JOE TARSIA,
1934-2022
Joe Tarsia, the engineer and studio operator who played a key role in creating the Sound of Philadelphia in the 1970s, died on 11/1 in Lancaster, Pa. He was 88.
Tarsia established Sigma Sound Studios in 1968, where he would work with Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff and Thom Bell on records by the O’Jays, the Spinners, the Stylistics and others that would put Philadelphia on the map as the epicenter of soul music in the 19760s. Tarsia was the engineer on scores of gold and platinum recordings, including the Stylistics’ “Betcha by Golly, Wow,” the Spinners’ “I’ll Be Around,” Billy Paul’s “Me and Mrs. Jones” and Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes’ “If You Don’t Know Me by Now.”
Using heavy orchestration, rhythms that presaged disco and the call and response of gospel, Tarsia defined the sound as “Black music in a tuxedo.”
Tarsia started as an equipment repairman for local recording studios before moving into working on making records. He started as an audio engineer at Cameo-Parkway in the early 1960s working his way up to chief engineer. It helped that Dick Clark filmed American Bandstand in Philly at the time and many of the label’s artists received national exposure due to their geographic proximity. When Bandstand moved in the L.A. in 1964, Tarsia started working with Gamble & Huff, charting with “Expressway to Your Heart” by the Soul Survivors in 1967.
That success led Tarsia to build Sigma Sound in Philadelphia’s Center City. As the hits started, Gamble and Huff created Philadelphia International Records with CBS and Tarsia’s studio was suddenly being used by superstars such as Stevie Wonder and David Bowie. He expanded by opening Sigma Sound of New York where Whitney Houston, Steely Dan and others recorded in the ‘70s and ‘80s.
Tarsia retired in 1990s, though remained involved in the music business by lecturing and supporting programs such as Grammy in the Schools. He sold the original Philadelphia studios in 2003.
Tarsia was a founder of the Society of Professional Audio Recording Services and a trustee of the Recording Academy. He was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville in 2016.
