CBS 30th Street Studio
CBS 30th Street Studio, also known as Columbia 30th Street Studio, and nicknamed "The Church", was an American recording studio operated by
.Actually containing two[2] Columbia sound rooms — "Studio C" and "Studio D" — the facility was considered by some in the music industry to offer the best-sounding recording venue of its time, while others considered it to have been the greatest recording studio in history.[2]
Numerous recordings were made there in all genres, including
Early building and church history
The site was originally the Adams-Parkhurst Memorial Presbyterian Church, a mission of the
Recording studio
Having been a church for many years, it had been abandoned and empty for some time, and in 1948 it was transformed into a recording studio by Columbia Records.[2][6][7]
"There was one big room, and no other place in which to record", wrote John Marks in an article in Stereophile magazine in 2002.[8]
The recording studio was approximately 97 feet long by 55 feet wide, with a 50-foot-high ceiling.[9] The original control room (8 by 14 feet in size) was on the second floor. Later, the control room was moved down to the ground floor.[2]
"It was huge and the room sound was incredible," recalls Jim Reeves, a sound technician who had worked in it. "I was inspired," he continues, "by the fact that, aside from the artistry, how clean the audio system was."[10]
A CBS Records A&R executive hailed the former church's unique and varied sound qualities, writing that the studio "resounds with the glory of a symphony orchestra, sparkles with the clarity of a polished piano performance, embraces the exuberance of a Broadway cast in full voice."[3]
Musical artists
Many celebrated musical artists from all genres of music used the 30th Street Studio for some of their most famous recordings.
Among Rudolf Serkin's recordings of Beethoven's piano sonatas, nos. 1, 6, 12, 13, 16, 21 (Waldstein), 30, 31 and 32 were recorded there between 1967 and 1980. Vladimir Horowitz recorded his entire Masterworks (originally Columbia then Sony Classical) studio discography there, from 1962–1964 and 1969–1973. Other classical musicians having recorded in the facility included Igor Stravinsky, Leonard Bernstein, Bruno Walter.
Jazz trumpeter Miles Davis recorded almost exclusively at the 30th Street Studio during his years under contract to Columbia, including his album Kind of Blue (1959). Other jazz musicians who recorded in the location include Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Dave Brubeck, Charles Mingus, and Billie Holiday (Lady in Satin with Ray Ellis, 1958).
Gospel singer Mahalia Jackson recorded many of her albums at "The Church", including her Christmas album Sweet Little Jesus Boy (1955).
California composer and minimalist music pioneer, Terry Riley recorded both his landmark composition In C (1968) and his collaborative LP with John Cale Church of Anthrax (1971) at the 30th Street Studio.
In 1964,
Demise
Recession woes, combined with high operating costs for the energy-inefficient old church, spelled the beginning of the end for the studio.[3]
Columbia Records failed to buy the building (for an estimated $250,000; equivalent to $790,000 after inflation) when they abandoned their contracts with the studio in 1982. Columbia felt constrained by restrictions imposed by the owner, including a closing time of 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. The owner then sold it for $1.2 million, and it was quickly reacquired for $4.5 million ($14 million after inflation).[2]
The building was later demolished. A 10-story residential apartment building called "The Wilshire", completed in 1985, was built on the site.[12][13]
References
- ISBN 9780810862395. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
- ^ ISBN 9780879308179.
- ^ a b c "Great Sound vs. Bottom Line". Billboard. 1980-11-01.
- ^ "Armenian Evangelical Church (Congregational) - 152 East 34th", NYC Chapter of the American Guild of Organists
- ^ "Adams-Parkhurst Memorial Presbyterian Church: 207 East 30th Street at Third Avenue", NYC Chapter of the American Guild of Organists
- ^ "In Session At The Columbia Records 30th Street Studio". Morrison Hotel Gallery.
- ^ "Columbia Builds Waxing Studios". Billboard. New York. 1948-12-18. Retrieved 2019-04-04.
Columbia Records has built a new recording studio here which will replace its Liederkrantz Hall wax stages. The diskery has quietly constructed the new studio thru the ban months.
- ^ a b Marks, John, "The Fifth Element #7 Bookmark and Share", Stereophile, March 2002. Cf. pp.1-2, especially p.2
- ^ Vincent J. Liebler (March 1954). "A Record is Born!". The Columbia Record. Vol. 1, no. 6.
The studio is not only completely soundproof, but heating engineers have also made it completely weatherproof. The studio is approximately 97 feet long, 55 feet wide, and 50 feet from floor to ceiling.
- ^ Reeves, James, "CBS STUDIO C, a.k.a. 'The Church'", Reeves Audio website.
- Tom Wilson's use of the 30th Street Studios for some of Dylan's work, and other references in the book.
- ^ "Profile: The Wilshire", City Realty
- ^ "The Wilshire", NY Bits
- Simons, David (2004). Studio Stories - How the Great New York Records Were Made. San Francisco: Backbeat Books. ISBN 9780879308179. Cf. especially, p. 23-24 with an article on "The Church" and elsewhere in the book.
Further reading
- Cogan, Jim; Clark, William, Temples of sound : inside the great recording studios, San Francisco : Chronicle Books, 2003. ISBN 0-8118-3394-1. Cf. chapter on Columbia Studios, pp. 181–192.
- Dietrich, Sean, "Vic Damon, 30th Street Studio, Village Vanguard", All About Jazz, August 2, 2010
- Felten, Eric, "Abbey Road and the Day Studio Music Died: 'A great room acts like an instrument. . . . It has a voice.'", The Wall Street Journal, February 19, 2010
- Tom Wilson's use of the 30th Street Studios for some of Dylan's work, and other references in the book.
- ISBN 978-0-684-83190-9. Cf. especially. Chapter 24, "Everything Begins Here and Everything Ends Here", p.327 and onward on the 30th Street Studio and Thelonious Monk.
- Levine, Robert, "Sony Taps Into Photo Archive as a Resource During Hard Times", The New York Times, May 29, 2008
- "In Session At The Columbia Records 30th Street Studio", press release, Morrison Hotel Gallery, New York, June 25, 2008. Announcement of an exhibition of photographs, many taken at the 30th Street Studio.
- "In Session At The Columbia Records 30th Street Studio Opens in SoHo", Morrison Hotel Gallery, New York. An exhibition of photographs, many taken at the 30th Street Studio.