Universal Recording Corporation

supplement to
The Duke – Where and When
A Chronicle of Duke Ellington's Working Life and Travels

• Ellington and his organization used the Chicago studios of Universal Recording Corporation ("URC") more than 30 times:
  • 1952 07 25
  • 1952 08 13
    (Mercer session)
  • 1953 06 30
  • 1953 07 01
  • 1953 12 28
  • 1953 12 29
  • 1954 01 01
  • 1954 01 02
  • 1954 01 17
  • 1954 10 08
  • 1955 05 17
  • 1955 05 18
  • 1955 05 19
  • 1956 09 01
  • 1956 01 03
  • 1956 02 07
  • 1956 02 08
  • 1956 03 17
  • 1956 03 18
  • 1956 03 19
  • 1958 06 20
  • 1958 06 24
  • 1958 06 27
  • 1962 03 17
  • 1962 07 17
  • 1962 11 29
  • 1965 01 12
  • 1970 05 23
  • 1970 05 24
  • 1970 05 25
  • 1970 12 22
• URC should not be confused with the Universal Studios film company nor with Universal Recorders, Inc. of Hollywood. URC was not a record company per se – Chicago Sunday Tribune described URC as a sound service recording studio and probably the largest independent sound recording company in the world.¹
• Milton T. ("Bill") Putnam, A. B. ("Bernie") Clapper and Robert A. ("Bob") Weber founded URC in Evanston, Ill., about 13 miles north of downtown Chicago, in 1946.²
• URC moved to the 42nd floor the Civic Opera Building studio in Chicago at 20 N. Wacker Dr. in 1947. Chicago Daily Tribune's 1956 story about "The Harmonicats," said they made their 1947 "Peg o' My Heart" recording in a "small studio in the Civic Opera building."³ This address is shown at page 1434 and 1435 of the Chicago phone book.
• By 1950 URC also had a studio a little over a mile away at 100 East Ohio St. in Chicago's Near North Side, in the heart of Radio Row.⁴
• Radio Annual and Television Yearbook also shows URC had a studio at 111 E. Ontario St.⁵ This address is listed in Radio Annual and Television Yearbook 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, and 1956. At the time of writing (June 2024), GoogleEarth shows a building at this address occupying the entire city block bounded by N.Michigan Ave and E.Ohio, N.Rusch and E.Ontario Sts. If this building existed in the early 1950s, it would appear the Ohio and Ontario addresses were entrances on opposite sides of the same building.
• From 1953 to mid-1956, URC's help wanted ads gave the Ontario St. address.⁶
• Chicago Tribune Magazine covered a 1954 session at the Ontario St. studio, describing the studio and saying Mr. and Mrs. Putnam locked the offices at the end, and that 400 record sides a month were being cut here.⁷
• In 1955, Chicago Daily Tribune described the making of a singing commercial at the Ontario St. studios.⁸
• In mid-1956, URC moved to a new studio further north at 46 E. Walton St. where it remained until 1970. Chicago Daily Tribune reported the second floor of the new building at 48 E. Walton St. was "leased recently" by URC for offices.⁹
• The first recording session at the new URC studio on Walton Pl. was the week ending 1956-07-14.¹⁰ URC held an open house Oct.19 and 20 1956 to debut the Walton Pl. studio.¹¹
• Chicago Sunday Tribune 1958-08-10 pt.2 pp. 9, 10 describes the E.Walton St. studio setup and URC's business and history.¹
• Steven Lasker's research shows Ellington and his orchestra recorded at URC's Civic Opera Building studio in Chicago until March 1956 and thereafter at its new studio at 46 E. Walton St.¹²
• URC's Pre-production reports dated Aug. 13 1952 and Aug. 14 1952 for Mercer Records sessions show the Ontario St. address.¹³
• The Ontario St. address is on the letterhead of a letter from URC to Ellington 1953-07-02 (re the Mercer Records session 1952 08 13).¹⁴
• While it seems obvious Ellington used the East Walton Street studio after it opened, it isn't as clear which of URC's three Chicago studios he used from 1952 to 1956. Further investigation is warranted.

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Notes:

• (1)   CST (Chicago Sunday Tribune) 1958-08-10 pt.2 pp. 9,10
• (2)   Wikipedia re Universal Recording Corporation (as at 2024-06-06)
• 
  (3)   CDT (Chicago Daily Tribune) 1956-12-29 (Pt. 1 p.10)
• (4)   CDT 1950-04-04 Pt. 1 p.23
• (5)   CDT 1952-06-03 Pt.3 p.9 and Chicago white pages, 1951, p.1956
• (6)   CDT and CST 1953-03-17, 1953-04-27, 1955-05-01, 1955-09-06, 1956-02-23, 1956-06-22
• (7)   CTM (Chicago Tribune Magazine) 1954-05-09, pp. 34, 35 and 53
• (8)   CDT 1955-03-01 Pt.1 p.20, 1955-03-02 Pt.1 p.20
• (9)   CDT 1955-12-24 Pt.2 p.
• (10)   CDT 1956-07-14 p.1 p.14
  (11)   CDT 1956-10-18
• (12)   Email Lasker-Palmquist 2024-05-05
• (13)   SI-NMAH DEC301 Subseries III F
  Box 108 Folder 30 - URC Pre-production reports
• (14)   SI-NMAH DEC301 Subseries III F
  Box 107 Folder 28 - Letter - URC to Duke Ellington