The Gennett recording studio, a division of the Starr Piano Company, stood on this spot in a long, rectangular building that had once been used as a kiln to cure wood for Starr pianos. Gennett Records produced phonograph records from 1916 until the Great Depression and recorded some of the most important early jazz musicians, including Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, and Bix Beiderbecke. In his autobiography, Hoosier, jazz pioneer and Gennett recording artist Hoagy Carmichael called it “the birthplace of recorded jazz” and wrote that the rambling brick building on the bank of the Whitewater River was part of the Starr Piano Company’s home plant. Carmichael recorded his famous “Stardust” here for the first time and regarded the Gennett label highly. Gennett engineers also recorded notable blues artists such as Charley Patton and Georgia Tom, an alias used by Thomas A. Dorsey, who would become the father of gospel music, as well as early country music stars such as Gene Autry. The Starr Piano Company’s 1921 victory over the Victor Talking Machine Company in a patent infringement lawsuit helped cause the proliferation of other small record labels now recognized as crucial in the development of uniquely American musical styles. Gennett’s impact spread across nearly every category of music and the music industry.