Famous people's places / Detroit – Davison
Golden World Studio
Closed – archive entry
A West Davison recording studio built for Ed Wingate's Golden World and Ric-Tic labels, sold to Motown in 1966 and run afterward as Motown's Studio B.
01 / The story of this place
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Detroit businessman Ed Wingate, together with Joanne Jackson Bratton, built Golden World Records into one of Motown's toughest local rivals in the early 1960s, buying a former electrical store on West Davison Avenue and turning it into a recording studio, with a giant clock bearing the label's name mounted outside. Engineers there tracked hits like the Reflections' "(Just Like) Romeo and Juliet" and Shades of Blue's "Oh How Happy," plus early singles by Edwin Starr on the label's Ric-Tic imprint, including his breakout "Agent Double-O-Soul." Other Detroit musicians, among them guitarist Don Davis and singer-songwriter Freddie Gorman, worked sessions here through the mid-1960s, and the vocal group the Dramatics debuted on Golden World's Wingate imprint in 1965. Berry Gordy bought out Golden World, Ric-Tic and Wingate Records in 1966, folding the West Davison studio into Motown as "Studio B," where it kept recording strings, horns and vocal overdubs for Motown sessions after the label's own Hitsville studio filled up.
- Ed Wingate and Joanne Jackson Bratton opened it as Golden World's studio
- Recorded early hits by the Reflections and Edwin Starr
- Sold to Motown in 1966 and became Studio B
- Used for strings, horns and vocal overdubs on Motown sessions
Famous Detroiters
Famous people tied to this place 7
Lexicon entries for the people who lived, worked, performed or liked to spend time here.
- Edwin Starr 1942–2003 · singer, songwriter
Recorded here
His early Ric-Tic hits, including "Agent Double-O-Soul", were recorded at the Golden World studio.
- Freddie Gorman 1939–2006 · singer, songwriter, producer
Recorded here
He wrote for Golden World and cut solo singles for its Ric-Tic label; Motown bought the studio in 1966.
- Lem Barney born 1945 · American football cornerback and return specialist
Recorded here
Motown's second Detroit studio, where he and Mel Farr added the vocal chatter to "What's Going On".
- Don Davis 1938–2014 · record producer, songwriter, guitarist, banker
Recorded here
He played guitar on sessions for the Golden World and Ric-Tic labels.
- Mel Farr 1944–2015 · American football running back, car dealer
Recorded here
Where he and Lem Barney added the vocal chatter to Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On".
- Ed Wingate 1919–2006 · record label owner, entrepreneur
Founded
He co-owned Golden World and its studio, sold to Motown in 1966.
- Ron Banks 1951–2010 · singer, songwriter, producer
Recorded here
The Dramatics' first single appeared on Golden World's Wingate label.
Sources & fact check · Checked: 2026-09-25
An independently written bilingual guide. This collection is not an attendance-based ranking.
03 / Events
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