Isolated from New York, Los Angeles and Nashville, the independently owned SugarHill Studios has been a virtual open mic for the sounds swirling through the honky tonks and juke joints that dot the Gulf Coast. With a history stretching from George Jones and Bob Wills to Sir Douglas Quintet and Destiny’s Child, the studio has launched dozens of national acts. And former owner Huey P. Meaux’s SugarHill recordings codified what’s become known as “swamp rock.”
But before Meaux there was founder Bill Quinn who, despite racial attitudes in the post-WWII years, opened his studio (then called Gold Star) to all comers. In a short period in 1946-47, Quinn cut classic country sides (“Drivin’ Nails in My Coffin”) and the only Cajun tune ever to make the Billboard Top 5, Harry Choates’ “Jole Blon,” a.k.a. the Cajun national anthem. But Quinn’s most important session involved then-little-known bluesman Lightnin’ Hopkins. For $75, Hopkins recorded “Short Haired Woman” in his first session for Quinn’s Gold Star label and it became a regional hit. Hopkins followed up with two tracks that made the Billboard Top 10 R&B charts. “T-Model Blues” (1948) and “Tim Moore’s Farm” (1949) established Hopkins and boosted the emerging Texas blues scene.
Current studio co-owner Andy Bradley is now writing a history of the studio and has had to rely on old books and interview material for information on the Hopkins sessions. “I interviewed Calvin Owens, who played some sessions with Lightnin’, but he can’t recall dates or players. At this point in time, it’s all second-hand. It’s such a shame no one realized the historical significance.” Though little is known of the sessions, Quinn undoubtedly sowed the seed that spawned the recording explosion of the 1950s, the golden years of Houston blues.
To read about other classic sessions and the studios that shaped them, take a look at our feature, Just For the Record.