Sugar Hill Records is an American bluegrass and Americana record label.
It was founded in Durham, North Carolina in 1978 by Barry Poss and David Freeman, the owner of County Records and Rebel Records.
Poss acquired full control of Sugar Hill in 1980 and owned the label until 1998, when he sold it to the Welk Music Group, owner of Vanguard Records.
Poss stayed on as president, and in 2002 was promoted to chairman.
Sugar Hill remained in Durham until 2007, when Poss moved the label to Nashville, Tennessee.
Among the many notable artists who have released albums on the label are Nickel Creek, Doc Watson, Townes Van Zandt, Ricky Skaggs, Guy Clark, Robert Earl Keen, Sam Bush and Dolly Parton.
One of Parton's albums for Sugar Hill, Halos & Horns (2002), included a song called "Sugar Hill", which she wrote as a tribute to the label.
In 2008, Welk Music Group appointed EMI as distributor of its labels including Sugar Hill.
In 2006, Sugar Hill executive Barry Poss won a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Americana Music Association.
The label was acquired by Concord Bicycle Music in April 2015.Billboard "Concord and Bicycle Merge to Form Concord Bicycle Music, Acquires Vanguard and Sugar Hill Records", Billboard.com, 1 April 2015
It is not related to the hip hop label of the same name.
Grammy Awards for Best Bluegrass Album
1992 – Spring Training, Carl Jackson and John Starling
1994 – Waitin' for the Hard Times to Go, Nashville Bluegrass Band
1995 – The Great Dobro Sessions, Jerry Douglas and Tut Taylor (producers)
1996 – Unleashed, Nashville Bluegrass Band
1997 – True Life Blues: The Songs of Bill Monroe, Todd Phillips (producer)
2001 – The Grass Is Blue, Dolly Parton, Steve Buckingham (producer) and Gary Paczosa (engineer/mixer); Parton's first release on the label
2006 – The Company We Keep, Del McCoury Band
Other Grammys
2002 – "Shine", from Little Sparrow, Dolly Parton, Best Female Country Vocal Performance
2003 – This Side, Nickel Creek, Alison Krauss (producer), and Gary Paczosa (engineer/mixer), Best Contemporary Folk Album
2006 – Fiddler's Green, Tim O'Brien, Best Traditional Folk Album
2007 – "Whiskey Before Breakfast", from Not Too Far from the Tree, Bryan Sutton and Doc Watson, Best Country Instrumental Performance
2010 – "Hummingbyrd" from Ghost Train: The Studio B Sessions, Marty Stuart, Best Country Instrumental Performance
Roster
Terry Allen
Acoustic Syndicate
Pat Alger
Mike Auldridge
Austin Lounge Lizards
Bad Livers
Riley Baugus
Black Prairie
Byron Berline
Alan Bibey
Blue Rose
Boone Creek
Sarah Borges
Ronnie Bowman
Brother Boys
Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown
Sam Bush
BlueRidge
California
Chesapeake
Guy Clark
Dudley Connell
Country Gentlemen
John Cowan
Dan Crary
Mike Cross
Rodney Crowell
The Deep Dark Woods
Grey DeLisle
Don Dixon
Donna the Buffalo
Jerry Douglas
Casey Driessen
John Duffey
The Duhks
Jonathan Edwards
Sara Evans
Cathy Fink
Front Range
The Gibson Brothers
Good Ol' Persons
The Gourds
Pat Green
The Greencards
David Grisman
Aubrey Haynie
Chris Hillman
Hot Rize
Randy Howard
Walter Hyatt
Infamous Stringdusters
Carl Jackson
Wanda Jackson
Sarah Jarosz
Jewel
Joey + Rory
Marti Jones
Kathy Kallick
Robert Earl Keen
King Mackerel
Kukuruza
Barbara Lamb
Sonny Landreth
Grey Larsen
Laurel Canyon Ramblers
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
Albert Lee
Lonesome River Band
Lonesome Standard Time
Mike Marshall & Chris Thile
Kathy Mattea
Del McCoury Band
James McMurtry
Metamora
Scott Miller
Jim Mills
Moe
Allison Moorer
Jimmy Murphy
Mutual Admiration Society
Nashville Bluegrass Band
Bobbie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Tara Nevins
New Grass Revival
Nickel Creek
Mollie O'Brien
Tim O'Brien
Maura O'Connell
Osborne Brothers
David Parmley
Dolly Parton
Tom Paxton
Johnny Paycheck
Herb Pedersen
Positive Force
Dirk Powell
Psychograss
Railroad Earth
Ranch Romance
Reckless Kelly
Red Clay Ramblers
Red Stick Ramblers
Lou Reid
Tony Rice
Don Rigsby
Peter Rowan
Kevin Russell's Junker
Martha Scanlan
Darrell Scott
Seldom Scene
Sammy Shelor
Ricky Skaggs
Connie Smith
Corey Smith
Kenny Smith
John Starling
Marty Stuart
Bryan Sutton
Sweethearts of the Rodeo
Chris Thile
Trapezoid
Greg Trooper
Uncle Kracker
Uncle Walt's Band
Sally Van Meter
Townes Van Zandt
Sean Watkins
Doc Watson
Merle Watson
Don Williams
Brian Wright
Lee Ann Womack (Former, transferred to ATO Records)
See also
List of record labels
Welk Music Group
Ranwood Records
Vanguard Records
1978 in music
1998 in music
References
External links
Official website
