Sugar Hill Records (hip hop label)

This article is about the rap label. For the bluegrass music label, see Sugar Hill Records.
Sugar Hill Records
Founded 1979
Founder Joe Robinson
Sylvia Robinson
Milton Malden
Status Defunct
Distributor(s) Rhino Entertainment, BMG Rights Management
Genre Electro, Boogie, Hip-Hop
Country of origin United States United States
Location Englewood, New Jersey

Sugar Hill Records was a record label specializing in hip hop music that was founded in 1979 by husband and wife Joe and Sylvia Robinson with Milton Malden and financial funding of Morris Levy, the owner of Roulette Records.[1][2]

History

Joe Robinson had parlayed a music publishing company that he established years before in New York into the All Platinum, Stang, and Turbo record labels prior to establishing the Sugar Hill label. Artists included his wife Sylvia, of Mickey and Sylvia ("Love is Strange") fame, The Moments (Love on a Two Way Street), Brother to Brother, Shirley and Company ("Shame Shame Shame"), Linda Jones, Jack McDuff and Chuck Jackson.

Beginnings

The Sugar Hill label's first record was "Rapper's Delight" (1979) by The Sugarhill Gang, which was also the first Top 40 hip hop single. Afterwards The Sequence, Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five, Funky Four Plus One, Crash Crew, Treacherous Three, and the West Street Mob, joined the label. Sugar Hill's in-house producer and arranger was Clifton "Jiggs" Chase. The in-house recording engineer was Steve Jerome. Al Goodman, leader of The Moments, ran the show and George Kerr was a major producer. Joe and Sylvia's sons Joey and Leland were also active in the business.

Success

In the early 1980s, the Robinsons bought Levy out. They enjoyed several years of success. They also pioneered the music video, with Sylvia producing several and a young Spike Lee making his first music video for the song "White Lines" (performed by Melle Mel and The Furious Five). Joe Robinson was innovative in the business end. He was the first to introduce a cassette single. He also worked with TVS Television Network executive Tom Ficara to produce the Fresh Groove TV series to feature these music videos when MTV would not run them. The success of Fresh Groove forced MTV to establish Yo! MTV Raps, and rap music videos were now on a mainstream cable network.

Sold out

A controversial distribution deal with MCA Records ended up in protracted litigation, and, finally, the label closed down in 1986. In 1995, Rhino Records purchased all the released and unreleased masters owned by the Sugar Hill label, although they are controlled by BMG/Sanctuary Records outside of North America.[3] In 2002, Sugar Hill Studios in Englewood, New Jersey were destroyed by a fire. "Rapper's Delight," "The Message," and many other Sugar Hill hits were recorded there.

Label overviews

See also

References

  1. ↑ Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "The Sugar Hill Records Story - Various Artists - Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  2. ↑ "Record Industry Probe Examines Small N.J. Firm : East, West Coast Grand Juries Looking Into Sugar Hill Label". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  3. ↑ "BMG to acquire Sanctuary Records - including Black Sabbath catalogue". Music Week. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  4. ↑ "Various – Old School Rap - The Sugar Hill Story (To The Beat Y'all)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  5. ↑ "Various – The Best of Sugar Hill Records". Discogs.com. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  6. ↑ "Various – The Message - The Story of The Sugar Hill Records". Discogs.com. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  7. ↑ "Various – The Sugar Hill Records Story". Discogs.com. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  8. ↑ "Various – The Best of Sugar Hill Records". Discogs.com. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
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