Abstract: The United Sound Systems Recording Studios is Michigan’s oldest and Detroit’s first independent recording studio and the site of numerous well-known recordings, including those by the most popular artists of many genres. Founded in the early 1930s by James Siracuse, who came from an Italian American immigrant background, United Sound pioneered the use of technical and engineering technologies. Siracuse was able to transform a private residence into a uniquely innovative recording space. For the first couple of decades after establishing United Sound, it was known primarily for producing advertising jingles for radio and later television, but also for private businesses as well. From the 1940s onward, United Sound increasingly recorded a wide variety of genres and musical artists. Don Davis, a Detroit native, who worked for both Motown and Stax during the 1960s, purchased United Sound in 1971. Under Davis’ ownership, United Sound recorded many prominent Black musicians. Becoming more and more involved in the banking world, Davis closed United Sound in the 1990s. In 2004 Roger Hood and his wife, Aretha, purchased and reopened the studio on a limited basis until 2008. In 2009, Danielle Scott purchased the studio. Since 2012, the Detroit Sound Conservancy has campaigned to save United Sound from demolition as part of a Michigan Department of Transportation project to expand I-94 and rebuild the Second Avenue bridge over the expressway. From 2014, the DSC led a campaign to make United Sound a historic district with a historical marker installed in 2017. The United Sound Systems Recording Studios Collection consists mainly of digital facsimiles of papers, newspaper clippings, advertisements, photographs, other images and sound recordings that document the history of the recording studio from before the 1930s to the present day. Also present is documentation of DSC’s work preserving the building and gaining historic district status. There is a full finding aid of physical and digital material available here.
Donor(s): The collection contains material gathered by Dr. Carleton Gholz from various sources and was donated by him during his time as Executive Director of the Detroit Sound Conservancy. If you contributed material to the United Sounds Systems Collection, please reach out so your donation can be recognized.
Dates: 1837-2020, bulk 1940-2020
Extent: 2 LF, 2GB
Collection Type: Physical, Digital
Subjects: Don Davis, sound studios, recording industry, record producers, Parliament Funkadelic, Motown, urbanization, historical preservation, historic districts
Related Collections and Artifacts:
- Ed Wolfrum Collection
- Don Davis: Electrifying Mojo Interview
- Death: Interview