Founded 1979 Status Defunct | Defunct 1986 Country of origin United States | |
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Distributor(s) Rhino Entertainment, BMG Rights Management Genre Electro, Boogie, Hip-Hop Founders Sylvia Robinson, Milton Malden, Joe Robinson Artists The Sugarhill Gang, Grandmaster Flash and the Furio, Sylvia Robinson, Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel Albums The Message, Sugarhill Gang, The Treacherous Three, Cold Dog Soup, The Dark | ||
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.
Contents
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 & Sylvia fame ("who had success in the 50s with Love is Strange"), 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. Sylvia produced several music videos 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. 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.