Famous people's places / Detroit – New Center

United Sound Systems

Detroit's oldest recording studio, where John Lee Hooker cut 'Boogie Chillen'' in 1948 and Parliament-Funkadelic, Motown artists and the proto-punk band Death all recorded.

Events at this place 0 Plan your visit ↓

01 / The story of this place

Make time for these

United Sound Systems opened on Second Avenue in 1939 and has operated continuously ever since, making it the oldest working recording studio in Detroit and one of the oldest in the country. In September 1948, producer Bernard Besman and engineer Joe Siracuse recorded John Lee Hooker's 'Boogie Chillen'' here, a session that became a foundational blues hit. The studio hosted Tamla's first-ever recording session in 1959, cutting Marv Johnson's 'Come to Me,' and Mary Wells recorded her hit 'Bye Bye Baby' here the following year. Producer Don Davis bought the studio in 1971 and kept it running through the following decades, and in February 1975 the Hackney brothers, David, Bobby and Dannis, recorded seven songs here as the band Death, years before their proto-punk music finally found an audience. George Clinton also brought Parliament-Funkadelic through United Sound in the 1970s. The building reopened after renovation in 2014 and became a local historic district the following year, and it still records music today.

Opened in 1939, Detroit's oldest working recording studio
John Lee Hooker recorded 'Boogie Chillen'' here in 1948
First-ever Tamla (Motown) session took place here in 1959
Mary Wells cut 'Bye Bye Baby' here in 1960
Death recorded here in 1975; Parliament-Funkadelic recorded in the 1970s
Local historic district since 2015, still an active studio

Famous Detroiters

Famous people tied to this place 9

Lexicon entries for the people who lived, worked, performed or liked to spend time here.

John Lee Hooker 1917–2001 · blues singer, songwriter, guitarist
Recorded here
The Second Avenue studio where Bernard Besman recorded "Boogie Chillen'" in September 1948; the building is a city historic district and still a working studio.
George Clinton born 1941 · singer, songwriter, producer, bandleader
Recorded here
Parliament-Funkadelic recorded at this historic studio, a local historic district.
Mary Wells 1943–1992 · singer, songwriter
Recorded here
Historic studio where she cut "Bye Bye Baby"; it also hosted the first Tamla session in 1959. Reopened in 2014 and designated a local historic district in 2015.
Marv Johnson 1938–1993 · singer, songwriter, pianist
Recorded here
Site of the first Tamla recording session in 1959, the origin of "Come to Me".
Don Davis 1938–2014 · record producer, songwriter, guitarist, banker
Worked here
He bought the studio in 1971; it later reopened in 2014 and is a local historic district.
Bernard Besman 1912–2003 · record producer, distributor, bandleader
Recorded here
Where Besman and engineer Joe Siracuse recorded John Lee Hooker's first session in 1948.
David Hackney 1952–2000 · guitarist, songwriter
Recorded here
Detroit's oldest recording studio, where Death cut seven songs on February 18, 1975. The historic house-studio was saved from demolition and operates as a studio and museum.
Bobby Hackney · singer, bassist, songwriter
Recorded here
The studio where Death recorded seven songs on February 18, 1975.
Dannis Hackney · drummer
Recorded here
The studio where Death recorded on February 18, 1975.