What was the first song to be recorded on 16-track equipment?

This may be one of those questions to which we will never find a satisfactory, definitive answer. There seem to be many contenders for the title but none offer any documented proof. My research has turned up the following possibilities (listed in my subjective order of likeliness).

1. "With This Ring" by The Platters (recorded circa October 1967). - Corroboration...

Mirasound [...] on 57th Street [NYC] is the first studio to put in 16-channel recording [...] in the Fall of 1967.

https://www.ilk.org/~ppk/Manuals/Ampex_Case_Histories/Ampex%20Mirasound%20case%20history.pdf

Well, the unit arrived at 10 am in the crate, and we had it connected and checked out in time to do a session at 8pm that same night. The session was "With This Ring" by the Platters, produced by Luther Dixon. So I became the very first engineer to record in 16 tracks.

https://www.historyofrecording.com/ampexag1000.html This second quote is an unverified statement by George Schowerer who was supposedly a recording engineer at Mirasound at the time.

2. "Crimson and Clover" by Tommy James and the Shondelles (late 1968). - Corroboration...

"Crimson and Clover" was recorded in late 1968 [and] is one of the earliest songs recorded on 16-track equipment.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimson_and_Clover#CD_and_single_re-releases This statement is not referenced and therefore somewhat flimsy but is the most authoritative I can find.

3. "Hot Rats" Album by Frank Zappa. (late 1968) - Corroboration...

The album was recorded on what Zappa described as a "homemade sixteen track" recorder; [...] in late 1968.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Rats Again, not the best source but the best I can find to quote and there is a reference at the bottom of the article that may support the claim. Which 'song' was recorded first, however, does not appear to have been noted.

Other contenders include the albums "Aoxomoxoa" by Grateful Dead and "Volunteers" by Jefferson Airplane although there does not seem to be any evidence to support their claims. And which of the songs included on these albums was recorded first may never be known.

For an event that occurred over 50 years ago this may be the best evidence that exists; considering that many of the on-site participants have unfortunately passed on.

I think we can safely say that the first 16-track recording was made at Mirasound in 1967, but I don't think we can find out definitely what it is. (Note: it's unlikely to be "With This Ring", which was released in February 1967. And recording engineer Steve Hoffman, in his forum linked below, said that the original "Crimson and Clover" was 8-track.)

In 1967, Ampex built its first prototype 16-track professional audio recorder at the request of Mirasound Studios in New York City. This machine used reels of 2-inch tape on a modified tape transport system originally built for video recording. In 1968, it introduced the 16-track production model MM-1000, the first commercially available 16-track machine.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_multitrack_recording

Here's a quote about Mirasound lifted out of the Ampex article mentioned in odo5435's link above. And who the heck are the Charrells?

Mirasound Studios: First Studio to Use 16-Channel Recording

In 1967, Mirasound recently moved to its new enlarged quarters on 57th Street. Five studios, four for audio, one for video, made up the complex. Always considered a leader at innovation, it was the first studio to put in 16-channel recording with the new Ampex two-inch multichannel recorders. Since receiving the recorder, it operated 10 to 12 hours each day. According to Robert Goldman, President of Mirasound, "When recording today's modern sounds, the Ampex 16-track recorder produces higher quality recordings. We find the new Ampex machine provides the maximum recording versatility and economy." In 1968 Mirasound will increase its multichannel capability even further with the delivery of two new MM-1000 multichannel recorders, one a 16 channel version, the other a 24 channel. "The new Ampex Master-Maker will offer us even more opportunity for creativity," Goldman said.

The AG-1000 is a custom version of the new MM-1000 series, built especially for Mirasound. Both use Ampex videotape transports for two-inch tape, combined with electronics from Ampex's top-of-the-line AG-440 recorder.

* * * * *

Some of the groups that recorded regularly at Mirasound are The Lovin' Spoonful, The Happenings, Vanilla Fudge, The Doors, The Charrells (the first group to use 16-channel recording), Frankie Valli, The Bob Crewe Generation, and folk singer Janice lan. The Bob Crewe Generation did the "Girl Watchers Theme" at Mirasound, originally as a Pepsi Cola commercial. It was later released as a successful popular record.

https://www.ilk.org/~ppk/Manuals/Ampex_Case_Histories/Ampex%20Mirasound%20case%20history.pdf

And here's the link to a scan of articles about Mirasound, if anyone wants to try to read any other information from them:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ghoulmann/sets/72157594350648115/with/282780824/

BTW, a thread on another site (Steve Hoffman's, which includes all the links above) speculates that the 16-track was installed at Mirasound in summer 1967 (not really fall) and that the first Top 40 hit recorded using it was the Lovin' Spoonful's "She Is Still a Mystery".
https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/what-was-the-first-16-track-recording.204244/page-4

"Who the heck are the Charrells?" (see above) Well you might ask!!! I'd love to know.

If such a group does (or did) exist we might be closer to resolving this issue but my searches stubbornly keep returning 'The Shirelles'.

The original quoted reference may simply have contained a typo but I'm unable to find any alternate reference to 'The Shirelles' being the first to record in 16 tracks. That tends to throw the veracity of the quoted site (including all my earlier post's references to it) into question. Yet, it still remains the source that seems to offer the closest answer. https://www.ilk.org/~ppk/Manuals/Ampex_Case_Histories/Ampex%20Mirasound%20case%20history.pdf

The Steve Hoffman site that is linked in the above answer (and which was also my starting point) does suggest many possibilities. However, most of them are unsubstantiated, unverified and, without any references, leaves us no closer to an answer. https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/what-was-the-first-16-track-recording.204244/page-4

I would think that Charrells is a fairly certainly a mis-spelling of Shirelles. A bit too close to each other to avoid legal problems. Another good contender for first recording could be Vanilla Fudge according to https://soulfuldetroit.com/archives/1/650.html?1023373600 if the poster really is Bob D'Orleans, and he seems to be well accepted there as such. What the song was, I don't know. I'll leave it to someone else to dig further into that. The linked page is rather long, but if you do a search in the page for 'vu meter' it could help. The poster described the lashing up of the first 16 track machine, and Vanilla Fudge being invited in to test it on (what band would turn down a free recording session?).

Many thanks to Baloo55th for finding and providing the excellent link to the post credited to Bob D'Orleans in the Detroit thread. D'Orleans worked for Bell Sound, with some part-time work at Mirasound, when he was hired as the builder and general manager of "Golden World" studios in Detroit around 1964 and tried to buy Golden World in 1966 (but was outbid by Berry Gordy). He then moved back to NYC and took over as GM of Mirasound, moving on in 1969 (as per the Billboard link below). In reviewing this thread, it definitely sounds like him (including having moved to Vegas). For those curious about D'Orleans' career, here are a couple of links:
https://soulfuldetroit.com/web07-golden%20world/golden%20world%20story/24-gw-bobdorleans.htm
https://books.google.com/books?id=xykEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA4&lpg=PA4&dq=bob+d%27orleans+mirasound&source=bl&ots=s_kdSXoKs1&sig=ACfU3U1ooK1To_wOduYWdyJG6Vj4PwMYYA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj3wOLLkM3pAhXamHIEHahhAtQQ6AEwAnoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=bob%20d'orleans%20mirasound&f=false

So, if we treat this as authentic, we know that Vanilla Fudge was recoding its second album (which would ultimately be released as its third, "Renaissance") when this opportunity came up. But I doubt that anyone outside of the members of Vanilla Fudge (or the original tape boxes, if they still exist) could tell us what was recorded in this special opportunity they were given. Now we know that Vanilla Fudge recorded a lot of its first album at Mirasound, but we also know that "You Keep Me Hangin' On" was largely recorded in mono. "Renaissance" (as well as its second released album, the disastrous "The Beat Goes On") was credited as being recorded at Ultra-Sonic Studios on Long Island, and so anything they did on 16-track would have had to be re-recorded. But . . . Vanilla Fudge's fourth album, "Near the Beginning", was credited in part to Mirasound after the band broke from producer (or, in the band's opinion, overproducer) Shadow Morton. It's likely that, if the original recording was ever used, it appears on that album -- and after all, by being recorded before the second and third albums, such a track could truly be said to have been recorded "Near the Beginning". But I can't find any discussion of this on anything connected with Vanilla Fudge, so this is only speculation fueled by the Bob D'Orleans post.

I figured from the beginning (when I posted the link) that there was no band called "Charrells" and that the name was just entered because someone who was under a different contract was recording there and didn't want it to be known through the session records. And now I think we know who that was. But knowing more would require Vanilla Fudge to tell us.

BTW, I doubt that the link to the Golden World thread that Baloo55th linked to will become dead, but I'd like to quote the relevant section of the Bob D'Orleans post here, just in case something happens to the website containing the original, because this really needs to be preserved.

Just a note to let you know the whole story about 16 track.

Bob Goldman and I went to Ampex in Redwood City to talk to them about various things. While walking through one of their warehouses, I spotted an old RCS VTR transport. Since everybody was always asking, "More tracks", I asked Leon, "Hey, you got the transport for 2" tape, why not make a 16 track recording machine." He was doubtful, but we went to R&D and hashed it over, and then the big boys ok'd it for R&D to work on it. The biggest problem was the 16 heads, mainly crosstalk. Anyhow, the first prototype was shipped to Mirasound, by then in the Henry Hudson Hotel. Now, what do you do for a console. We took a piece of beaver board, cut 16 slots in it, put 16 cheap faders in them, wired the output directly to the machine. I called a band I worked with before, Vanilla Fudge, and asked them if they would like to come in and records whatever they wanted, using the new 16 track, at no cost. They did and, as they say, the rest is history.

Couple of aside notes.
As you know the VU meters on the previous machines were lined up vertically
1
2
3
4 ETC

When I played back the first time, reading the VU meters on the machine, the reading looked funny. I usually put the bass on 1, bass drum on 2, and so forth. When I read the VU's on the machine I realized that the R&D had done them horizontally.
1 2
3 4 etc

The other was when the Vanilla Fudge asked me to splice. There was no cutting block available for 2" tape, but thank God I had come from the old, old school when there weren't splicing blocks. Make your marks for the splice, align the marks together, demagnetized scissors, make diagonal cut, using 1" splicing tape, splice it together, it wasn't pretty but it worked.