DETROIT, MI (CelebrityAccess) – According to the Associated Press, Detroit’s United Sound Systems Studio has been listed for $1.5 million.
Founded in 1939 by Italian violinist and recording engineer James “Jimmie” Siracuse, the studio is best known for having birthed the first single for Tamla Records — the label which later became Berry Gordy’s Motown Records. But, after nearly 70 years in operation, USSS closed its doors in the mid-2000s, and in 2013, the building was targeted for demolition under a plan to widen Interstate 94.
No doubt an integral piece of Detroit music history, everyone from Aretha Franklin, Miles Davis, and John Lee Hooker to Marvin Gaye, George Clinton, and The Rolling Stones have, at one point or another, all recorded there. As such, the studio received a historic marker in 2017 following efforts by the nonprofit Detroit Sound Conservancy, and the State’s plans for demolition were eventually suspended.
Unfortunately, according to MLive.com, there is no stipulation within the sale that the United Sound Systems property must remain an active recording studio, so we’ll have to see what becomes of this bonafide musical landmark.
