Joseph Dominick Tarsia (September 23, 1934 – November 1, 2022) was an American recording studio owner and engineer from

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

who was credited on many

classic pop Traditional pop (also known as vocal pop or pre-rock and roll pop) is Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standards ...

music tracks. He received over 150 gold and

platinum record Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music Sound recording and reproduction, recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video ...

awards. He was the founder and owner of the

Sigma Sound Studios Sigma Sound Studios was an American independent recording studio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded in 1968 by recording engineer Joseph Tarsia. Located at 212 North 12th Street in Philadelphia, Sigma Sound is closely associated with Philade ...

, which was the recording base of

Gamble and Huff Kenneth Gamble (born August 11, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and Leon A. Huff (born April 8, 1942, Camden, New Jersey) are an American songwriting and production duo credited for developing the Philadelphia soul music genre (also known as ...

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. Tarsia's recordings between the 1960s and 1980s were noteworthy for their clarity and aural definition, achieved years before the

digital era The Information Age is a historical period that began in the mid-20th century. It is characterized by a rapid shift from traditional industries, as established during the Industrial Revolution, to an economy centered on information technolog ...

Career

Tarsia took technical courses in high school before taking a position with the research department of

Philco Philco (an acronym for Philadelphia Battery Company) is an American electronics industry, electronics manufacturer headquartered in Philadelphia. Philco was a pioneer in battery, radio, and television production. In 1961, the company was purchase ...

, which lasted for a decade. Later he became a service technician for various Philadelphia recording studios. He traveled to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to mix with top audio engineers. Around 1961, he took an

audio engineering Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to: Sound *Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound * Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum *Digital audio, representation of soun ...

position at

Cameo-Parkway Records Cameo-Parkway Records was the parent company of Cameo Records and Parkway Records, which were major American Philadelphia-based record labels from 1956 (for Cameo) and 1958 (for Parkway) to 1967. Among the types of music released were doo-wop, ...

' studio. The record label's artist roster included

Chubby Checker Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans; October 3, 1941) is an American singer and dancer. He is widely known for popularizing many dance styles, including the Twist, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnighters' R&B song " The Twis ...

Bobby Rydell Robert Louis Ridarelli (April 26, 1942 – April 5, 2022), known by the stage name Bobby Rydell (), was an American singer and actor who mainly performed rock and roll and traditional pop music. In the early 1960s, he was considered a teen idol. ...

The Orlons The Orlons are an American Rhythm and blues, R&B group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that formed in 1960. The group won Music recording sales certification, gold discs for three of their single (music), singles. Career The quartet consisted ...

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Dee Dee Sharp Dee Dee Sharp (born Dione LaRue; September 9, 1945) is an American R&B singer. After beginning her career as a backing vocalist, Sharp had a string of hit records as a solo artist in the 1960s: " Mashed Potato Time" (1962), "Gravy (For My Mash ...

The Dovells The Dovells were an American doo-wop group, formed at Overbrook High School in Philadelphia in 1957, under the name 'The Brooktones'. The original members were Arnie Silver, Len Borisoff, Jerry Gross (alias Summers), Mike Freda, and Jim Mealey ( ...

, and

Bunny Sigler Walter "Bunny" Sigler (March 27, 1941 – October 6, 2017) was an American R&B singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer who did extensive work with the team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, and was instrumental in creating t ...

. Tarsia became the record label's chief engineer.Joseph Tarsia: Honoree, ''Philadelphia Music Alliance''
Retrieved November 3, 2022 In the fall of 1967, Tarsia sold his car, house, and other personal possessions to purchase a lease on the former Reco-Art Studios located on the second floor of the building at 212 North 12th Street in Philadelphia. He upgraded the studio equipment from 2-track to 8-track and opened the studio, which he renamed Sigma Sound, on August 5, 1968, operating as a one-man operation.Shepherd, John (2003) ''Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World: Media, Industry and Society v.1: Media, Industry and Society'', Continuum, , p. 670-1 During the 1970's gold- and

multi-platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

heyday of "The Sound Of Philadelphia", the facility became a 24-hour operation to meet the great demand for its services. Sigma Sound won awards for recordings by

Jerry Butler Jerry Butler Jr. (December 8, 1939 – February 20, 2025) was an American soul singer-songwriter, producer, musician, and politician. He was the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group the Impressions, who were inducted into the Rock and ...

Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes were an American soul and R&B vocal group. One of the most popular Philadelphia soul groups of the 1970s, the group's repertoire included soul, R&B, doo-wop, and disco. Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in ...

The O'Jays The O'Jays are an American Rhythm and blues, R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in summer 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appea ...

The Stylistics The Stylistics are an American Philadelphia soul group that achieved their greatest chart success in the 1970s. They formed in 1968, with a lineup of singers Russell Thompkins Jr., Herb Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith, and James Dunn. All ...

, and many others. Musicians who recorded there included

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, and the

Four Tops The Four Tops are an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1953 as the Four Aims. They were one of the most commercially successful American pop music groups of the 1960s and helped propel Motown Records to international fame. The ...

. By 1976, the Philadelphia studios' success prompted Tarsia to open an additional 3-room recording facility in New York City, appropriately named Sigma Sound Studios of New York. The client list of the New York location included

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...

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Ashford and Simpson Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting, production and recording duo composed of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946). Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carol ...

, and

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...

. Tarsia sold the New York studios in 1988. In 1990, Tarsia's son Michael (Mike) Tarsia became president of Sigma Sound Studios. Joe Tarsia became a lecturer and participant in educational programs including GRAMMY In The Schools. In 2003, he sold the studio's Philadelphia location, but it still retained the Stigma Sound Studios name. Tarsia won many awards for his activities. He founded and chaired the Society of Professional Audio Recording Services (SPARS), and was a trustee of the

National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (NARAS), doing business as The Recording Academy, is an American Learned society, learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is widely kno ...

. In 2016, he was inducted into the

Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum Mission Statement The Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum is a 501(c)(3) charity organization. The mission of the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum is to honor all great musicians regardless of genre or instruments. This is done by exhibiting t ...

. Tarsia died on November 1, 2022, at the age of 88.

References

External links

Four-part video interview
with Joe Tarsia, ''Open Vault'', 1995 * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tarsia, Joseph 1934 births 2022 deaths Musicians from Philadelphia