A & R Recording


A & R Recording Inc. was a major American independent studio recording company founded in 1958 by Jack Arnold and Phil Ramone.

History

Before founding A & R Recording in 1958, Arnold and Ramone had been working at JAC Recording, Inc.; Arnold had been a partner at JAC. The "A" and "R" initials were derived from their surnames. But also, Arnold and Ramone relished the idea that their initials and company name matched the industry acronym for "artist and repertoire," an important avocation in the recording industry.
Jack Arnold ended his association with A & R Recording shortly after co-founding it, due to health issues.

Original A & R studio – 112 West 48th Street

The original studio was in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on the fourth floor of Mogull's Film & TV building at 112 West 48th Street. The studio was named "Studio A1." Manny's Music—a music instrument retailer—was one-half of the first three floors; Mogull's Film & TV was the other half. Jim and Andy's Bar, an important hangout for studio musicians was next door at 116 West 48th Street. Ramone installed an intercom from the studio to Jim & Andy's to call for musicians if someone did not show-up.
In the first studio, Ramone gained a reputation as a good recording engineer and music producer, in particular for his use of innovative technology. According to David Simons, author, the original studio at 112 West 48th St., which was started on a shoestring budget, remains Ramone's greatest legacy.
The studio was designed for the purpose of doing demos. According to Ramone, the room, by, had an incredibly unique sound. He attributed much of it to the height of and before long clients were requesting to do their final tapes there and in no uncertain terms letting it be known that this was no mere demo studio. In a short period of time, Ramone felt the need to upgrade the equipment.

Second studio, Studios A-1 and A-2 – 799 7th Avenue

In October 1967, A & R purchased Columbia's Studio A on the seventh floor at 799 7th Avenue at 52nd Street and leased the space, which consisted of about Columbia had owned the studio since 1939. The building was demolished in 1983 to make way for Equitable Center West at 787 7th Avenue, currently the BNP Paribas Building. Toronto-born Donald C. Hahn, who had been with A & R since 1961, was – effective October 1, 1969 – promoted from Senior Engineer to Vice President of A & R Recording, in charge of supervising the 799 7th Avenue facilities.

Third studio, Studios R-1 and R-2 – 322 West 48th Street

A & R added a third studio in the Leeds Music Corporation building at 322 West 48th Street. A & R became part owner of the building, a 6-story building, and designed recording studios on the first and second floors, named R1 and R2, respectively. The "R" stood for "Ramone." A & R also occupied the basement. 322 West 48th Street is currently the home of American Federation of Musicians Local 802, the New York City musicians' union and the Jazz Foundation of America.

Launch of A & R Records

In February 1970, A & R Recording launched A & R Records, a company that produced albums of artists that included Paul Simon, Burt Bacharach, Billy Joel, Dionne Warwick, Karen Kamon, Engelbert Humperdinck, George Barnes, Gloria Estefan, Bucky Pizzarelli, Barry Manilow, Laura Branigan, England Dan & John Ford Coley, Tito Puente, Petula Clark, k.d. lang and many more.

Satellite studios

In 1970, A & R Recording formalized two partnerships to build two satellite studios, one with Brooks Arthur '' in Blauvelt, New York, and one with Norman Fuller Vincent in Jacksonville, Florida.

914 Sound Studios

The partnership with Arthur was named "914 SRS" and was located at 34 NY Route 303 in Blauvelt. "SRS stood for "Sound Recording Studios." The legal structure of the partnership was in the form of a New York corporation operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of A & R Recording Inc. The entity name was "914 Sound Recording Studios, Inc." The studio, a converted gas station, opened October 1970. Arthur owned one-half; Ramone, Don Frey, and Arthur Downs Ward owned the other half. They sold it in 1978 and the corporation—914 Sound Recording Studios, Inc.—dissolved in 1982.

Vincent SRS

The partnership with Norman Vincent, et al. was named "Vincent SRS" and was located in Jacksonville, Florida, and opened November 1970. Vincent was the operator.

Closing

A & R Recording closed in 1989.

Selected artists

Artists produced by Ramone include

Neighborhood

A&R Recording had two buildings in midtown Manhattan. Within a 10-block area of this part of Manhattan during the disco era existed an epicenter of recording studios, including Mediasound, the Hit Factory, Sony, and the Record Plant at 321 W. 44th Street, with four studios, duplication room, two mobile recording trucks, a master cutting room, and the Record Plant Shop.

  1. A & R Recording Inc.
    112 West 48th Street
    Opened by Jack Arnold and Phil Ramone 1959. Corner of 6th Avenue, next door to Jim & Andy's Bar and Manny's Music, both famous musicians hangouts. Used regularly by Tom Dowd for Atlantic sessions and producer Creed Taylor for Verve. Van Morrison recorded "Brown Eyed Girl" there.
  2. A & R Studio 2
    799 7th Avenue
    Opened by Jack Arnold and Phil Ramone early 1968
  3. Associated Sound
    723 7th Avenue
    Near corner of West 48th Street, a few doors down from Dick Charles. The Angels' "My Boyfriend's Back," the Raindrops'
    "What A Guy" and The McCoys' "Hang On Sloopy" were cut there
  4. Bell Sound
    237 West 54th Street
    Founded June 1950 by Allen Weintraub and Daniel Cronin, both classmates from Brooklyn Technical High School; studio was located at 135 West 54 beginning June 1959; Burt Bacharach's favorite studio. Bought by Jerry Ragovoy 1968 and reopened as The Hit Factory; sold 1975 to partner Eddie Germano ; now run by Troy George Germano, his son.
  5. Capitol Studios, Studio A

    151 West 46th Street
    First floor in the 14-story Eaves Building. The Eaves Costume Company – founded by Albert Grammer Eaves in 1863, and still in existence – occupied the ground floor.
  6. Century Sound
    135 West 52nd Street
    One flight up. Former radio studio. Opened by Brooks Arthur in 1967.
  7. Columbia 30th Street
    207 East 30th Street
    Converted Armenian church. Opened 1949, closed mid-1982, torn-down, now an apartment building.
  8. Columbia Studio A
    799 7th Avenue
    Opened in the 1930s. Columbia's main facility prior to East 30th Street. Sold to A & R late 1967.
  9. Columbia Studio B
    49 East 52nd Street
    Former site of CBS Radio Network building, near Madison Avenue. Opened late 1967.
  10. Dick Charles Recording Service Inc.
    729 7th Avenue
    Small demo studio, in the United Artists building, near corner of West 48th Street, a few doors up from Associated Sound. Dick Charles Recording Inc., founded by Dick Charles, was taken over in the 1980s by audio engineer Dick Charles, who worked with him. Many of S'pop's favored songwriters recorded demos there. Engineer Jack Malken introduced Tommy Ramone to the studio and in February 1975, The Ramones recorded their first demos there. The studio also was contracted for all the demo work for music publishers Screen Gems, the company that provided many of the hits for The Monkees, with songwriters that included Neil Diamond, Gerry Goffin, and Carole King.

    1. Les Paul, Jr. ; Les Paul's son.
  11. Master Cutting Room
    250 West 49th Street
    Opened 1971, closed 2006
    Building demolished in 2022.

    1. Joe Brescio
    2. George Marino
    3. Duncan Stanbury
    4. Kevin Hodge.
  12. Mira Sound
    145-155 West 47th Street
    On the ground floor of the Hotel America, now a Euro-style hotel. Recorded there: "Remember (Walking in the Sand)" by The Shangri-Las and "Society's Child" by Janis Ian.
  13. Power Station.
    441 West 53rd Street
    Near 10th Avenue. Founded 1977 by Tony Bongiovi. Previously home to ConEdison.
  14. RCA Victor
    155 East 24th Street
    Near Lexington Avenue.
  15. RCA Webster Hall
    125 11th Street
    In the East Village. Built late 1800s. Converted by RCA early 1950s. Now a nightclub.
  16. The Record Plant
    321 West 44th Street
    Once home to Warner Brothers Pictures; opened by Gary Kellgren and Chris Stone in 1968.
  17. Stea-Philips
    7th Avenue
    Corner 51st Street, close to Columbia Studio A and 1650 Broadway. Owner: Lenny Stea     . The Four Seasons cut "Sherry" there.
  18. Talentmasters Recording Studio
    126 West 42nd Street
    Owners: Bob Gallo and Robert Harvey. Later bought out by Atlantic
    The Who recorded there.
  19. World United
    1595 Broadway
    Owner: Harry Lookofsky, aka Hash Brown, father of Michael Brown of The Left Banke, who recorded "Walk Away Renée" there.
  20. JAC Recording, Inc.
    152 West 58th Street
    Owner: Charles Leighton
    This is where Phil Ramone got his start.
  21. Allegro Sound Studios
    1650 Broadway
    Owner : Kama Sutra Records This was actually on the 51st Street side of the 1650 Broadway building, located in the basement, around the corner from the famous jazz club Birdland. Originally a demo studio for Kama Sutra, it was then purchased by Laurie Records, who gave it an extensive upgrade under chief engineer Bruce Staple. After several changes in ownership, it became known as Generation Sound Studios in the 1970s. Many of the Tommy James hits were recorded there, including I Think We're Alone Now and Crimson And Clover. After the departure of Bruce Staple, of A&R became chief engineer.

Personnel

In 1972, management of A & R included Robert Gerics, Nick Diminno, and Irving Joel. The studio was located at 322 West 48th Street.
Management and shareholders
Recording Inc.
Records
Engineers
Studio managers
  • Nick Diminno, studio manager
  • Robert Gerics, general manager & studio manager
  • Mitch Plotkin, studio manager