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Kiko
Davis,
wife of
the late
Don
Davis
who
purchased
United
Sound
Studio
in 1972.
(Photo
by Karen
Hudson
Samuels/Tell
Us
Detroit) |
| |
Legendary
United
Sound
Recording
Studio
Gets a
Michigan
Historical
Marker
By Karen
Hudson
Samuels/Tell
Us
Detroit
DETROIT
(Tell Us
Det) -
Music
history
would
not be
complete
without
Jimmy
Siracuse,
an
Italian
immigrant
who
years
before
Berry
Gordy
founded
Motown
Records,
purchased
a home
at the
corner
of
Second
and
Antoinette
Streets
and
converted
it into
United
Sound
Systems,
a
legendary
Detroit
recording
studio
and
media
production
company.
Family
members
of Jimmy
Siracuse,
Don
Davis
and the
artists
who
recorded
at USS
turned
out
Sunday
afternoon
to
witness
the
Michigan
Historical
Marker
erected
to honor
the epic
music
and
memories
that
reverberated
through
the
studios
of
United
Sound
Systems.
Sandra
Herdon
Martin,
the
granddaughter
of Jimmy
Siracuse,
said he
was an
inventor
who
could
have
been a
millionaire,
“He
invented
the
buttons
on
studio
recording
equipment
but
never
patented
it, he
would
have had
a lot of
money.”
Jiggles,
commercials,
and
industrial
films
were all
produced
at
United
Sound,
but it
is the
studio’s
impact
on the
music
industry
that is
most
remembered.
Don
Davis,
who
brought
United
Sound
Studio
in 1972,
had a
combined
a career
in
banking
and
music.
As a
music
producer
in the
1960s
and ‘70s
Davis
was
known
for his
pioneering
work at
Motown
Records
and was
successful
songwriter
and
guitarist.
Don was
also a
founder
of the
First
Independence
Bank,
the only
African
American-owned
and
operated
commercial
bank in
Michigan.
Kiko
Davis,
the wife
of the
late Don
Davis
said she
experienced
a mix of
emotions
upon
first
seeing
the
historical
marker
“I was
overwhelmed,
happy,
sad,
excited,
and most
of all
very
proud”.
She said
it
cements
the fact
that
there so
many
phenomenal
artists
came
through
United
Sound,
“The
music
that was
produced
here
impacted
the
entire
world
and is
still
being
celebrated
the
world
over;
it’s
been an
important
of
history,
not only
music
history
but of
Detroit
and
American
history.”
During
its boom
years
under
Davis,
USS
became
an award
winning,
hit
making
production
hub for
a
well-known
and
diverse
range of
musical
genres
from
soul,
and rock
to funk
and hip
hop
artists.
Jackie
Wilson,
Aretha
Franklin,
Johnny
Taylor,
MC5, The
Red Hot
Chili
Peppers,
Smokey
Robinson
& The
Miracles,
George
Clinton,
Parliament
– all
recorded
tracks
at USS.
Cheryl
Ruffin,
Vice
President
of the
Rhythm
and
Blues
Hall of
Fame
said of
the
marker
celebration,
“This is
history
in the
making
my dad
recorded
an album
here
with Don
Davis.”
Ruffin
was a
little
girl
when her
father
David
Ruffin,
lead
singer
of The
Temptations,
recorded
at
United
Sound,
she
would
listen
in on
his
sessions.
Brenda
Wilson,
daughter
of
Jackie
Wilson
said it
was
wonderful
to be in
the
studio
to share
memories,
and to
see
where my
father
made his
first
recording,
Oh Danny
Boy,
“it’s
really
just an
honor.”
Going
back to
the
1940’s
artists
including
John Lee
Hooke
recorded
at USS,
along
with
such
jazz
greats
Miles
Davis,
Charlie
Parker,
and Max
Roach;
record
companies
booked
time for
their
artists
at the
legendary
studio.
The
future
of the
United
Sound
Studio
is in
limbo;
it
stands
in the
pathway
of an
entry
ramp
planned
for a
new 1-94
interchange.
Demolition
was
first
mentioned
in 2013.
It not
is clear
what
will
become
of the
site now
that it
has a
Michigan
Historical
Marker
and
designation
as a
Historical
District.
The
Detroit
Sound
Conservancy
under
the
direction
of Dr.
Carleton
Gholz
assisted
in
obtaining
the
Michigan
Historical
Marker;
the
Conservancy
is a
leader
in
Detroit
music
preservation.
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