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Arrow Manual Universal Audio History 256
Landmark Recordings Bruce Swedien, a teenager at the time, recalls that the sound on
“Peg-O-My-Heart” was a seminal influence on him. “It was the first pop music recording
where artificially controlled reverb was used for artistic effect,” he explains. “Many of the
recordings that were done prior to that had reverb, but it was part of the acoustics of the
recording environment. Bill’s contribution to the art was that he literally came up with
the design of the way the echo or reverb sound is sent from the recording desk and the
way it’s returned to the mix so that it can be used in a variable amount.
“I was a youngster in Minneapolis in the early 50s when I first heard “Peg-O-My-Heart,”
Swedien continues, “And I can remember it like it was yesterday. It had an extraordinary
effect on me. I didn’t understand how the techniques were done, but I knew it had
tremendous artistic impact.”
Putnam’s engineering credits grew quickly; at that time he worked with artists such as
Patti Page, Vic Damone and Dinah Washington, and had a million selling record on his
own Universal Records label with “Jealous Heart” by Al Morgan. A number of firsts
occurred at Universal: the first use of tape repeat, the first vocal booth, the first multiple
voice recording, the first 8-track recording trials and experiments with half speed disc
mastering.
Universal was becoming famous, doing recordings for
the Chicago based labels VeeJay, Mercury and Chess.
It was a hub for rhythm and blues recordings including
cuts for Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Bo Diddley, Little
Walter, and Chuck Berry. Jazz artists recorded by Putnam
included Stan Kenton, Tommy Dorsey, Count Basie,
Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Nat King
Cole, and the master, Duke Ellington. Putnam was also
producing records for Decca, as well as writing songs and
lyrics.
With all this success, Universal Recording went through several incarnations, with the
dream version completed in 1955. At that time it was the most advanced and largest
independent recording facility in the country attracting top producers like Nelson Riddle,
Mitch Miller and Quincy Jones. It was also at that time that Bruce Swedien went to work
for the studio.
“It’s absolutely true,” he states. “Bill Putnam was the father of recording as we know
it today. The processes and designs which we take for granted -- the design of modern
recording desks, the way components are laid out and the way they function, console
design, cue sends, echo returns, multitrack switching -- they all originated in Bill’s
imagination.”
Murray Allen, who purchased Chicago’s Universal Recording from Putnam in 1972
elaborates. “Bill was a brilliant person, highly talented, with a great set of ears,” he
says. “He was Duke Ellington’s favorite engineer, among many, and at one time he had
more singles in the top 40 than anybody else. At the time, if you needed something in
sound, he was the guy. He designed systems for the Sands and other big showrooms
in Las Vegas; John Kennedy flew him out to arrange the sound for the broadcast of his
inauguration. He did it all.”