Bev Paul, Exec Who Helped Turn Sugar Hill Records Into an Iconic Roots Music Brand, Dies
variety.comChris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Bev Paul, who oversaw the Sugar Hill Records label as general manager as it became a staple of the modern roots music movement, died April 19 in Durham, North Carolina after a battle with lung cancer.
Paul served as Sugar Hill’s GM through the 1990s and, after a brief stint in management, again in the 2000s. The label won more than a dozen Grammys in the bluegrass, country and folk fields, including honors for artists like Nickel Creek, Dolly Parton, Jerry Douglas and Tim O’Brien that recorded for the company under her watch.
Other key artists she championed at the imprint included Sam Bush, Robert Earl Keen and Scott Miller. Paul sat on the board of the International Bluegrass Association for multiple terms and was among the group of professionals that joined forces to found the Americana Music Association.
In 2020, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum honored her for her contributions to the industry by selecting her as the subject of the annual Louise Scruggs Memorial Forum. (Watch the video of that forum with Paul here.) A number of artists and execs spoke with Variety about Paul’s impact on their careers, the label or the roots world. “Bev was my mentor,” says Traci Thomas, longtime manager for Jason Isbell. “She gave me a chance as a young publicist and changed my life.
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