Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Entertainment
Entertainment

Legendary Detroit Studio Escapes Demolition, Earns Historic Status

By | Published on June 27, 2017
CommentsComments (0) Add as a preferred source on Google i

United Sound Systems in Detroit was targeted for demolition in 2013 under a plan to widen I-94. (Khalil AlHajal, MLive.com via AP)

DETROIT (AP) — A legendary recording studio in Detroit that once welcomed artists such as Aretha Franklin and Miles Davis has received a historic marker just four years after being targeted for demolition.

United Sound Systems installed the approximately $5,000 sign last week after the Detroit Sound Conservancy helped it acquire a historic designation, MLive reported.

The studio was founded by Italian violinist and recording engineer James “Jimmie” Siracuse and holds bragging rights over the first single for Tamla Records — the label that would later become Berry Gordy’s Motown Records. But it shuttered its doors in the mid-2000s and the building was targeted for demolition in 2013 under a plan to widen I-94.

Federal authorities sought to seize the property last year. Court records show that investigators believe it was purchased in 2009 with money from cocaine trafficking.

A trial for Dwayne Richards, who authorities say bankrolled the building’s purchase for $20,000, is set for October.

State transportation authorities have backed off from demolition plans.

Detroit Sound Conservancy works to protect Detroit’s sonic history by hosting club and studio tours, preserving old recordings and restoring artifacts important to the Motor City music scene.

Conservancy founder Carleton Gholz said the studio’s story is not only a tale of great entertainment but also the narrative of two unique Detroit entrepreneurs.

“One was an Italian immigrant living the American dream, and the other was an African-American Detroiter living the American dream,” Gholz said. “I would honestly say that a lot of people don’t know [the history of United Sound Systems].

“That’s our role at the DSC, to explore how deep all this stuff is. We can’t take that for granted.”

Subscribe To The ABS Newsletter — Get our stories in your inbox.

Independent journalism still matters.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Latest from Atlanta Black Star

Back to top