ListenUp is an independent audio/video retailer and

systems integrator A systems integrator (or system integrator) is a person or company that specializes in bringing together component subsystems into a whole and ensuring that those subsystems function together, a practice known as system integration. They also solv ...

founded in Denver, Colorado, in 1972 by Walton Stinson, Mary Kay Stinson and Steven Weiner, graduates of

Knox College (Illinois) Knox College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Galesburg, Illinois. Founded in 1837 by anti-slavery advocates, the college holds deep ties to the Underground Railroad movement. Wi ...

. In the early 1980s, ListenUp was instrumental in launching the

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. It employs the Compact Disc Digital Audio (CD-DA) standard and was capable of hol ...

(CD) into the US market. The first commercially available compact disc players were shown at the Sony booth at the 1982 Japan Audio Fair. Stinson and Weiner both attended and brought back discs and technical information. On returning from Japan, Stinson was questioned by US customs about “the shiny discs” in his luggage. Lacking funds to purchase advertising, Stinson and Weiner produced live broadcasts of concerts from Ebbets Field, a downtown Denver nightclub, for two Denver radio stations in return for an on-air credit, with the phrase “Sound by ListenUp.” Ebbets Field was Denver's premier music venue of the 1970s and

Billboard (magazine) ''Billboard'' (stylized in letter case, lowercase since 2013) is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events and styles re ...

named it Club of the Year in 1975 and 1976. ListenUp produced broadcasts and recorded artist at Ebbets Field from 1973 to 1977. They released a four-CD set of “Live from Ebbets Field” concert recordings by artists such as

Taj Mahal (musician) Henry St. Claire Fredericks Jr. (born May 17, 1942), better known by his stage name Taj Mahal, is an American blues musician. He plays the guitar, piano, banjo, harmonica, and many other instruments,Evans, et al., xii. often incorporating elemen ...

Dan Fogelberg Daniel Grayling Fogelberg (August 13, 1951 – December 16, 2007) was an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist widely known for his 1970s and 1980s soft rock hits, including " Longer" (1979), " Same Old Lang Syne" (1981), and " ...

Joan Armatrading Joan Anita Barbara Armatrading (, born 9 December 1950) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. Her first major commercial success came with her third and fourth albums, '' Joan Armatrading'' (1976) and '' Show Some Emotion'' (1977), a ...

Doc Watson Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson (March 3, 1923 – May 29, 2012) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues, and gospel music. He won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. His ...

Peter Frampton Peter Kenneth Frampton (born 22 April 1950) is an English-American guitarist, singer, and songwriter who rose to prominence as a member of the rock bands the Herd and Humble Pie. Later in his career, Frampton found significant success as a s ...

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913April 30, 1983), better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer-songwriter and musician who was an important figure in the post-World War II blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of moder ...

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

, and

Little Feat Little Feat is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George, bassist Roy Estrada (both formerly of the Mothers of Invention), keyboardist Bill Payne, and drummer Richie Hayward in ...

. ListenUp created the sound system for and produced live broadcasts and recordings from the

Rainbow Music Hall The Rainbow Music Hall was a 1,485-capacity music venue located in Denver, Colorado. The venue opened in 1979 by concert promoter Barry Fey and closed in 1989. Many famous artists performed at the Rainbow Music Hall, including: On May 9, 1979, ...

, a concert venue operated by

Barry Fey Barry Fey (1938 – April 28, 2013) was an American rock concert promoter from Colorado who was best known for bringing prominent music acts to the United States for the first time. Early life Barry Fey was born on December 15th, 1938 in ...

and Chuck Morris, from 1979 through 1988. In 2019 ListenUp was the 10th largest

consumer electronics Consumer electronics, also known as home electronics, are electronic devices intended for everyday household use. Consumer electronics include those used for entertainment, Communication, communications, and recreation. Historically, these prod ...

specialty dealer in the US and had garnered 12% of consumer electronics share among the top 100 consumer-direct sales businesses, alongside

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Comput ...

Bose Corporation Bose Corporation () is an American manufacturing company that predominantly sells audio equipment. The company was established by Amar Bose in 1964 and is based in Framingham, Massachusetts. It is best known for its Home audio, home audio syste ...

and Video & Audio Center. ListenUp co-founder, Walt Stinson, was one of two audio engineers in 2009 inducted into the

Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame The Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame, founded by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), honors leaders whose creativity, persistence, determination and personal charisma helped to shape the industry and made the consumer electronics marketpl ...

. According to the

Consumer Technology Association The Consumer Technology Association (CTA)® is North America's largest standards and technology trade organization representing more than 1,200 technology companies. CTA is led by CEO and Vice Chair Gary J. Shapiro. Trade shows CES C ...

, the Hall of Fame recognizes consumer technology pioneers whose "Insights and hard work have delivered to consumers, worldwide, the technologies, products and services that enrich lives and livelihoods while furthering human security and wellbeing.” {{cite web , title=The CT Hall of Fame (HOF) Program , url=https://www.cta.tech/Events/Consumer-Technology-Hall-of-Fame-Dinner , website=Consumer Technology Association

References

Consumer electronics retailers of the United States Companies based in Denver American audio engineers American companies established in 1972 Retail companies established in 1972 1972 establishments in Colorado