Unique Recording Studios was a technologically innovative five room recording studio operating in New York City during the years 1978 to 2004. The business got off the ground as a rehearsal studio with a Tascam 8 track recorder in 1978, but soon expanded to 16, and then 24 tracks with the first Otari

Otari

Otari may refer to:* Otari, Nagano, Japan*Muhammad Naji al-Otari, Prime Minister of Syria...

 MTR-90. Some of the biggest names in the music world recorded at Unique. The still operating Unique Recording Studio website lists the following among their former clients: Madonna

Madonna (entertainer)

Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...

. Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...

, Tina Turner

Tina Turner

Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...

, Anita Baker

Anita Baker

Anita Baker is an American R&B/soul jazz singer-songwriter. To date, Baker has won eight Grammy Awards, and has four platinum albums and two gold albums to her credit....

, Steve Winwood

Steve Winwood

Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...

, Joe Cocker

Joe Cocker

John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...

, Billy Ocean

Billy Ocean

Billy Ocean is a Trinidad-born English Grammy Award winning popular music performer who had a string of rhythm and blues international pop hits in the 1970s and 1980s. He was the most popular British-based R&B singer / songwriter of the early to mid-1980s...

, Michael Bolton

Michael Bolton

Michael Bolton is an American singer and songwriter. Bolton originally performed in the hard rock and heavy metal genres from the mid 1970s to the mid 1980s, both on his early solo albums and those recorded as the frontman of the band Blackjack...

, Michael McDonald

Michael McDonald (singer)

Michael McDonald is a five-time Grammy Award winning American singer and songwriter. McDonald is known for a soulful baritone singing style and a multi-octave range. He began his career singing back-up vocals with Steely Dan...

, James Ingram

James Ingram

James Ingram is an American soul musician. He is best known as a vocalist. He is also a self-taught musician who plays piano, guitar, bass, drums and keyboards...

, Donna Summers, Jeff Beck

Jeff Beck

Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...

, Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton

Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...

, Danny Gatton

Danny Gatton

Danny Gatton was an American guitarist who fused rockabilly, jazz, and country styles to create his own distinctive style of playing. A biography, Unfinished Business: The Life and Times of Danny Gatton by Ralph Heibutzki, was published in 2003. It has a voluminous discography...

, Stevie Ray Vaughan

Stevie Ray Vaughan

Stephen Ray "Stevie Ray" Vaughan was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan and frontman for Double Trouble, a band that included bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. Born in Dallas, Vaughan moved to Austin at the age of 17 and...

, Pet Shop Boys

Pet Shop Boys

Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasional guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards....

 Chaka Khan

Chaka Khan

Chaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career...

, David Sanborn

David Sanborn

David Sanborn is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album Taking Off in 1975, but has been playing the saxophone since before he was in high school...

, Billy Idol

Billy Idol

William Michael Albert Broad , better known by his stage name Billy Idol, is an English rock musician. A member of the Bromley Contingent of Sex Pistols fans, Idol first achieved fame in the punk rock era as a member of the band Generation X...

, The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...

, Aerosmith

Aerosmith

Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...

, Aztec Camera

Aztec Camera

Aztec Camera were a Scottish New Wave band from the Glasgow suburb of East Kilbride, formed in 1980 and centered around teenage singer-songwriter, Roddy Frame. Their album Love was among the nominations for Best British Album at the 1989 BRIT Awards....

, Marilyn Manson

Marilyn Manson

Marilyn Manson may refer to:* Marilyn Manson , an American rock musician* Marilyn Manson , the American rock band led by the singer of the same name...

, NIN

Nin

Nin may refer to:* Nine Inch Nails, an American industrial rock band* NIN , a Serbian political magazine* NIN , the Sumerian sign for lady* NIN , a human gene* Nion or Nin, a letter in the Ogham alphabet...

, Pet Shop Boys

Pet Shop Boys

Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasional guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards....

, Cheap Trick

Cheap Trick

Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973. The band consists of members Robin Zander , Rick Nielsen , Tom Petersson , and Bun E...

, James Brown

James Brown

James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...

, George Clinton

George Clinton (funk musician)

George Clinton is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and music producer and the principal architect of P-Funk. He was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and launched a solo career in 1981. He has been cited as one of the foremost...

, Bee Gees

Bee Gees

The Bee Gees are a musical group that originally comprised three brothers: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was successful for most of their 40-plus years of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a pop act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as a...

, Arthur Baker

Arthur Baker (musician)

Arthur Baker is an American record producer and DJ best known for his work with hip hop artists like Afrika Bambaataa, Planet Patrol, and the British group New Order.-Early career:...

, Stevie Nicks

Stevie Nicks

Stephanie Lynn "Stevie" Nicks is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Fleetwood Mac and an extensive solo career, which collectively have produced over forty Top 50 hits and sold over 140 million albums...

, Miles Davis

Miles Davis

Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...

, McCoy Tyner

McCoy Tyner

McCoy Tyner is a jazz pianist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet and a long solo career.-Early life:...

, Herbie Hancock

Herbie Hancock

Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...

, Quincy Jones

Quincy Jones

Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...

, Al B. Sure New Edition

New Edition

New Edition is an R&B group formed in Boston in 1978. The group reached its height of popularity during the 1980s. They were the progenitors of the boy band movement of the 1980s and 1990s and led the way for groups like New Kids on the Block, Boyz II Men, Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync...

, New Kids on the Block

New Kids on the Block

New Kids on the Block are an American boy band from Boston, Massachusetts, assembled in 1984 by producer Maurice Starr. The band currently consists of brothers Jordan and Jonathan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood.New Kids on the Block enjoyed success in the late 1980s and...

, Jimmy Cliff

Jimmy Cliff

Jimmy Cliff, OM is a Jamaican musician, singer and actor. He is the only currently living musician to hold the Order of Merit, the highest honour that can be granted by the Jamaican government for achievement in the arts and sciences...

, Queen Latifah

Queen Latifah

Dana Elaine Owens , better known by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American singer, rapper, and actress. Her work in music, film and television has earned her a Golden Globe award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Image Awards, a Grammy Award, six additional Grammy nominations, an Emmy...

, Run DMC, The Notorious B.I.G.

The Notorious B.I.G.

Christopher George Latore Wallace , best known as The Notorious B.I.G., was an American rapper. He was also known as Biggie Smalls , Big Poppa, and The Black Frank White .Wallace was raised in the Brooklyn borough...

, 2Pac, Nas

Nas

Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, who performs under the name Nas , formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in hip hop and one of the most skilled and influential rappers of all-time...

, Kanye West

Kanye West

Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...

 and Alicia Keys

Alicia Keys

Alicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...

.

Location

The studio complex was located just off of Times Square

Times Square

Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...

 in the top three floors of the Cecil B. DeMille Building , adjacent to music-store row. The business was owned and operated by husband and wife team Joanne and Bobby Nathan. Many Grammy-winning albums were recorded at Unique over the years.

MIDI Revolution

Unique was famous for having the latest keyboards, drum machines, and samplers, and was on the cutting edge of the MIDI revolution during hip-hop's infancy. The studio was practically a laboratory for the latest technology, with many musical instrument manufacturers sending their first units of the latest gear to Unique.

Unique Recording Studios is credited for opening the first Midi recording room in 1983 called "Midi City" and was later named Studio C.

Hip Hop History

Rap and Hip Hop was born at Unique Recording Studios with Tom Silverman

Tom Silverman

Tom Silverman is the founder, chairman and CEO of the record label Tommy Boy Records , and he is co-founder of the independent film and television company Tommy Boy Films. Silverman co-founded Dance Music Report magazine, which ran from 1978 to 1992, and he co-founded the Dance Music Hall of Fame,...

's Tommy Boy Records featuring Arthur Baker and John Robie - Planet Patrol, Soul Sonic Force, Freeze and Afrika Bambaataa. Run DMC, LL Cool J, Kurtis Blow, Kool Moe D, Public Enemy, The Fat Boys, ODB, Wu-Tang Klan, Easy E, Melle Mel, Marly Marl, Grand Master Flash, Sugar Hill Gang and later Queen Latifah, Heavy D, Nas, 2Pac, Notorious B.I.G - Biggie Smalls Puff Daddy, Naughty By Nature, Mobb Deep, KRS-One, MOP, DMX, Jay Z, Raekwon, Moby, Pink and Kanye West

Engineers

Engineers who started their careers at Unique Recording Studios include:

Chris Lord-Alge

Chris Lord-Alge

Chris Lord-Alge is a mixer who has worked on various albums. He is the brother of Tom Lord-Alge, another audio engineer. Chris Lord-Alge is known for his extreme use of dynamic range compression in both hardware and software plug-in versions....

 (Joe Cocker, Cheap Trick, Ric Ocasek, Stevie Nicks, Carly Simon, Tina Turner, Chaka Kahn, Nona Hendrix, James Brown)

Tom Lord-Alge

Tom Lord-Alge

Tom Lord-Alge is a four-time Grammy Award–winning record producer and mixer. He is the youngest of Vivian Lord's five children, Mark Lord-Alge, Lisa Lord-Alge, Chris Lord-Alge, Jeff Lord-Alge and Tom Lord-Alge...

 (Steve Winwood, Malcom McLaren, David, Johansen, OMD, TKA, Jeff Beck, Little Steven, Wendy & Lisa, John Waite, Earth, Wind & Fire, Supertramp, The System)

Bob Rosa

Bob Rosa

Bob Rosa is an American record producer that has worked with artists such as Madonna, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey and Espen Lind. One if his first recording projects was working on the track "Planet Rock" by Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force in 1982....

 (Prince, Mariah Carey, James Ingram, Paula Abdul, Toni, Braxton, Taylor Dayne, C+C Music factory, Celine Dion, Debbie Gibson, Michael McDonald, Lisa Lisa, George Benson, Stephanie Mills, Freddie Jackson, Janet Jackson, Starpoint, Michael Bolton, NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, Jay Z, Jon Secada, Gloria Estefan)

Michael Finlayson (Johnny Copeland, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Danny Gatton, Stewart Copeland, Ian McDonald, Bill Bruford, Aerosmith, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Bobby Watson, Roy Hargrove, Joshua Redman, Alex Bugnon, Charles Fambrough, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Lisa-Lisa & Cult Jam w/ Full Force, Jocelyn Brown, Freddie Jackson, Oran "Juice" Jones, Divine)

Peter Robbins

Peter Robbins

Peter Robbins may refer to:* Peter Robbins , author of Filthy Rich and Stolen Fruit* Peter Robbins , voice of Charlie Brown* Peter M. Robbins, industrialist and builder of the submarine Alicia...

 (Diana Ross, Sister Sledge, Bob James/David Sanborn, David Johansen, Skyy, Billy Ocean, Afrika Bambaataa, Divine, Melba Moore, Ofra Haza)

Frank Heller

Frank Heller

Frank Heller was the pen name of the Swedish writer Gunnar Serner . He wrote a string of light books about shady business transactions in an international milieu...

 (Edgar Winter, New Edition - "Candy Girl", Force MD's, Jonzun Crew, Jimmy Cliff, New Kids on the Block, Afrika Bambaataa + James Brown - "Unity", Apollonia, Bell Biv Devoe, LL Cool J

Steve Peck (B52's, Pointer Sisters, George Michael, Jennifer Rush. New Order, Pet Shop Boys, Duran Duran, Sweet Sensation, Will Downing, Depeche Mode, Debbie Harry)

Roey Shamir (Al B Sure!, TKA, Devo, Run DMC, Heavy D, Melba Moore, Full Force, Information Society, Ashford + Simpson),

Josh Chervokas (Madonna, Kool Moe, Dee, Mobb Deep,2 Pac, Just-Ice, Nas)

Kennan Keating (Nine Inch Nails, Don Johnson, Sarah Dash, Al Green, Color Me Badd, Larry Coryell)

George Karras

George Karras

George Karras was the 26th head college football coach for the Wichita State University Shockers located in Wichita, Kansas and he held that position for two seasons, from 1965 until 1966. His overall coaching record at Wichita State was 4 wins, 15 losses, and 0 ties...

 (Madonna, Najee, Heavy D, Kool Moe Dee, Keith Sweat, Donna Summer, Joe Public, Me'Shell NdegéOcello)

D'Anthony Johnson (DMX, MOP, Raekwon, Nice + Smooth, Sybil, Miles Davis "Doo Bop")

Angela Piva (Jude Cole, Run DMC, Color Me Badd, Gerado, Heavy D, Queen Latifah, Zhane', Groove Theory, first female engineer to have engineered a #1 record - Natughty By Nature's "OPP" )

Matt Hathaway (KRS-One, Christine Aguilera, Destiny’s Child, Alicia Keys, Pink, Wu Tang Clan, Mary J. Blige)

John Holmes (OutKast, Usher, Indigo Girls, Elton John)

Studio Closing

The explosion of high quality home and project studio recording systems such as Digidesign

Digidesign

Avid Audio is an American digital audio technology company. It was founded in 1984 by Peter Gotcher and Evan Brooks. The company began as a project to raise money for the founders' band, selling EPROM chips for drum machines. It is a subsidiary of Avid Technology, and during 2010 the Digidesign...

's Pro Tools

Pro Tools

Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation platform for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, developed and manufactured by Avid Technology. It is widely used by professionals throughout the audio industries for recording and editing in music production, film scoring, film, and television...

, along with declining album sales and skyrocketing Manhattan commercial leases helped contribute to the demise of a number of major New York studios, including Unique Recording Studios.