Signs and sounds of life are emerging at United Sound Systems, a historic recording studio in Midtown that hosts a five-hour open house Saturday..
Stars who recorded here include Aretha Franklin, John Lee Hooker, Whitney Houston and Jackie Wilson.
"Funk star George Clinton — who cut some of his best-known work at United in the 1970s and ’80s — will begin sessions there this weekend," music writer Brian McCollum reports in the Free Press.
The facility’s two studios have been quietly renovated and restocked with audio gear, including a vintage Neve mixing console, and plans are in motion to create an on-site museum and recording school.
Detroit-born songwriter Allee Willis recorded at the studio earlier this month. . . .
“They’re putting it back together in the hope that by preserving this history, having it function again, it becomes such a landmark that this (demolition) doesn’t happen,” said Paul Hill, a producer and singer authorized to speak on the studio’s behalf.
United Sound is hosting an open house from 3-8 p.m. today to show off the restored digs and talk up the museum and school plans.
Preservation concerns arose last summer because a planned I-94 project could put a service drive across the 80-year-old studio’s property at Second and Antoinette, McCollium notes.
Artists who recorded there include Aretha Franklin, John Lee Hooker, Whitney Houston, Jackie Wilson. Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and the Miracles.
Open house: Call (313) 833-1833 before going. The address is 5840 Second Ave.
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