Bill Holford Explained

Bill Holford
Birth Date:	June 12, 1919
Birth Place:	Bartlesville, Oklahoma, US
Death Place:	Houston, Texas, US
Genre:	Cajun, country, hillbilly, rockabilly, R&B, gospel, humor
Occupation:	Recording engineer, record producer
Years Active:	1948-1995
Label:	Starday Records, Mercury Records, Bellaire Records, Sarg Records
Past Member Of:	Audio Company of America

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]

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.

External links

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

Notes and References

1. http://www.alfordassociation.org/ACTION/a-act46.pdf Obituary: Holford, William Dwight "Bill"; 79
2. https://books.google.com/books?id=XsvWyg1u0UwC&pg=PA132 House of Hits: The Story of Houston's Gold Star/SugarHill Recording Studios
3. https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/ebr02 Recording Industry
4. Web site: A History of the Texas Recording Industry. Gato-docs.its.txstate.edu. 21 March 2023.
5. https://uhd.contentdm.oclc.org/collection/p16725coll5/id/25/
6. Web site: Majestic |. Bopping.org. 23 November 2021.
7. Web site: Roll Over, Ike Turner. John Nova Lomax. 6 November 2014. Texasmonthly.com. 23 November 2021.
8. Web site: Harry (Jole Blon) Choates And His Fiddle – Gra Mamou (Big Mamou) / Catn' Around (1950, Shellac). 23 November 2021. Discogs.com.
9. Web site: 49.99 USD: Rare Tsu Jazz Band Funk Texas Southern University Anita Moore &. Valueyourmusic.com.
10. Web site: Illustrated David 'Honeyboy' Edwards discography. Wirz.de.
11. Web site: Five Blind Boys of Mississippi – Old Ship of Zion / In This World Alone (Shellac). Discogs.
12. Web site: 78 Record: Clarence Garlow - Bon Ton Roula (1950). 23 November 2021. 45cat.com.
13. Web site: Mickey Gilley - Slippin' And Slidin' (Peepin' And Hidin'). 23 November 2021. 45cat.com.
14. Web site: 78 Record: Rosco Gordon - Rosco's Mambo (1953). 21 March 2023. 45worlds.com.
15. Web site: Smokey Hogg – Worried Blues / Misery Blues (1950, Vinyl). Discogs.
16. Web site: Audio Company of America, Master Book, 1953-1954. Audio Company of. America. Digitalcollections.lib.uh.edu. 21 March 2023.
17. Book: House of Hits: The Story of Houston's Gold Star/SugarHill Recording Studios. 9780292783249. Bradley. Andy. Wood. Roger. March 2010. University of Texas Press .
18. Web site: Frankie Miller . 2021-11-23 . 2021-11-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211123104505/http://www.ponderosastomp.com/music_more/20161013185703/Frankie+Miller . dead .
19. Web site: Willie Nelson - Night Life. 23 November 2021. 45cat.com.
20. Web site: Willie Nelson - Texas Willie - Extended Liner Notes by Bill Dahl. Sunsetblvrecords.com. 23 March 2021 . 23 November 2021.
21. Web site: Eddie Noack "Wanderin' Oakie". Bopping.org. 11 October 2010.
22. Web site: Little Junior Parker - Driving Me Mad. 23 November 2021. 45cat.com.
23. Web site: Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton – Hound Dog (1964, Vinyl). 23 November 2021. Discogs.com.
24. Web site: A History of the Texas Recording Industry. Gato-docs.its.txstate.edu. November 23, 2021.
25. Web site: Hop Wilson liner notes. Sundayblues.org. 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
27. Oral History snippet, ACA, Sonny Ray Stolz (né Rae Roy Stolz; born 1946), self-published, Houston, August 21, 2013