Category: Historical

Cover of a 1940 Shure catalog for phonograph cartridges, microphones, cutters, stands, and accessories. Louis Prima performs with a Shure Unidyne on the set of Hey Boy! Hey Girl!, a movie in which he costarred with his wife, Keely Smith. The movie was loosely based on the couples’ Las Vegas act. It was one of the most popular attractions in Las Vegas in the mid 1950s, featuring the vibrant song-and- dance team performing with Sam Butera and the Witnesses. Early… -more-

One of the most celebrated figures in jazz, Ella Fitzgerald performs at the Down Beat Club on her 30th birthday, in April 1948. Using a Shure Unidyne that captured her three-and-ahalf octave range, she captivated an audience that included luminaries of the music world such as Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman (seated at the table in front of the stage). Her career began when she attended a talent show at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem in 1934. The 15-year-old girl… -more-

With a futuristic profile, perfectly suited for a 1930s science fiction movie, Shure 55 Series Microphones exhibit a timeless design that has come to symbolize the very idea of “microphone.” Although the elegant chrome grille and sculptured lines have made the 55 the most recognizable microphone produced, inside the classic exterior is an equally impressive engineering accomplishment. The Shure Unidyne has been “a movie star” since the 1940s. In The Long Denial, released in 1948, songstress Gloria Grahame uses the… -more-

The Shure 1940 Catalog profiledthe many microphones available for differentapplications and demonstrated the Company’sfocus on marketing and promotion. The colorfulcatalog had dramatic images and detailedproduct descriptions that explained the usesand unique characteristics of each microphone. The 1940 Shure microphone line included models for “amateur, police, and commercial ’phone.” Each of these popular units featured a “Built-in R.F. filter to protect against burnouts, a moisture-proof Grafoil Bimorph Crystal, and a built-in cable connector.”

Shure Unidyne, first available in 1939, was among the most widely used microphones in the world by the 1950s. In Company brochures, the product was “recommended for fine quality public address, theater-stage sound systems, recording, and remote broadcasting. It is also the standard for fixed-station use in police, fire, transportation, forestry, and commercial services.” The Shure Model 508 Stratoliner Dynamic Microphone, introduced in 1940, was one of the many innovative designs that Shure introduced in its early line of dynamic… -more-

In the United States, radio was coming of age in the late 1920s. In less than five years, radio had grown from a hobby for young enthusiasts to a mainstream medium. By 1929, nearly 80 percent of Americans listened to radio every day. But that same year a stock market collapse precipitated an economic depression that dramatically changed the country and altered the course of radio. As the country faced high unemployment and widespread poverty, people turned on their radios… -more-

For Shure, mobile communications became a cornerstone in the development of the Company following World War II. During the war, communications proved to be a strategic advantage for the Allied Forces in the air, on the ground, and at sea; and Shure microphones were recognized for handling these challenging assignments. The war introduced the world to the power of mobile communication, but many companies involved in the production of audio equipment for the military did not see a commercial market… -more-

From a eulogy at the funeral of Sidney N. Shure by Dr. Nathaniel Stampfer, of the Spertus Institute for Jewish Studies. At the age of 16, as the result of studying the Talmudic tract titled The Ethics of the Fathers, Sidney Shure resolved to emulate its teachings. Mr. Shure took seriously these teachings from the Ethics: “Let the honor of another be as dear to you as your own.…If I am for myself alone, of what good am I?…Separate not… -more-

In the 1990s, the Internet became an emerging marketing and communications tool; and in 1996, Shure launched www.shure.com, an Internet site that added a new dimension to the Company’s sales, service, and information support programs. The first version of the Shure web site was 250 pages, including a brief history of the Company, a 52-page product catalog, technical bulletins on how to use Shure products, and information on how Shure products can be purchased. In addition, it provides a guide… -more-

While Shure has earned a reputation for innovative product design beginning in the 1930s, one of the most enduring components in those designs has been the Shure logo. The first logomark for Shure products was introduced in the mid-1930s and continues to appear on products more than 60 years later. The design, created by an employee, is based on a schematic diagram of a radio circuit. On the left side of the mark, wavy lines represent radio waves or sound… -more-