a band sound like they were in the listener's living room. In the billboard of October 4, 1947, Vitacoustic boasted with the slogan as "House of Harmonica Hits", but on October 23, 1948 the label went bankrupt.

First million seller

In February 1947, the Harmonicats came to Bill Putnam to record some songs in his studio, but could not afford the studio cost of $ 108 for a 3-hour, 4-track recording session. The Harmonicats were a harmonica trio that played a chromatic lead harmonica, accordion, and bass harmonica. The planned A-side Peg o 'My Heart was completed in just 20 minutes. It was the instrumental cover version of a Fred Fisher composition, first published on March 15, 1913. Putnam deducted the recording costs from the expected sales proceeds and had 1,000 singles of Peg o 'My Heart / Fantasy Impromptu (Vitacoustic # 1; B-side composed by Frédéric Chopin ) pressed through Mercury Records. The single was released on the Vitacoustic Records label that Putnam had just founded . Billboard magazine reported on the publication in its March 1, 1947 issue: “Universal Recording, a local recording studio owned by Bill Putnam, is playing with the idea of ​​having its own record label and will publish 1,000 copies of a test single by the harmonica trio Harmonicats. “To Putnam's surprise, all 1,000 copies were sold within 2 days after DJ Eddie Hubbard (WIND Chicago) played Peg o 'My Heart on the radio several times. By June 1947 175,000 copies had been sold, in September 1947 a total of 1.4 million copies. The song is considered the first sound recording with artificial reverberation, generated by a tiled men's toilet used as an echo chamber.

Studio utilization

After the bankruptcy of its own record label Vitacoustic Records , Putnam only took over commissioned productions, especially those of the Chicago-based record labels.

Recordings for Mercury Records

The first major Universal Recordings customer was Mercury Records, which had its headquarters in Chicago for a long time. One of the first Mercury performers was country singer Art Gibson, who began his career in the studios from February 1946. In No More Records , recorded in November 1947 , he asks what record fans should do when there are no more records to buy. A regular customer in the studio was the Ralph Marterie Orchestra , under contract with Mercury Records , who mostly came for LP recordings: 11 tracks were written in August 1949, 10 in May 1950, 3 each in September and October 1951, 4 in November 1951, 5 each in February and April 1952, 5 in August 1952 and 4 in October 1952, including the million seller Pretend (recorded on January 4, 1953; ranked 6 in October 1953) and Caravan (March 5, 1953; ranked 6 in March 1953).

Vic Damone first booked the studio in May 1953 for 4 tracks, Marterie returned on June 4, 1953, Art Hodes & His High-Fivers recorded 8 tracks on April 19, 1954. The Crew-Cuts showed up at the studios in May 1954 to record their successful cover version of Sh-Boom , which sold 1.5 million copies. The trio of jazz pianist Erroll Garner recorded 13 tracks on July 27, 1954 ( Misty reached rank 30 in October 1954), the John Williams Trio had 9 tracks immortalized on June 15, 1955, David Carroll & His Orchestra appeared for the first time did not appear as a companion with 8 tracks on June 4, 1956, Art Hodes returned for 4 tracks on July 31, 1956.

Rusty Draper first appeared in the busy studios in January 1953 and recorded the song No Help Wanted , which made its first hit parade entry in March 1953 with a 10th place. The original Gambler's Guitar came from Jim Lowe from a session in May 1953 at Universal Recording Studios , and the first cover version of Rusty Draper was recorded here in May 1953, sold more than 1 million times (July 1953, rank 6) and brought out it in the German version as Der lachende Vagabund on record sales of 3.5 million copies.

Leroy van Dyke recorded the title Auctioneer in September 1956 , which was the most successful single for the recording studio with almost 3 million copies. The Diamonds ' biggest hit, the million seller Little Darlin' , was created in January 1957 with castanets and cowbell noises (second place). The Doo Wop group Del-Vikings (with Gus Backus ) recorded Cool Shake on May 29, 1957 (rank 12), whose big hits had previously appeared on Dot and originated in other recording studios. Dinah Washington immortalized 7 tracks in October / November 1957, the Gaylords stood in front of the microphones on November 6, 1957 for their LP Let's Have a Pizza Party , Helen Merrill booked on 18/19. December 1957 the studios for their LP The Nearness of You .

Dinah Washington was released on January 7, 1958 for her LP Dinah Sings Bessie Smith , the Max Roach Quintet on June 3, 1958 for the Max Roach +4 On the Chicago Scene LP , Cannonball Adderley on February 3, 1959 for the Cannonball Adderley Quintet in Chicago . The Max Roach Sextet booked for the 9th / 10th. October 1959, in order to have the LP Max Roach - Moon Faced and Starry Eyed leveled, Buddy DeFranco chose the 17th / 18th. October 1961 for his LP Presenting the Buddy DeFranco- Tommy Gumina Quartet , from September 11, 1963 Dizzy Gillespie visited the studios several times, the Oscar Peterson Sextet was released between September 12 and 14, 1966 for the LP Soul Espanol .

Recordings for Chess / Checker Records

The Universal Recording Corp. recording catalog. for the local Chess label reads like the story of the blues . Putnam was by no means a blues lover, but he was instrumental in the development of the Chicago blues. The independent label Chess Records, founded in Chicago in August 1947 as Aristocrat Records , did not initially have its own recording studios and mainly used the services of Universal Recording Studios . For Aristocrat Records a total of 31 titles were created at Universal by June 1950, the name change to Chess Records then took place on June 3, 1950. In 1951, 89 titles were created for the Chess catalog, almost all of which were leveled by United. John Lee Hooker (as John Lee Booker), who recorded a total of 9 tracks on April 26, 1951 ( Louise / Ramblin 'By Myself ), only appeared in exceptional cases at Universal, otherwise he stood in front of the microphone in the United Sound Studio in Detroit. In 1952, most of the 106 Chess titles came from Universal Studios. Little Walter recorded Juke (May 12, 1952; first place in the Rhythm & Blues Hit Parade or Fast Boogie (January 1953), Elmore James sang Country Boogie / She Just Won't Do Right (January 17, 1953), Willie Mabon came for I'm Mad (February 5, 1953; 1st place), Little Walter again Don't Want to Hurt No More (March 1953) or Willie Mabon again I Got to Go (November 1953).

In 1954 almost all of the 146 known Chess titles were written by Universal, including the biggest hit by Muddy Waters (I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man on January 7, 1954 with Little Walter (harmonica) and composed by Willie Dixon (3rd place). Jimmy Witherspoon had a total of 6 titles leveled on June 10, 1954 (including I Can Make Love to You ), the Moonglows immortalized their million-seller Sincerely (1st place) in October 1954 . Most of Chess' 202 tracks from 1955 were produced at Universal. The Moonglows came in January 1955 for Most of All (rank 5), Willie Mabon appeared in February 1955 for Late Again , Bo Diddley's classic Bo Diddley / I'm A Man was written here on March 2, 1955 (rank 1). Chuck Berry entered the studios for the first time on May 21, 1955 . He needed 36 takes for Maybelline (rank 1 R&B, rank 5 pop; B-side: Wee Wee Hours ) and performed with the cast of Chuck Berry (vocals and guitar), Johnny Johnson (piano), Willie Dixon (bass) and Ebby Hardy (Drums) in front of the microphones. Willie Mabon's single The Seventh Son (June 1, 1955) and Jimmy Witherspoon's I Ain't No Secret (June 15, 1955) were other highlights.

July 14, 1955 was a productive day at Universal as Little Walter and Bo Diddley had booked the studios for a total of 10 titles. Jimmy Witherspoon came out for 4 tracks in November 1955 ( The Things I Used to Do ). Chuck Berry returned on December 20, 1955 for 6 titles including No Money Down (Rank 8) and You Can't Catch Me . Howlin 'Wolf was in the studio for Smokestack Lightnin' on January 25, 1956 (Rank 8), Chuck Berry took the titles Brown Eyed Handsome Man (Rank 5) / Roll Over Beethoven (Rank 2) / Too Much Monkey Business (Rank 4) on April 16, 1956, Rock & Roll Music on December 15, 1956 (rank 6). Commissioned production for Chess Records largely ended when the famous Chess Studios opened in May 1957 - built with Putnam's support.

Recordings for Vee-Jay Records

The first recording session in the Universal Recording Studios after the founding of the Vee Jay label took place for the spaniels on May 4, 1953 under the title Baby It's You . On June 6, 1953 Blue Artist first walked into Jimmy Reed , the Universal Recording Studios . The crystal clear sound without a bass guitar (only accompanied by Eddie Taylor / guitar and Morris Wilkerson / drums) is thanks to Bill Putnam. Reed's single High and Lonesome was the first single in the Vee-Jay catalog (# 100, released July 1953), although the spaniels were in the studio earlier. The El Dorados followed with At My Front Door on April 24, 1955 (August 1955), the Dells in September 1955 with Dreams of Contentment , Eddie Taylor recorded Bad Boy on January 18, 1955. On March 15, 1955, Big Jay McNeely first entered the studios for 4 tracks, including Big Jay's Hop (VJ # 142), Jay McShann came on September 4, 1955 for Jay's Jam (# 191), the Staple Singers on September 11, 1956 for Uncloudy Day (# 224). John Lee Hooker visited the studios on October 19, 1955 for 4 tracks, this time for Vee-Jay Records, and returned on March 27, 1956 for 6 recordings. Billy Boy Arnold recorded his famous I Ain't Got You here in October 1955 (# 171; February 1956). The Dells appeared on May 21, 1956 for their classic Oh What a Nite . Jerry Butler & The Impressions recorded their intense For Your Precious Love in the largest studio A in April 1958 (released June 16, 1958; Rank 3 R&B). Dee Clark's falsetto ballad Raindrops was enriched with rain and thunder noises by producer Calvin Carter (March 22, 1961, rank 2). Another Doo Wop classic was the million- selling Duke of Earl, produced in Studio A by Bill Sheppard for Gene Chandler (August 30, 1961, published November 5, 1961, rank 1).

The Universal Recording Studios have sent EMI master tapes for the US LP Introducing the Beatles (# 1062, published on 10 January 1964) the end of June 1963 edited. For example, Paul McCartney's counting “one, two, three” was removed from the American version of I Saw Her Standing There because it was believed to have been mistakenly included. However, the Vee-Jay success was interrupted by legal disputes with Capitol Records , because from October 15, 1964 Capitol received all recording rights for the Beatles songs for the United States. By then, Vee-Jay had sold 1.3 million copies of the LP.

Other important recordings

In March 1947, Petite Swanson With Marl Young Trio booked the studio for 4 tracks that appeared on 2 Sunbeam singles ( Lawdy Miss Clawdy # 103, I'm Sorry # 107). Salty Holmes booked the studios from December 12th, 1947 (instrumental recording Mama Blues ), Patti Page came on October 24th, 1947 for initially 4 tracks and recorded here sporadically until August 21st, 1959. Among them was the song Confess , recorded on December 3, 1947. Here Putnam used an overdub of her voice as an audio effect for the first time ; she answered herself by superimposing her voices. This stopgap solution was necessary after background vocals were not available due to the strike. With a rank of 12, it was Patti Page's first hit.

Most of the 362 known titles in the Chance Records catalog were recorded by Universal between September 1950 and October 1954 (including the Flamingos, Moonglows). Nat King Cole was mainly a guest at Capitol Recording Studios , but recorded the following on Universal: 7 tracks on June 7, 1955, 4 each on June 9 and 10, and 3 on June 11, 1955 and May 17, 1956 ( We Are Americans Too ). In May 1955, Pat Boone made one of his first sound recordings for Universal with the cover of Ain't That A Shame under producer Randy Wood and returned regularly until May 6, 1956. His cover version of the Fats Domino original Ain't That a Shame sold over 1 million copies. From July 1955, country singer Chuck Miller was also a guest in the recording studios. Elmore James hits the studio on January 4, 1956 for his single Wild About You Baby / Long Tall Woman (Modern 983). Sun Ra’s debut album was recorded on July 12, 1956 under the title Jazz by Sun Ra .

A frequent guest was Sam Cooke , who recorded his gospel-influenced songs for the first time on February 16, 1955 ( Nearer To Thee / Be With Me Jesus / One More Time / I'm So Glad ). He returned for 4 titles on April 10, 1957, again on September 1, 1959 ( Wade in the Water / Stand by me Father ), June 28, 1961 (4 titles), September 20, 1961 (2 titles), 27. February 1962 (3 titles), February 28 (1 title), August 1, 1962 (2 titles) and for the last time on February 27, 1963 (2 titles). Duke Ellington was released on March 19, 1956 ( Way Back Blues / Where's The Music / Rubber Bottom / Play the Blues and Go ), June 24, 1958 ( In a Mellow Tone / Happy Reunion / Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue ), Nat King Cole on June 7, 1955 ( You'll Never Know with Nelson Riddle ) was also a guest in the studio. Junior Wells & Earl Hooker first came out on August 8, 1960 ( Blues in D Natural ). Mary Wells stood in front of the microphone on November 26, 1965 ( Dear Lover ), Ramsey Lewis appeared for his LP The Movie Album (July 1966), Barbara Acklin for Love Makes a Woman (March 25, 1968). Tyrone Davis recorded his greatest hits on November 11, 1968 ( Can I Change My Mind , Rank 1) and on January 23, 1970 ( Turn Back the Hands of Time , Rank 1) here.

Removals

While most of the recording studios stayed down to earth, Putnam often changed locations. His first recording studio did not stay in the opera's penthouse, but moved several times within the city. The moves and their order within Chicago are controversial in the professional world. It is unclear whether it was just a move or whether some studios were operated at several addresses in parallel. After Evanston, his first recording studio was in Chicago at 20 Northern Wacker , from 1954 or 1950 it was located at 111 East Ontario Ave , from July 1955 the address with enlarged premises was 46 East Walton Street . This was his favorite studio, which was one of the most advanced and largest independent recording studios in the United States. The last known address was 32 West Randolph Street under the management of Murray Allen since 1989 .

Sale and end

Putnam sold the now famous Universal Recording Corporation recording studios to his partner Murray Allen in 1957. Instead Putnam began to build an even larger empire of recording studios in the western United States. In 1958 he acquired United Recordings , later Western Recordings in Los Angeles was added. Finally he acquired the United Recording Studios of Nevada in 1962 and Sound Recorders in San Francisco in 1963 . From 1966 Putnam successively sold all recording studios. His first recording studio Universal Recording Corporation in Chicago was continued by Murray Allen until November 1992 and then closed.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Sebastian Danchin, Earl Hooker: Blues Master , 2001, p. 126
  2. ↑ Putnam Springs New Waxing Technique With 'Vitacoustic'
  3. ^ Billboard Magazine, March 1, 1947, Music As Written: Chicago , p. 32
  4. ^ Billboard magazine of September 6, 1947, Ececutive Dissension Forces Cats to Exit Vitacoustic Stable , p. 17
  5. ↑ Soundonsound, June 2001, Universal Appeal
  6. ^ Joseph Murrells: Million Selling Records , 1985, p. 80.
  7. ^ Joseph Murrells: Million Selling Records , 1985, p. 74.
  8. ↑ The Ottawa Citizen, July 5, 1955, Sh-Boom Boys in Shampoo
  9. ^ Joseph Murrells: Million Selling Records , 1985, p. 78.
  10. ^ Joseph Murrells: Million Selling Records , 1985, p. 87.
  11. ↑ the invoice is dated June 28, 1963
  12. ↑ Bruce Spizer, The Beatles Are Coming !, 2004, p. 98
  13. ^ Joseph Murrells: Million Selling Records , 1985
  14. ^ Robert Pruter, Doo-Wop: The Chicago Scene , 1996, p. 17
  15. ↑ Chicago Tribune, August 12, 2005, Wasn't the Gold Coast Once Home to a World-Famous Studio?