Historic Sound 80 Studio

11/24/2022

Hey all! Kristen Zschomler and Sarah Lee are working on an exciting new project, which will offer up new, immersive ways to discover Prince in Minneapolis and other artists too. We are working to make this an awesome resource for the Purple Family. But we need some feedback on our ideas. It would be a huge help if you could complete this super short survey to give us some insights https://oy7cpf2hc0j.typeform.com/purple-travel Thanks so much in advance 🙏

Want to discover Prince's life in Minneapolis? We've exciting plans to take you there, but need your feedback!

09/08/2020

Join local historians Kristen Zschomler, Jason Wittenberg, Elizabeth Gales, and Charlene Roise for a two-part, online tour of key Minneapolis places representing the wide range of music our city is known for - funk, rock, punk, folk and more! Kristen's tour on September 19th will focus on Prince, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and other artists and places associated with The Minneapolis Sound, as well as highlight how the outdated and biased processes for determining historical significance results in the loss of iconic places such as the Edina Flyte Tyme Studios (planned for demolition next month). Jason, Charlene, and Elizabeth will celebrate other important Minneapolis musical connections from Dylan to The Replacements to Rhymesayers on September 26th. You can sign up for Part I, Part II, or both on the Preserve Minneapolis website! https://www.preserveminneapolis.org/events/funk-folk-punk-and-more-places-that-brought-minneapolis-music-to-the-world-part-i https://www.preserveminneapolis.org/events/funk-folk-punk-and-more-places-that-brought-minneapolis-music-to-the-world-part-ii.

05/02/2020

We are excited to announce that on May 12, 2020, the Minnesota State Review Board will be considering the nomination of the Historic Sound 80 Studio to the National Register of Historic Places! If successful, Sound 80 will be the first property formally listed on the National Register for its association with Prince (his childhood home is recognized as "eligible for listing", but has not gone through the listing process). Sound 80 is also significant as the premier recording studio in Minnesota and as one of the best in the nation during the 1970s; for its connection with other key artists such as Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens, The Su***de Commandos, and Lipps, Inc. ("Funkytown"); and as one of the pioneering locations in the development of digital recording. Along with the Sound 80 nomination, the Board will consider the Multiple Property Document, "Prince, 1958-1987", which presents the chronology of and key places along Prince's historic journey from Minneapolis's Northside to Paisley Park. You can read the documents here:https://mn.gov/admin/assets/2020-05-12%20Combined%20Prince_tcm36-428075.pdf ;https://mn.gov/admin/assets/2020-05-12%20Sound%2080_tcm36-428077.pdf ;https://mn.gov/admin/assets/2020-05-12%20Sound%2080%20photos_tcm36-428076.pdf

02/16/2020

https://www.prince78-88.com - The website for the 78-88: Prince, The First Decade, An Interdisciplinary Conference is now live! Check out our great program (June 2-3, 2020)! Non-presenters can purchase conference tickets tomorrow starting at 10:00 AM CST, which includes passes to the Sound 80 tours and a Purple Genealogy's Purple Night at The Machine Shop with DJ Lenka Paris on June 3. If you want to just attend the tours and dance party, you can get tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-purple-night-tickets-94260629079?aff=ebdssbeac

  From Salford to Minneapolis. We present: 78-88 Prince, The First Decade: An Interdisciplinary Conference  Buy Tickets 2-3 June 2020, Minneapolis, USARobert J. Jones Urban Research & Outreach-Engagement Center (UROC)2001 Plymouth Avenue North, Minneapolis MN 55411   Download the conference progr...

11/03/2019

Prince's compelling new "handbook for the brilliant community, wrapped in autobiography, wrapped in biography", The Beautiful Ones, includes two previously unreleased photographs of the young artist working in Studio 1 at the Sound 80 Studios and a revised narrative of his time at the studio. According to the Notes and Guides to Photos on page 260, Prince actually began work on his debut album at Sound 80; most previously published timelines state that he only recorded his demo tapes here. "He briefly began work on For You at Sound 80--and in the comfort of his hometown, where he hoped to remain--before he was forced to relocate. He'd convinced Warner Bros. that he could produce the album himself, but they'd compromised by sending Tommy Vicari, an industry veteran, to oversee the engineering of the record. Sound 80 had recently installed a new studio console--so new, if fact, that Vicari felt it would take months to work the kinks out of it. Rather than lose time, Prince and the label agreed to move production to the Record Plant, in Sausalito." Images and text copyright The Prince Estate.

08/02/2019

The first recording session at the Historic Sound 80 Studios!

Sound 80 recording studio under construction at 2709 E. 25th Street during the Summer of 1970. Music group the Batch poses with Sound 80 engineer Tom Jung. Sound 80, when built, would eventually host sessions with Bob Dylan, Prince, Cat Stevens, Yanni, Lipps Inc. ("Funkytown" was recorded there), the Suburbs, Michael Johnson, Su***de Commandos, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Dave Brubeck and many other local and international artists.

Batch member Arne Fogel (in sunglasses at center) explains what's going on here:

"Here's Tom Jung, back to the camera on the far left, engineering a "fake" session in the foundation for what would eventually be "Sound 80"'s brand-new state-of-the-art studios. Owner Herb Pilhofer's idea was to promote the studio's eventual start-up by illustrating how he & Tom are too excited to wait for the studio's completion before they actually begin recording! - Silly. Anyway, so there's Jung, manning a tape recorder, while a few mics have been set up for the Batch, as wrangled by band colleague/mentor/pal Dale Menten for the occasion. Dale joins us for this picture. L-R: Tom Jung, Jay Lee, Arne Fogel, Gary Paulak, Whip Lane, Dale, and Barry Thomas Goldberg."

06/26/2019

While June 25th is often remembered as the date Prince released the album Purple Rain (1984), yesterday was also the anniversary of his signing with Warner Bros. in 1977, just a few weeks after his 19th birthday. The deal was secured with the demo tapes Prince recorded at the Historic Sound 80 Studio in Minneapolis. Prince said in a 1978 interview that Sound 80 was where he "got hip to polymoogs" (synthesizers) and LinnDrum machines, both of which were key elements in the development of his "Minneapolis Sound". Manager Owen Husney hired Robert Whitman to photograph Prince on the verge of fame, including the now iconic picture of the young artist in front of the Schmidt Music wall. Even though Prince recorded his demo tapes in Sound 80's smaller studio, Studio 2, Whitman captured these images of Prince on the grand piano and drums in Studio 1. (Images copyright of Robert Whitman; from his book, Prince: Pre Fame, 2017; available from http://www.njgstudio.com/book/prince-pre-fame1100-limited-edition/)

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05/24/2019

The official gold record for the 1980 smash hit, "Funkytown", on display in the Historic Sound 80 Studio!

05/24/2019

The first-ever tour attendees at the Historic Sound 80 Studio on April 24, 2019. This is Studio 2, where Prince recorded his demo tapes that landed him his recording contract with Warner Bros. when he was only 19; where the punk/new wave trio The Su***de Commandoes laid down the tracks for their two albums; and where "Funkytown", the first ever Number One hit to come out of Minnesota was recorded!

05/24/2019

Get your tickets to the June 7th tours at the historic Sound 80 Studio!

Discover the history of Sound 80, Minnesota's premier recording studio from the 1970s and early 1980s! Local music historian Kristen Zschomler leads the tour through the original studio spaces and shares the stories and sounds of some of the most important recordings to come out of Minnesota. Learn....