Bill Holford

William Dwight Holford, Sr. (June 12, 1919, Bartlesville, Oklahoma – March 22, 1999, Houston, Texas) was an American recording engineer and record producer. For 44 of those years, from 1948 to 1982, he was the affiliated with ACA Studios (Audio Company of America) in Houston as an owner, partner, and audio engineer.^[1][2][3] Holford also helped build studios for several labels, including Duke/Peacock, Starday, Sarg Records, and Trumpet Records.^[4]

Bill Holford
Bill Holford at ACA Studios, early 1960s
Background information
Born	(1919-06-12)June 12, 1919 Bartlesville, Oklahoma, US
Died	March 22, 1999(1999-03-22) (aged 79) Houston, Texas, US
Genres	Cajun, country, hillbilly, rockabilly, R&B, gospel, humor
Occupation(s)	Recording engineer, record producer
Years active	1948-1995
Labels	Starday Records, Mercury Records, Bellaire Records, Sarg Records
Formerly of	Audio Company of America

ACA Studios

ACA was one of the earliest multi-track analog recording studios in the country.

ACA recording artists

• Johnny Ace
• Chet Atkins^[5]
• Bobby Bland
• Bill Blevins ^[6]
• Juke Boy Bonner
• Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown
• Jewel "Teasin'" Brown
• Goree Carter^[7]
• Harry Choates^[8]
• Arnett Cobb^[9]
• Johnny Copeland
• David Honeyboy Edwards^[10]
• Five Blind Boys of Mississippi^[11]
• Lefty Frizzell
• Clarence Garlow^[12]
• Mickey Gilley^[13]
• Rosco Gordon^[14]
• Peppermint Harris
• Smokey Hogg^[15]
• Lightnin' Hopkins
• Ivory Joe Hunter
• Elmore James^[16]
• B.B. King
• The Kingston Trio^[17]
• Willie Love
• Frankie Miller ^[18]
• Willie Nelson^[19][20]
• Eddie Noack^[21]
• Junior Parker^[22]
• Webb Pierce
• Really Red
• Little Richard
• Buster Pickens
• Jimmy Swan
• B.J. Thomas^[5]
• Big Mama Thornton^[23]
• Mitchell Torok
• Ernest Tubb and His Texas Troubadours
• Big Joe Turner
• T-Bone Walker^[24]
• Tag Williams
• Sonny Boy Williamson (aka Alex Miller)
• Hop Wilson^[25]
• Johnny Winter
• Justin Wilson

Labels that recorded at ACA

• Starday Records^[26]
• Mercury Records
• Peacock Records
• D Records
• Macy's Recordings
• ACA Records
• Arcadia
• Arhoolie
• Ayo
• Bellaire Records
• Columbia
• Cullum
• Decca
• De Luxe
• Delta Records
• Duke
• Excelsior
• FBC
• Freedom
• Herald
• H.M. Crowe
• Humble
• Imperial
• Kessler
• Martin
• MGM
• Natural
• Opera Record Company
• Paula Records
• Phamous
• RCA
• Revel
• Royalty
• Sarg Records
• Special Edition
• Trumpet

Filmography

• Killing Fields (1984)

ACA audio engineers and staff

• Kay Holford (Kathleen Assaf Holford, Bill's wife) had significant managerial responsibilities for the entire life of ACA Studios.
• Hank Lam: 1968–1972; engineer
• George Holsomback; born 1947, engineer from 1973 – 1974, chief engineer 1974–1978.
• Andy Bradley (born Andrew M. Bradley; 1951), audio engineer
• Sonny Ray Stolz (born Rae Roy Stolz; 1946), audio engineer and editor, among other things, helped Holford move from ACA's temporary location at Savoy Drive in Houston into the acquired defunct studios of Jimmy Duncan's Soundville at 8208 Westpark, Houston. Soundville Studios was a division of Jimmy Duncan Productions, Inc. Stolz worked for ACA from the summer of 1972 until early 1973.^[27]
• Bill Holford, jr.

References

1. Obituary: Holford, William Dwight "Bill"; 79, Houston Chronicle, March 24, 1999; reprinted in AAFA Action (genealogical journal), Alford American Family Association (Fall 1999), Vol 12, Issue 2, p. 45 ISSN 1082-3212
2. House of Hits: The Story of Houston's Gold Star/SugarHill Recording Studios, Andy Bradley and Charles Roger Wood, University of Texas Press (2010) OCLC 610030219
3. Recording Industry, by Gary S. Hickinbotham (born 1950), Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Association
4. "A History of the Texas Recording Industry" (PDF). Gato-docs.its.txstate.edu. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
5. ^{[dead link]}
6. "Majestic |". Bopping.org. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
7. John Nova Lomax (6 November 2014). "Roll Over, Ike Turner". Texasmonthly.com. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
8. "Harry (Jole Blon) Choates And His Fiddle – Gra Mamou (Big Mamou) / Catn' Around (1950, Shellac)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
9. "49.99 USD: Rare Tsu Jazz Band Funk Texas Southern University Anita Moore &". Valueyourmusic.com.
10. "Illustrated David 'Honeyboy' Edwards discography". Wirz.de.
11. "Five Blind Boys of Mississippi – Old Ship of Zion / In This World Alone (Shellac)". Discogs.
12. "78 Record: Clarence Garlow - Bon Ton Roula (1950)". 45cat.com. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
13. "Mickey Gilley - Slippin' And Slidin' (Peepin' And Hidin')". 45cat.com. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
14. "78 Record: Rosco Gordon - Rosco's Mambo (1953)". 45worlds.com. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
15. "Smokey Hogg – Worried Blues / Misery Blues (1950, Vinyl)". Discogs.
16. America, Audio Company of. "Audio Company of America, Master Book, 1953-1954". Digitalcollections.lib.uh.edu. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
17. Bradley, Andy; Wood, Roger (March 2010). House of Hits: The Story of Houston's Gold Star/SugarHill Recording Studios. University of Texas Press. ISBN 9780292783249.
18. "Frankie Miller". Archived from the original on 2021-11-23. Retrieved 2021-11-23.
19. "Willie Nelson - Night Life". 45cat.com. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
20. "Willie Nelson - Texas Willie - Extended Liner Notes by Bill Dahl". Sunsetblvrecords.com. 23 March 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
21. "Eddie Noack "Wanderin' Oakie"". Bopping.org. 11 October 2010.
22. "Little Junior Parker - Driving Me Mad". 45cat.com. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
23. "Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton – Hound Dog (1964, Vinyl)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
24. "A History of the Texas Recording Industry" (PDF). Gato-docs.its.txstate.edu. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
25. "Hop Wilson liner notes" (PDF). Sundayblues.org. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
26. The Starday Story: The House that Country Music Built, by Nathan D. Gibson & Don Pierce, University Press of Mississippi (2011), pg. 44 OCLC 729969854, 713030310, 816834818
27. Oral History snippet, ACA, Sonny Ray Stolz (né Rae Roy Stolz; born 1946), self-published, Houston, August 21, 2013

External links

• Tribute to Bill Holford, Shroom Productions Online, Houston, Richard S. Patz (owner)