Bell Sound Studios was an independent recording studio in New York City from 1950 to 1976. At its height, the studio was the largest independent recording studio in the United States, and the site of recording sessions that produced seminal hits by Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers, the McGuire Sisters, the Flamingos, Dion and the Belmonts, Paul Anka, Frankie Avalon, the Drifters and Ben E. King, the Four Seasons, Lesley Gore, the Dixie Cups, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, and Kiss.
Co-founders Allen Weintraub and Dan Cronin were classmates at Brooklyn Technical High School and aspiring radio engineers. In June 1950 with an initial investment of $600 Weintraub and Cronin established the recording studio as Bell Recording Co. in a storefront at 73 Mott Street in New York's Chinatown. [1] The studios were initially used for recording radio airchecks and weddings and bar mitzvahs. [2]
Within a year the studio had outgrown its initial location and was moved to Brooklyn, where it began picking up overflow business from record labels when more established New York studios were fully booked. On March 30, 1953 record producer George Goldner brought doo-wop act the Crows to Bell to record "Gee" with Weintraub engineering. The song became the studio's first hit, reaching number 1 on the R&B chart and 14 on the pop chart.
Needing a larger studio space to accommodate recording sessions of these small ensembles, Bell moved to West 89th Street in Manhattan. It was at this location that Faye Adams recorded her hit song "Shake a Hand". [1] The song, produced by Al Silver, marked the transition between Gospel and Rhythm & Blues and held the number one position on the U.S. Billboard R&B chart for nine weeks. [3] In November 1955, George Goldner was back with Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers to record "Why do Fools Fall in Love". The single reached number 1 on the R&B chart and number 6 on the pop chart, and increased the studio's notoriety. In 1955, then known as Bell Sound Studios, the company and its nine employees relocated yet again, to the fourth floor of a building at West 46th Street and 8th Avenue [2] in the heart of Midtown Manhattan and near New York's advertising agencies, record labels, other recording studios, and the Brill Building, whose songwriters and producers gravitated to Bell Sound Studios for their sessions. In 1956, Jimmie Rodgers recorded his version of "Honeycomb (song)" at the studio, with the song topping the Billboard Top 100.
By 1957 the company had grown to 17 employees, and again moved, to 237 West 54th Street, where the studios eventually occupied the largest portion of a five-story building. While the major record labels initially used their own recording studios exclusively, even major record labels were utilizing Bell Sound Studios by 1957. On November 13, 1957, Coral Records president Bob Thiele booked the studio for The McGuire Sisters to record "Sugartime" with a 16-piece band. He appreciated Bell's innovative isolation capabilities to record the rhythm as he heard it and was amazed by the unusual clarity of each musical element. [1] The song topped the Most Played chart in February 1958. [4] Buddy Knox recorded his 1957 number 17 hit "Rock Your Little Baby To Sleep" at Bell, and Jimmy Bowen recorded three singles (including "Warm Up to Me Baby") at the studio in May. In April 1957 Dion and the Belmonts entered the studio to record "Tell Me Why", returning for "I Wonder Why" (April 1958) and their hit "A Teenager in Love" (April 1959). [5] The Monotones recorded their doo-wop classic "The Book of Love" at Bell in September 1957. Clint Miller recorded "Bertha Lou" here in November/December 1957. The Chantels arrived at Bell Sound on October 16, 1957, to have Richard Barrett produce their first big hit, "Maybe".
Paul Anka was a regular customer at Bell Sound under the direction of producer Don Costa, beginning in September 1957 with the recording of "I Love You Baby" and "You Are My Destiny". Anka recorded almost exclusively at Bell Sound until 1961, including such hits as "Put Your Head on My Shoulder", "Lonely Boy", and "Puppy Love". Cannonball Adderley recorded at Bell Sound, starting with Cannonball's Sharpshooters in 1958.
Buddy Holly, who normally recorded at Norman Petty's Clovis, New Mexico studio, recorded his rock & roll classic "Rave On" at Bell Sound on January 25, 1958, backed by his band and Petty (on piano). In May of that year, Little Anthony and the Imperials recorded their hit "Tears on My Pillow". That October, George Goldner produced the Flamingos' doo-wop classic "I Only Have Eyes for You" in a three-hour recording session without overdubbing. [6] Also in 1958, Lloyd Price recorded "Stagger Lee" and "Where Were You on our Wedding Day" at the studio, and returned the following year to record "Lady Luck", "I'm Gonna Get Married", and his Don Costa-produced single "Personality", which reached #2 on the pop charts. The Capris recorded "There's a Moon Out Tonight" at the studio in December 1958; the song would become the group's biggest hit in 1961 upon its re-release.
Frankie Avalon recorded two number one hits at Bell Sound in 1959: "Venus" and "Why". Wilbert Harrison recorded his hit single "Kansas City" at Bell on February 25, 1959, accompanied by Ike Turner on the piano, among others. The big hit was created in less than 30 minutes and cost a mere $40 to record. Ronnie Hawkins recorded his eponymous LP at the studio in April 1959, including the single "Forty Days", and in June, manager Harry Balk brought his instrumental band Johnny and the Hurricanes to Bell Sound to record "Red River Rock". Fabian was also in the studio in June, recording Tiger, which would become his biggest hit. In December 1959, Ben E. King and the Drifters recorded "This Magic Moment" and "Save the Last Dance for Me" at the studio in the late 1950s. The latter, released a few months after Ben E. King's departure from the group, became the band's biggest hit. In December 1959, the Everly Brothers' first recording session outside of Nashville produced "Let It Be Me" at the studio.
After moving from Decca to Warner Brothers, Bill Haley & His Comets went to Bell Sound in January, 1960 and recorded material for their first Warner LP, Bill Haley and His Comets . Paul Anka returned in April of the same year to record "My Home Town". Ben E. King's second solo session at Bell Sound on October 27, 1960, spawned his first solo hit, "Spanish Harlem", and a March 27, 1961 recording session produced his classic song "Stand by Me". Ferrante & Teicher, both Juilliard alumni and faculty, had their two grand pianos hoisted into the studio, where they were recorded with full orchestra for the duo's hit instrumentals "Theme from The Apartment" (July 1960) and "Exodus" (November 1960).
Dion returned to Bell Sound as a solo artist in 1961 and recorded "Runaround Sue", the song for which he would be inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002. [7] [8] The Drifters also returned to the studios beginning in 1961 to record "Some Kind of Wonderful", "Please Stay", "Sweets for My Sweet" and "Room Full of Tears". Subsequent Drifters sessions at Bell Sound in the years to follow would produce "Up on The Roof" (June 1962) and "On Broadway" (January 1963).
On July 13, 1961, while performing as a background singer on the Drifters' song "Mexican Divorce", Dionne Warwick was discovered by producer and composer Burt Bacharach, the beginning of one of the most successful teams in popular music history. [9] Warwick recorded her debut solo single, "Don't Make Me Over", at Bell Sound in August 1962, and the singer and her songwriting team returned to record many more hits, including "Walk On By" (1964) and "Do You Know the Way to San Jose" (1967). [10]
In December 1961, Solomon Burke recorded one of his best-known songs, "Cry to Me" at the studio, produced by Bert Berns. In May 1962, Berns was back at Bell Sound assisting Luther Dixon on a recording session with new Wand Records signees the Isley Brothers as they tried, unsuccessfully, to record "Make It Easy on Yourself". In an attempt to salvage the session, Berns suggested the group should record a new version of his song, "Twist and Shout", after the first recording of the song, released by the Top Notes, failed commercially the previous year. The song became the Isley Brothers' first single to reach the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
Another Luther Dixon-produced group, the Shirelles, recorded several hits at Bell Sound, including "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" (November 1960), "Baby It's You" (1961), "Mama Said" (April 1961), and "Soldier Boy" (March 1962). Del Shannon recorded his biggest hit, "Runaway" at the studio in January 1961, and returned to Bell Sound to record "Hats Off to Larry" (May 1961) and "Little Town Flirt" (November, 1962).
Gene Pitney began his studio career at Bell Sound with "(I Wanna) Love My Life Away" (January 1961) and "Every Breath I Take" (August 1961). More ballads followed with "Town Without Pity" (October 1961), "Only Love Can Break a Heart" (September 1962), and "It Hurts to Be in Love" (July 1964).
Other studio customers included the Four Seasons, who recorded their hit "Big Girls Don't Cry" at the studio in October 1962, and Wilson Pickett, who recorded "It's Too Late" there in August 1963. Lesley Gore recorded her hit song "It's My Party" in March 1963, as well as its follow-up, "Judy's Turn to Cry" that May, and "You Don't Own Me" that December. Phil Ramone - himself a studio operator - acted under producer Quincy Jones to engineer Gore's vocal overdubs for the recordings. Other songs recorded at Bell Sound include Garnet Mimms' "Cry Baby" (May 1963), the Dixie Cups' number one hit "Chapel of Love" (May 1964), and "Gloria" by Them with Van Morrison (May 1965). Len Barry had all his hits produced at Bell Sound, including "1-2-3" (June 1965). [10]
In 1965, the McCoys recorded their hit song "Hang On Sloopy" at Bell Sound. [10] The same year, after renewed interest in the band's 1964 regional release of "Hanky Panky", Tommy James, backed by a freshly-recruited quintet that would serve as his new Shondells, re-recorded a new version of the song and its eponymous LP at the studio. [11] Notable songs recorded at the studios in 1966 included the Bobby Hebb song "Sunny" and Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels' song "Devil with a Blue Dress On". [10]
In 1961, the studio hired 15-year recording industry veteran Irv Jerome, who grew the studios' business recording commercials for radio and television, including work for Madison Avenue firms like Ted Bates, J. Walter Thompson, BBD&O, Benton & Bowles, Young & Rubicam, Ogilvy & Mather, and produced ads for Pepsi, Coke, Ford, and Barneys. Bell Sound would eventually be utilized by nearly every Madison Avenue advertising agency, with this business becoming 35-40% of the studio's annual revenue by 1968. [12]
In 1965, when the company expanded into high-speed tape duplication services with its A&B Duplicators, Ltd. subsidiary, [13] Bell Sound managers did not find equipment that offered the features and flexibility the company required, so Bell Sound developed their own tape duplication machines, which the company marketed and sold under the Electro Sound brand beginning in 1966. [14] The studio's research and development team developed a new 12-track 2-inch tape recorder that offered higher-quality recording than the 8-track 1-inch and 16-track 2-inch recorders in use at other studios. Early adoption of 12-track 2-inch technology introduced an unforeseen challenge, however - as the only studio in New York City using a 12-track 2-inch device at the time, recordings produced at Bell Sound lacked compatibility with other studios. [1]
In January 1968, co-owner Don Cronin died in a plane crash. In November of that year, faced with rising rent and other financial challenges, Weintraub sold Bell Sound Studios and its affiliates to Viewlex, a Long Island music and entertainment conglomerate that purchased a controlling interest in the Kama Sutra and Buddah Records labels. [15] [1]
Business at the studio without Cronin and under new ownership began to wane. The Flamin' Groovies recorded their LP Teenage Head in January 1971, and Roberta Flack recorded "Feel Like Makin' Love" at the studio in June 1973. On October 10 of that year, rock band Kiss began recording their debut album, Kiss . The following year, the recording studio began to experience financial difficulties. Bell Sound Recording Studios finally ceased operations in 1976, and the company filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1977. [16]
Bell Sound Studios' 237 West 54th Street facilities eventually grew to include 60 employees, three studios, four editing rooms, five mastering rooms, and a film room. It was one of the first studios to allow engineers to specialize in mixing, and could be requested by a client. [1]
Studio A was the largest of Bell's three studios, located on the top floor and capable of recording full orchestras. [17] Studio B was slightly smaller than Studio A, it could accommodate about 20 to 25 musicians and had a small vocal booth. Studio C could accommodate up to ten people and was used for the production of demo recordings, while Studio D was used for quadraphonic and later voice-over recordings. Studio B and C were located next to each other on the second floor, with the mixing and mastering rooms between the two recording rooms.
As Bell Sound's technical director, Cronin designed the first automatic width and depth control for stereo disc mastering, and Bell Sound provided mastering and disc cutting services for songs and albums recorded elsewhere, as it did for Ray Charles' albums Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music Volume Two (September 1962).
Cronin also designed an early magnetic tape noise reduction system, as well as the first solid-state professional recording console in the late 1950s, when vacuum tube consoles were the norm.
In 1981, The Hit Factory relocated to Bell Sound Studios former location to establish The Hit Factory Broadway, which remained in operation until 2002. [18] [19]
Bell Sound Recording Studios had no legal relationship with the New York independent record label Bell Records founded by Benny Bell in 1945, and is in no way related to Bell Sound Studios in Hollywood, founded by Bill Bell in 1965.
Paul Albert Anka is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter and actor. He is best known for his signature hit songs including "Diana", "Lonely Boy", "Put Your Head on My Shoulder", and "(You're) Having My Baby". Anka also wrote the theme for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson; one of Tom Jones' biggest hits, "She's a Lady"; and the English lyrics to Claude François and Jacques Revaux's music for Frank Sinatra's signature song "My Way", which has been recorded by many, including Elvis Presley. He co-wrote three songs with Michael Jackson: "This Is It" "Love Never Felt So Good", and "Don't Matter to Me", which became posthumous hits for Jackson in 2009, 2014, and 2018, respectively.
The Partridge Family Sound Magazine is the third studio album by TV-linked pop project The Partridge Family. Released in August 1971 before the start of the second season of the US TV series, it was their third hit album in ten months. In late September 1971, in its fifth week on Billboard's Top LP's chart, the album reached its no. 9 chart peak. In that same week the album's one hit single release, "I Woke Up In Love This Morning", peaked at no. 13 on Billboard's Hot 100. The LP was certified gold that same month. Sound Magazine is nearly universally regarded – by both fans and critics – as the Partridge Family's consummate pop album.
Bertrand Russell Berns, also known as Bert Russell and (occasionally) Russell Byrd, was an American songwriter and record producer of the 1960s. His songwriting credits include "Twist and Shout", "Piece of My Heart", "Here Comes the Night", "Hang on Sloopy", "Cry to Me" and "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love", and his productions include "Baby, Please Don't Go", "Brown Eyed Girl" and "Under the Boardwalk".
Benjamin Earl King was an American soul and R&B singer and record producer. He rose to prominence as one of the principal lead singers of the R&B vocal group The Drifters, notably singing the lead vocals on three of their biggest hit singles "There Goes My Baby", "This Magic Moment", and "Save the Last Dance for Me".
"Stranger on the Shore" is a piece for clarinet written by Acker Bilk for his young daughter and originally named "Jenny" after her. The tune was written on a single scrap of paper by Bilk and handed over to Leon Young (1916-1991) who crafted the string arrangement, including the characteristic harmonic shifts at the very end.
Herman Santiago is a Puerto Rican rock and roll pioneer and songwriter who was previously a member of the vocal group Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. He (disputedly) co-wrote the group's iconic hit "Why Do Fools Fall in Love".
Jane Morgan is an American former singer and recording artist of traditional pop. Morgan initially found success in France and the UK before achieving recognition in the US, receiving six gold records. She was a frequent nightclub and Broadway performer, and also appeared numerous times on American television, both as a singer and as a dramatic performer.
Mickey & Sylvia was an American R&B duo composed of Mickey Baker and Sylvia Vanderpool, who later became Sylvia Robinson. They are best known for their number-one R&B single "Love Is Strange" in 1957.
"Put Your Head on My Shoulder" is a song written by Canadian-born singer-songwriter Paul Anka. Anka's version was recorded in August 1958 at Bell Sound Studios in New York City, three weeks before he recorded his no. 1 hit "Lonely Boy", and was released as a single on August 17, 1959, by ABC-Paramount as catalog number 4510040. It was arranged and conducted by Don Costa. The B-side was "Don't Ever Leave Me". "Put Your Head on My Shoulder" became very successful, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was his third top five hit of 1959. In Canada the song reached No. 4 on the CHUM Charts.
"I Can't Stop Loving You" is a popular song written and composed by country singer, songwriter, and musician Don Gibson, who first recorded it on December 3, 1957, for RCA Victor Records. It was released in 1958 as the B-side of "Oh, Lonesome Me", becoming a double-sided country hit single. At the time of Gibson's death in 2003, the song had been recorded by more than 700 artists, most notably by Ray Charles, whose recording reached No. 1 on the Billboard chart.
Robert Stanley Crewe was an American songwriter, dancer, singer, manager, and record producer. Crewe co-wrote and produced a string of Top 10 singles with Bob Gaudio for the Four Seasons.
"Save the Last Dance for Me" is a song written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, first recorded in 1960 by American musical group the Drifters with Ben E. King on lead vocals. It has since been covered by several artists, including Dalida, the DeFranco Family, Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, and Michael Bublé.
"Diana" is a song written and first performed by Paul Anka, who recorded it in May 1957 at Don Costa’s studio in New York City. Anka stated in his autobiography that the song was inspired by a girl named Diana Ayoub, whom he had met at his church and community events, and had developed a crush on. Session musicians on the record included George Barnes playing lead guitar, Bucky Pizzarelli playing the "Calypso" riff on guitar, Irving Wexler on piano, Jerry Bruno on bass, and Panama Francis on drums. The song was recorded in May 1957 at RCA Studios in New York. Backup singers included Artie Ripp.
"The Things We Did Last Summer" is a popular song about nostalgia from 1946. The words were written by Sammy Cahn, with the composition by Jule Styne. The most well known version is the 1946 Top ten hit by Jo Stafford. Versions by Frank Sinatra and by Vaughn Monroe also charted that year. Shelley Fabares had a hit cover in 1962 on the pop chart. Several recordings have been made, including versions by Frank Sinatra, Vaughn Monroe, and Dean Martin who recorded different versions for his 1959 and 1966 Christmas LPs.
"You're the Apple of My Eye" is a song written by Otis Blackwell and initially recorded and released as a single in 1956 by The Four Lovers, the precursor to The Four Seasons. Recorded after they were denied the opportunity to record another Blackwell song, "Don't Be Cruel", "You're the Apple of My Eye" was The Four Lovers' first exposure to U.S. national publicity, reaching the #62 position on the Billboard Hot 100 and earning the quartet an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. One of two Four Lovers singles that RCA Victor Records released simultaneously, it was the quartet's only foray onto the Hot 100 before the formation of The Four Seasons five years later.
This page is a discography for American musician Little Richard (1932–2020). Described as "the architect of rock and roll", Little Richard was a pioneering singer-songwriter whose career also encompassed rhythm and blues, soul, and gospel. He began his recording career in 1951, signing to RCA Victor, releasing his first singles, and his first album in 1957, although he released his last album in 1992, he continued to tour into the 21st century. He attained international success after signing with Specialty Records in 1955.
The discography of American country music singer Marty Robbins consists of 52 studio albums, 13 compilation albums, and 100 singles. In his career, Robbins has charted 17 Number One singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, as well as 82 Top 40 singles.
"She Called Me Baby" is a country song written in 1961 by Harlan Howard.
Arthur Marcus "Artie" Ripp is an American music industry executive and record producer.
Happy Journey is a studio album by American country singer–songwriter Hank Locklin. It was released in January 1962 via RCA Victor Records and was produced by Chet Atkins. Happy Journey was Locklin's third studio album released in his recording career. It contained a total of 12 tracks, three of which were hits on the country chart: "You're the Reason," "Happy Birthday to Me" and the title track. It included a combination of new recordings and cover versions of songs previously recorded by other artists.