Columbia Records

== Recording studios ==
Columbia Records operated [[recording studio]]s, the most notable of which were in New York City, Nashville, Hollywood and San Francisco. Columbia's first recording studio was established in 1913, after the company moved into the [[Woolworth Building]] in [[Manhattan]], the tallest building in the world at the time.<ref>Hoffmann, Frank, [https://books.google.com/books?id=xV6tghvO0oMC ''Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound''], New York & London : Routledge, 1993 & 2005, Volume 1. Cf. [https://books.google.com/books?id=xV6tghvO0oMC&pg=PA212 p.212], article on "Columbia (Label)".</ref> In 1917, Columbia used this studio to make one of the earliest jazz records, by the [[Original Dixieland Jass Band]].<ref name="Cogan">{{cite book|last=Cogan|first=Jim|title=Temples of Sound|year=2003|publisher=Chronicle Books LLC|location=San Francisco|isbn=0-8118-3394-1|pages=181–191}}</ref><ref>[http://www.nyc-architecture.com/SCC/SCC019.htm "The Woolworth Building"], ''NYC Architecture''</ref>

==={{Anchor|Studio A}} 7th Avenue, New York===
In 1939, Columbia established '''Studio A''' at 799 Seventh Avenue in New York City.<ref name=StoryColumbia>{{Cite book |last=Marmorstein |first=Gary |title=The label : the story of Columbia Records |publisher=Thunder's Mouth Press [[Avalon Publishing Group]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-1560257073 |location=New York |pages=100–110}}</ref> This studio – well known for its use by [[Bob Dylan]] in the 1960s – was purchased in 1967 by Jack Arnold and [[Phil Ramone]]'s [[A & R Recording|A&R Recording]], and became Studios A-1 and A-2 for A & R. The building was demolished in 1983 to make way for the [[Axa Equitable Center|Equitable Tower]].

==={{Anchor|Studio B}} 52nd Street, New York===
{{main|CBS Studio Building}}
'''Studio B''' and '''Studio E''' were located in the [[CBS Studio Building]] at 49 East 52nd Street in New York City – on the second and fifth floor, respectively.<ref name="SIMONS">{{cite book|last=Simons|first=David|title=Studio Stories – How the Great New York Records Were Made | location = San Francisco | publisher = Backbeat Books | year = 2004 | url = https://archive.org/details/studiostorieshow00simo|url-access=registration|isbn=978-0-87930-817-9}}</ref>

===30th Street, New York===
{{main|CBS 30th Street Studio}}
In 1948, Columbia built additional new studios at 207 East 30th Street in Manhattan's Murray Hill district, naming them '''Studio C''' and '''Studio D'''. This complex, nicknamed "The Church" due to it having been built within an 1875 building that was originally constructed as a Christian church, was considered by some in the music industry to be the best-sounding room of its time, and many consider it to have been the greatest recording studio in history.<ref name="SIMONS"/><ref>Milner, Greg, ''Perfecting Sound Forever: The Story of recorded Music'', Granta Books, London, 2009 ({{ISBN|978-1-84708-140-7}}), p. 149</ref> CBS never took up the option to buy the building outright, giving up its lease and closing the studio in 1981. In spite of the building's inherent heritage status and its cultural significance, it was sold to developers in 1985, demolished, and replaced by a high-rise apartment complex.

===Columbia Square, Hollywood===
{{see also|CBS Columbia Square}}
In 1961, Columbia Records renovated and repurposed CBS Radio Studio A at the company's Columbia Square complex at 6121 Sunset Boulevard in [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]], California. Columbia utilized the studio for recording and mastering services until its closure in 1972.

===Columbia Studio B, Nashville===
{{see also|Quonset Hut Studio}}
In 1962, Columbia Records purchased Bradley's Film & Recording Studios, [[Harold Bradley (guitarist)|Harold]] and [[Owen Bradley|Owen Bradley's]] Nashville recording studio known as the Quonset Hut, and established '''Columbia Studio B''' in [[Nashville, Tennessee]]. Columbia operated the studio from 1962 through 1982, when it was converted into office space.<ref name = "Skates">{{cite web|last=Skates|first=Sarah|title=Quonset Hut Hosts Reunion Celebration|url=http://www.musicrow.com/2011/06/quonset-hut-hosts-reunion-celebration/|publisher=Music Row|access-date=February 1, 2013|date=June 30, 2011}}</ref> In 2006, philanthropist [[Mike Curb]] bought the structure and had it restored. Today it serves as a recording classroom for [[Belmont University]].<ref name = "Skates"/>

===Liederkranz Hall Studio, New York===
Columbia also recorded in the highly respected Liederkranz Hall, at 111 East 58th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues, in New York City, it was built by and formerly belonged to a German cultural and musical society, [[Liederkranz of the City of New York|The Liederkranz Society]], and used as a recording studio ([[Victor Talking Machine Company|Victor]] also recorded in Liederkranz Hall in the late 1920s).<ref name="SIMONS"/><ref>[http://www.liederkranznycity.org/history.asp "History of The Liederkranz of the City of New York"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727031333/http://www.liederkranznycity.org/history.asp |date=July 27, 2011 }} – The Liederkranz of the City of New York website. The Liederkranz Club put up a building in 1881 at 111–119 East 58th Street, east of Park Avenue.</ref><ref>North, James H., [https://books.google.com/books?id=BN6ZNNS3u8cC ''New York Philharmonic: the authorized recordings, 1917–2005 : a discography''], Rowman & Littlefield, 2006. Cf. especially [https://books.google.com/books?id=BN6ZNNS3u8cC&dq=111+e+58th+st+new+york+city+liederkranz+hall&pg=PR20 p.xx]</ref><ref>Behncke, Bernhard, [http://www.vjm.biz/new_page_3.htm "Leiderkranz Hall – The World's Best Recording Studio?"], ''VJM's Jazz & Blues Mart'' magazine.</ref> The producer Morty Palitz had been instrumental in convincing Columbia Records to begin to use the Liederkranz Hall studio for recording music, additionally convincing the conductor [[Andre Kostelanetz]] to make some of the first recordings in Liederkranz Hall which until then had only been used for [[Columbia Symphony Orchestra|CBS Symphony]] radio shows.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=OhgEAAAAMBAJ&dq=rca+records+liederkranz&pg=PA6 "Morty Palitz Dies at 53; Spanned 3 Record Decades"], ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'', December 1, 1962.</ref> In 1949, the large Liederkranz Hall space was physically rearranged to create four television studios.<ref name="SIMONS"/><ref name="KAHN2001">[[Ashley Kahn|Kahn, Ashley]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=6QArFwi9buUC ''Kind of Blue: The Making of the Miles Davis Masterpiece''], Da Capo Press, 2001. Cf. [https://books.google.com/books?id=6QArFwi9buUC&dq=liederkranz+hall+columbia+records&pg=PA75 p.75]</ref>