Gloria E. A. Toote was a lawyer, entrepreneur, and recording executive whose most distinctive legacy is her creation of Town Sound Studios in Englewood, New Jersey, at 1 Dean Street, the site of the former Scheider's pharmacy, now a Starbucks. Town Sounds Studios was one of the most advanced independent recording facilities on the East Coast during the late 1960s. At a time when major studios were concentrated in Manhattan and controlled almost exclusively by white male executives, Toote built a Black-owned, woman-led recording complex that placed Englewood directly into the national music and media economy.

Trained as an attorney, Toote earned her undergraduate and law degrees from Howard University and completed graduate study at Columbia University. Rather than remaining solely in legal practice, she applied her expertise to real estate development and media production. In 1966, she leased a neglected, multi-story building at the corner of North Dean Street and Palisade Avenue in Englewood and began an ambitious transformation. The result was Town Sound Studios, a fully modern recording and mastering facility equipped with state-of-the-art disc-cutting systems, multi-track consoles, automated equipment, and professional soundproofing.

Between 1966 and 1970, Town Sound Studios earned a reputation for technical excellence that rivaled major New York studios. Recording artists, record labels, advertising agencies, filmmakers, and broadcasters used the Englewood facility for music recording, mastering, radio commercials, film soundtracks, industrial films, and spoken-word projects. Trade publications and newspapers regularly described Town Sound as one of the best-equipped studios in the eastern United States.

Renowned performers recorded at Town Sound Studios such as Miriam Makeba, the South African singer, songwriter, and civil rights activist ; the British rock group The Animals; and The Mothers of Invention, and Jimi Hendrix.  Other projects included a sound track for an Otto Preminger movie, a children’s record, industrial training films, and a session with a 72-piece high school band.

Beyond its technical achievements, Town Sound functioned as a cultural hub. Industry events held at the studio drew musicians, actors, executives, and public officials to Englewood, quietly reshaping the borough’s cultural profile. The studio also created pathways into the recording and electronics industries for young people, many of whom received hands-on training and went on to secure professional technical careers. From offices within Town Sound, Toote operated charitable and educational initiatives that linked creative production to job training and community advancement.

Toote’s work at Town Sound was widely recognized during its brief but influential existence. She was frequently cited as the first Black woman to originate and operate a major recording studio, and she received honors for both her entrepreneurial achievements and her commitment to youth training and community service. In 1970, a catastrophic overnight fire destroyed the upper floors of the building and its recording facilities, bringing the Town Sound era to an abrupt end.

Although Toote later went on to hold prominent roles in federal government, national politics, and real estate development, Town Sound Studios remains the clearest expression of her vision—a belief that technical excellence, cultural production, and community opportunity could coexist in the same physical space. For a brief but remarkable moment, Gloria Toote turned Englewood into a center of sound, innovation, and Black ownership, leaving a legacy that continues to resonate in the city’s history.

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Most, Mel. "Miss Gloria Toote Scores A Record Success."
The Record, 22 June 1969, p.8-C.

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"Town Sound Studios Label." Discogs.