Sugar Hill Records is an American
bluegrass and
Americana record label. It was founded in
Durham, North Carolina in 1978 by Barry Poss with assistance from
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,
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.