Gold Star Records is an American

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

, which was founded in 1941.

Gold Star Recording Company and Gold Star Sound Services

Gold Star Recording Company originated as a

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...

in Houston, Texas, and was founded in October 1941 by Bill Quinn under the name Quinn Recording Company. In 1950, Quinn changed the name of the studio to Gold Star Studios and, as such, remains the oldest registered recording studio in the Southeastern United States. The studio was important in launching the careers of such artists as Lightnin' Hopkins, Harry Choates, George Jones, The Big Bopper, Eddie Noack, The Sir Douglas Quintet, Roy Head, and Freddy Fender. At that time, the operation was renowned for inventive recording equipment and its reverberation chamber room. Quinn would also release several Cajun songs on his Opera label.

Bill Quinn and Gold Star Studios

Gold Star Records featured blues, country music, (then still commonly known as hillbilly music) and cajun music. In his first few years of business, Bill Quinn also recorded radio commercials and added a novelty offering recorded birthday greetings. The most significant change was the release of its first hit record, " Jole Blon" by Harry Choates, a swing and dance tune that and became the first and only Cajun record to reach the Billboard Top Five. His local pressing plant could not keep up and he authorized other independent labels to produce copies of this record across the country, such as

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(#20-511),

Starday Starday Records was an American record label producing traditional country music during the 1950s and 1960s. History The label began in 1952 in Beaumont, Texas, when local businessmen Jack Starnes (Lefty Frizzell's manager) and Houston record di ...

(#187),

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(#1024) and the Deluxe label. Lightnin' Hopkins' "T-Model Blues" and "Tim Moore's Farm", both became top 10 national hits in 1948, helping to provide Gold Star with a string of hits throughout the late-1940s, 1950s and 1960s.Bradley, Andy. Wood, Roger. "House of Hits: The Story of Houston's Gold Star/SugarHill Recording Studios". Brad and Michele Moore Roots Music Series. University of Texas Press; 1 edition (April 1, 2010). George Jones' first hit with them was " Why Baby Why" in 1955. Six more Jones hit singles ensued such as, "What Am I Worth", "You Gotta Be My Baby", "Just One More", "Yearning", "Too Much Water" and "Don't Stop the Music", all during 1956 and 1957. The

Big Bopper Jiles Perry "J.P." Richardson Jr. (October 24, 1930 – February 3, 1959), known as The Big Bopper, was an American singer, songwriter and disc jockey. His best-known compositions include " Chantilly Lace" and " White Lightning", the latter of w ...

's hit " Chantilly Lace" was released in 1958, whilst

Johnny Preston John Preston Courville, known professionally as Johnny Preston (August 18, 1939 – March 4, 2011), was an American rock and roll singer, best known for his international number one hit in 1960, "Running Bear". Life and career Born in Port Arth ...

's " Running Bear",

James O'Gwynn James Leroy O'Gwynn (January 26, 1928 – January 19, 2011) was an American country music singer. Between 1958 and 1962, he recorded for the D and Mercury labels, charting six times on the Hot Country Songs charts. His work on the D label was p ...

's "Talk to Me Lonesome Heart" and Eddie Noack's "Have Blues Will Travel" / "The Price of Love" followed in 1959. Willie Nelson's first two songwriting hits were "Family Bible", written for Claude Gray, and the 1960 release, "Night Life", recorded by Ray Price.

1960s

The early 1960s saw the beginnings of the psychedelic Texas rock era, particularly with the release of Sir Douglas Quintet's hit song " She's About a Mover", and "Treat Her Right" by Roy Head and The Traits. In January 1968, Quinn approved the leasing of Gold Star masters which were associated with the success behind " Treat Her Right" hitting No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and "She's About A Mover" reaching the No. 13. The studio continued to attract more psychedelic rock bands including

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, Red Krayola, The Bubble Puppy, The Continental Five, The Bad Seeds, The Moving Sidewalks and Zakary Thaks.

B.J. Thomas Billy Joe Thomas (August 7, 1942 – May 29, 2021) was an American singer widely known for his pop, country and Christian hits of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Popular songs by Thomas include "Hooked on a Feeling" (1968), "Raindrops Keep Fallin' ...

also recorded a portion of his album, ''Tomorrow Never Comes'', during that time.

Present day

Gold Star Sound Services extended expansion in 1983 following the addition of a specialized recording room, Foam Box Recordings, under the direction with Joe Hardy and G.L. G-Mane Moon, heading up the production and engineering group. Gold Star Sound Services currently produces state-of-the-art product with online entries, and extreme hi-fidelity sound production innovations.

Legacy

In 1983, Gold Star enjoyed an uplift when the marque, purchased by Billy Gibbons, continued operation under the direction of Willie D Workman. Workman later partnered to lead the way with the RAD Audio Company, with studio engineers, Andy Bradley and Rodney Meyers. The association branched out to support the Houston scene, evolving with

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, Robert Minot, Ann-Margret, Solange Knowles, Brian McKnight, Twista, Smash Mouth,

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, Kelly Rowland, Michelle Williams, Hubert Laws, Clay Walker and Calvin Owens.

References

{{Authority control Defunct record labels of the United States American country music record labels Record labels established in 1941 Gold Star Records artists