A Win For Detroit’s Musical Legacy: United Sound Systems Spared From Demolition Under New MDOT Plan

January 14, 2019

The studio where legends including Aretha Franklin, John Lee Hooker, and Parliament-Funkadelic recorded will be relocated.

United Sound Systems

The studio where legends like Aretha Franklin, John Lee Hooker, and Parliament-Funkadelic recorded albums will be spared demolition under a new plan announced by the Michigan Department of Transportation.

United Sound Systems in Detroit’s New Center neighborhood has been under threat for years due to a proposed expansion of I-94. 

MDOT now plans to move the building to a nearby location.

Listen to CultureShift’s Amanda LeClaire talk with the Detroit Sound Conservancy’s Carleton Gholz about what’s next in the group’s efforts to save this vital part of the region’s cultural history.

Author

  • Amanda LeClaire is an award-winning journalist and managing editor and lead reporter of WDET's new environmental series, the Detroit Tree Canopy Project, as well as WDET's CuriosiD podcast. She was the host of WDET’s CultureShift and a founding producer of the station’s flagship news talk show *Detroit Today*. Amanda also served as a Morning Edition host at WDET and previously worked as a host, audio and video producer, and reporter for Arizona Public Media.

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