RCA Studios New York explained

RCA Victor Studios New York were music recording studios established by RCA Victor in New York City, including its studio at 155 East 24th Street which was active from 1928 to 1969, and its successor at 1133 Avenue of the Americas which was active from 1969 to 1993.

History

Background

Beginning in 1901, Victor Talking Machine Company produced its earliest recordings at various locations, including its Victor Trinity Studios at its headquarters in Camden, New Jersey. These recordings included "The Memphis Blues" (1914), credited as the first recorded blues song.[1] and "Livery Stable Blues" by the Original Dixieland Jass Band (1917).[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

155 East 24th Street (1928 to 1969)

In early 1928, after decades of recording in various locations, the Victor Recording Company acquired a property in Manhattan to build a recording studio. Originally built in 1907 as a seven-story stable, the building at 155 East 24th Street was previously home to Manhattan's leading supplier of coach, livery, and workhorses, supplying horses for the New York transit system, and later to the U.S. military for use in World War I.[8] [9] After the Radio Corporation of America purchased the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1929, the company became RCA Victor, and the studio became RCA Victor Studios.

The facilities consisted of Studios A and B (also referred to as Studios 1 and 2), designed by Victor Co. employee John E. Volkmann.[10] Studio A was the larger studio, with space to accommodate up to 35 musicians. Studio B was smaller, and used for piano and chamber music recordings. The shared control room was equipped with a simple RCA mixing console designed and built by its own engineering department, as were the studio's most popular microphones, the RCA 44 and RCA 77. Recordings were made on hot wax, so musicians had to wait a week for test pressings in order to hear what they recorded.[9]

Many notable recordings were produced at the studio in the 1930s, including Hoagy Carmichael and his Orchestra's original 1930 recording of "Georgia on My Mind",[11] [12] Artie Shaw and His Orchestra's 1938 recording of "Begin the Beguine", and Glenn Miller and His Orchestra's 1939 recordings of "In the Mood" and "Moonlight Serenade",[13] as well as their hit "Pennsylvania 6-5000" the following year.[14] Other artists recording at the studios in the 1930s included Bix Beiderbecke and Charlie Barnet.[8] In May 1933, Jimmie Rodgers recorded what would become his final sessions at the studio.[15]

On February 17, 1948, the organizational meeting that led to the formation of the Audio Engineering Society was held at the studios, as was the first AES technical membership meeting held on March 11, with RCA engineer Harry F. Olson as guest speaker.[16]

In the early 1950s, Eddie Fisher recorded several hit songs at the studio, including "Anytime" (1951), "Tell Me Why" (1951), and "Wish You Were Here" (1952). In January 1956, Elvis Presley recorded "Blue Suede Shoes" at the studio,[17] [18] returning in February and again in July, during which he recorded his hits "Hound Dog" and "Don't Be Cruel".[17] [18] [19] In July 1959, The Isley Brothers recorded their hit song "Shout" and subsequent debut studio album from the group. Other artists recording in the studio in the 1950s included Charles Mingus, Perry Como, Harry Belafonte, Lena Horne, Della Reese, and Neil Sedaka.

By 1969 RCA felt its 24th Street studios were too small, obsolete, and no longer competitive,[20] and opened new recording studios within a new building at 1133 Avenue of the Americas. The 155 East 24th Street building was later sold to the City College of New York, who used building until 1998, after which it was razed to facilitate construction of the Baruch College Newman Vertical Campus.[17] [19]

1133 Avenue of the Americas (1969 to 1993)

In 1969, RCA consolidated its corporate offices and opened new recording studios within a new building located at 1133 Avenue of the Americas.[21] RCA's Sixth Avenue Studios comprised five recording studios, including Studio A, a 60 x 100 foot room with 30-foot ceiling, nine tape mastering rooms and five lacquer mastering channels. These facilities were often used for classical projects and numerous original Broadway cast recordings of shows, including Sweeney Todd and 42nd Street.[22]

RCA closed its Sixth Avenue Studios in 1993, with the space later becoming offices.[23]

Other RCA New York Studios

RCA Victor also utilized the Manhattan Center on West 34th Street, the opera house originally built in 1906 by Oscar Hammerstein I, and Webster Hall on East 11th Street, where RCA built a small control room off to the side of ballroom. From the 1920s through the 1940s, RCA Victor also recorded at Liederkranz Hall on East 58th Street.[24]

Notes and References

  1. News: Andrews . Travis M. . March 20, 2019 . Jay-Z, a speech by Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and 'Schoolhouse Rock!' among recordings deemed classics by Library of Congress . The Washington Post. March 25, 2019.
  2. Web site: Schoenherr . Steven . Recording Technology History . History.sandiego.edu . 2008-12-24 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100312213800/http://history.sandiego.edu/GEN/recording/notes.html . March 12, 2010 .
  3. Web site: Thomas . Bob . The Origins of Big Band Music . redhotjazz.com . 1994 . 2008-12-24 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081228133259/http://www.redhotjazz.com/bigband.html . December 28, 2008 . dead .
  4. Web site: Alexander . Scott . The First Jazz Records . redhotjazz.com . December 24, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081228133351/http://www.redhotjazz.com/jazz1917.html . 2008-12-28 . dead .
  5. Web site: Jazz Milestones . apassion4jazz.net . 2008-12-24.
  6. Web site: Original Dixieland Jazz Band Biography . pbs.org . 2008-12-24.
  7. Book: Martin . Henry . Waters . Keith . Jazz: The First 100 Years . Thomson Wadsworth . 2005 . 55 . 0-534-62804-4 .
  8. Web site: Zirpolo . Mike . Victor's 24th Street New York Recording Studio/"Cherokee" (1939) Charlie Barnet . Swing & Beyond . 9 September 2018 . 14 December 2023 .
  9. Book: Schmidt Horning, Susan . Chasing Sound: Technology, Culture & the Art of Studio Recording from Edison to the LP . Johns Hopkins University Press . Baltimore, United States . 82–86 . 2013 . 978-1-4214-1848-3 .
  10. Web site: Ferrara . Samantha . How The Victor Company & A Camden County NJ Native Helped Build Carol King's Recording Career . victorrecords.com . Victor Musical Industries Inc. . 30 July 2020 . 14 December 2023 .
  11. Book: Gioia . Ted . The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire . 2012 . Oxford University Press . New York City . 978-0-19-993739-4 . 122–124.
  12. Book: Carmichael . Hoagy . Longstreet . Stephen. Sometimes I Wonder: The Story of Hoagy Carmichael. 1976. Da Capo. New York. 9780306708091. Repr. d. Ausg. New York 1965..
  13. Web site: Spragg . Dennis M. . How 'Moonlight Serenade' Defined a Generation . Smithsonian Magazine . November 2019 . 20 December 2023.
  14. Web site: Spragg . Dennis M. . Glenn Miller: April 28, 1940 . dennismspragg.com . Dennis M. Spragg . 20 December 2023.
  15. The Brakeman Auditions for Ralph Peer - A Milestone In Country Music . Billboard . 2 November 1963 . 15 December 2023 .
  16. Web site: Letters: Audio Society Activities . aes.org . Audio Engineering Society . 20 December 2023.
  17. Web site: Remembering Elvis on East 24th Street . flatironnomad.nyc . Flatiron Nomad . 12 August 2019 . 16 August 2022 .
  18. Web site: Elvis Presley - The New York Sessions 1956 . Elvispresleymusic.com.au . 20 December 2023.
  19. Web site: Before the Vertical Campus: RCA Recording Studio . Baruch Campus Evolution . . 22 December 2023.
  20. Volkmann . J.E. . Stevens . A. . New York recording studios . RCA Engineer . RCA . December 1971 . 15 December 2023.
  21. Volkmann . J.E. . Stevens . A. . New York recording studios . RCA Engineer . RCA . December 1971 . 15 December 2023.
  22. Web site: Foti. Laura. RCA Studio 'Holding Its Own' As Budgets Tighten. Billboard. 6 February 1982. 7 May 2024.
  23. Web site: Daley. Dan. Off The Record: Music & Recording Industry News. Sound On Sound. SOS Publications Group. October 2014. 16 August 2022.
  24. Book: Schmidt Horning, Susan . Chasing Sound: Technology, Culture & the Art of Studio Recording from Edison to the LP . Johns Hopkins University Press . Baltimore, United States . 86 . 2013 . 978-1-4214-1848-3 .

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