Sugar Hill Records was the name of a rap music record label

Record label

In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

 that was founded in 1979 by husband and wife Joe

Joseph Robinson

Joseph Robinson may refer to:*Joseph Robinson , judge and politician in Prince Edward Island*Joseph Taylor Robinson , Democratic United States politician...

 and Sylvia Robinson

Sylvia Robinson

Sylvia Robinson was an American singer, musician, record producer, and record label executive, most notably known for her work as founder/CEO of the hip hop label Sugar Hill Records. She is credited as the driving force behind two landmark singles in the genre...

 with Milton Malden and financial funding of Morris Levy

Morris Levy

Morris Levy was an American music industry executive, best known as the founder and owner of Roulette Records...

, the owner of Roulette Records

Roulette Records

Roulette Records is an American record label, which was founded in late 1956, by George Goldner, Joe Kolsky, Morris Levy and Phil Khals, with creative control given to producers and songwriters Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore. Levy was appointed as director...

.

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

Shame, Shame, Shame (Shirley & Company song)

"Shame, Shame, Shame" is a 1974 hit song written by Sylvia Robinson and performed by American disco band Shirley & Company. The single hit number one on the soul singles chart for one week, and number one on the disco/dance charts for four weeks.The track was one of the first international disco...

"), Linda Jones, Jack McDuff and Chuck Jackson.

Beginnings

The Sugar Hill label's first record was "Rapper's Delight

Rapper's Delight

"Rapper's Delight" is a 1979 single by American hip hop trio The Sugarhill Gang. While it was not the first single to feature rapping, it is generally considered to be the song that first popularized hip hop in the United States and around the world. The song's opening lyric "I said a hip hop, a...

" (1979) by The Sugarhill Gang

The Sugarhill Gang

The Sugarhill Gang is an American hip hop group, known mostly for their 1979 hit, "Rapper's Delight", the first hip hop single to become a Top 40 hit. The song uses the instrumental track from the classic hit "Good Times" by Chic as its foundation....

, which was also the first Top 40 hip hop

Hip hop music

Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...

 single. Afterwards The Sequence

The Sequence

The Sequence is a former female old school hip hop trio signed to the Sugar Hill label in the early-1980s. The group consisted of Cheryl Cook , Gwendolyn Chisolm , and lead singer/rapper Angie Brown Stone...

, Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five

Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five was an influential American hip-hop group formed in the South Bronx of New York City in 1978. Composed of one DJ and five rappers Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five was an influential American hip-hop group formed in the South Bronx of New York City in...

, Funky Four Plus One

Funky Four Plus One

Funky Four Plus One was the first Hip-Hop/Rap group from The Bronx, New York, United States to receive a recording deal. They were notable for having a female MC, and were the first rap group to perform live on a national television broadcast...

, Crash Crew, Treacherous Three

Treacherous Three

The Treacherous Three was a pioneering hip hop group that was formed in 1978 and consisted of DJ Easy Lee, Kool Moe Dee, L.A. Sunshine, Special K and Spoonie Gee , with occasional contributions from DJ Dano B, DJ Reggie Reg and DJ Crazy Eddie...

, and the West Street Mob

West Street Mob

West Street Mob were a boogie and electro music trio, active between 1981 and 1984, best known for their 1983 song "Break Dance – Electric Boogie". The band comprises Joey Robinson, Jr...

, 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

Al Goodman (singer)

Willie Albert "Al" Goodman was an American singer who performed as part of the musical trio Ray, Goodman & Brown, a group that was earlier called The Moments and was known for their songs "Love on a Two-Way Street", "Sexy Mama" and "Look at Me " as The Moments and later, "Special Lady" after...

, leader of The Moments

Ray, Goodman & Brown

Ray, Goodman & Brown is an American R&B vocal group. The group originated as The Moments, who formed in the mid-1960s and whose greatest successes came in the 1970s with hits including "Love on a Two-Way Street", "Sexy Mama" and "Look at Me "...

, 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, including 26 Gold Records. They also pioneered the music video, with Sylvia producing several and a young Spike Lee

Spike Lee

Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983....

 making his first video production depicting the White Lines record (performed by Melle Mel and The Furious Five). Joe Robnison 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

Yo! MTV Raps

Yo! MTV Raps was a two-hour American television music video program, which ran from August 1988 to August 1995 through its original Yo! MTV Raps name and later by Yo! . The program was the first hip hop music show on the network, based on the original MTV Europe show, aired one year earlier. The U.S...

, and rap music videos were now on a mainstream cable network.

Sold out

However, a controversial distribution deal with MCA Records

MCA Records

MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...

 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.

In 2002, Sugar Hill Studios in Englewood

Englewood, New Jersey

Englewood is a city located in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 27,147.Englewood was incorporated as a city by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of...

, New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

 were destroyed by a fire. "Rapper's Delight", "The Message", and many other Sugar Hill hits were recorded there.