Background In fall of 1967, Joseph Tarsia, who had worked as a service technician for various Philadelphia recording studios before becoming
chief engineer at
Cameo-Parkway Studios, leveraged all of his assets to secure a $40,000 loan, which he used to lease 212 North 12th Street in Philadelphia in a location formerly occupied by Emil Corson's Rec-O-Art Studios. Rec-O-Art was a mono-only recording facility with a 40-foot long room and a 6x12x40 foot
echo chamber where Tarsia had previously done service technician work.
Sigma Sound Philadelphia Tarsia opened his new recording studio, renamed Sigma Sound, in August 1968, hosting sessions for
Gamble and Huff,
Weldon McDougal, and
The Delfonics on the first day. hosting recording sessions for PIR acts and others. More than 30 resident
session musicians, known collectively as
MFSB ("Mother Father Sister Brother"), were based at this studio and backed up most of the recordings. Some of the musicians also acted as
arrangers,
writers, or
producers for Philadelphia International as well as for other labels recording in the city. They included
Bobby Martin,
Norman Harris, Thom Bell,
Ronnie Baker,
Vince Montana and, later, Jack Faith, Dexter Wansel, and John Usry. The studios' large productions with strings and horns became known as "The Sound of Philadelphia," or "T.S.O.P.", a term which became trademarked. In 1972, MFSB began recording as a named act for the Philadelphia International Label, and recorded the theme for the American musical TV show
Soul Train at Sigma Sound. The song, "
TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)", was the first television theme song to reach No. 1 on the
Billboard Hot 100. In 1969
Dusty Springfield recorded
A Brand New Me and its hit
title track at Sigma Sound. The following year,
Wilson Pickett teamed up with Gamble and Huff at Sigma Sound for
Wilson Pickett in Philadelphia and two of Pickett's most popular singles from the early 1970s - "Engine No. 9" and "Don't Let the Green Grass Fool You". In 1971 Harry Chipetz, former general manager of Cameo-Parkway, joined Sigma as general manager. The same year,
Laura Nyro and
Labelle recorded
Gonna Take a Miracle at the studio. On April 15, 1972, singer-songwriter and pianist
Billy Joel and his touring band played an hour-long concert at Sigma Studios. The recording of "
Captain Jack" from this event received extensive radio play in the Philadelphia area, long before Joel became widely known, which helped him establish a national following. In 1972,
the O'Jays recorded their breakthrough album
Back Stabbers at Sigma Sound, along with its hit single "
Love Train", one of the first
disco songs. The same year,
Billy Paul recorded his best-selling hit song "
Me and Mrs. Jones" at the studio. Other artists who experienced commercial success working with Gamble and Huff, Philadelphia International, and Sigma Sound Studios included
Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes,
The Spinners, and
Teddy Pendergrass. In 1974,
David Bowie visited Sigma Sound Studios to work on recordings with
Ava Cherry, and returned to Sigma Sound for the initial recording sessions for his 1975 album
Young Americans. Local fans, whom Bowie referred to as the "Sigma Kids", waited outside the studio over the course of the sessions. On the final day of tracking, these fans were invited into the studio to listen to rough versions of the new songs. In 1976,
Lou Rawls recorded his first album for PIR at Sigma Sound,
All Things in Time, including Rawls' most successful single, "
You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine". The same year, following their tenure at Motown as "the Jackson 5",
the Jacksons recorded their
self-titled 1976 album and their subsequent album, ''
Goin' Places'', at the studios. Sigma Sound was one of the first recording studios in the United States to offer 24-track recording and the first anywhere to successfully employ
console automation. The varied list of artists attracted by the studios' success included
the Trammps,
The Manhattans,
Robert Palmer,
Melba Moore, the
Salsoul Orchestra,
The Ritchie Family,
Grace Jones,
Loleatta Holloway,
Linda Clifford,
Gloria Gaynor,
John Travolta and others.
Sigma Sound New York In 1977, Tarsia opened a second Sigma Sound studio location in New York City. Located in the
Ed Sullivan Theater building, this studio was used by the
Village People for their albums
Macho Man (1978) and ''
Cruisin''' (1978). Sigma Sound's New York location was a favorite of
Talking Heads who, beginning with 1980's
Remain in Light, recorded some or all of their albums at Sigma Sound in New York City. In 1983,
Madonna used the New York studios to record her 1983 debut album,
Madonna. Other artists who recorded at Sigma Sound's New York studios include
Rick James,
Aretha Franklin,
the B-52s, the
Ramones,
Whitney Houston,
Steely Dan,
Roy Ayers,
Ashford & Simpson,
Paul Simon and others. The 6,000 unclaimed tapes from Sigma's 35-year-old tape library are now part of The
Drexel University Audio Archive. The Philadelphia studio closed in 2014. == Legacy ==