Charlie Fitch

Luling, Texas music promoter, producer, and owner of Sarg Records. He was born in Hallettsville, Texas in 1918. Fitch was a World War II Air Force veteran and formerPOW in Germany. He had owned a jukebox business in Yoakum before he enlisted and started another one after the war while based at Brooks Air Force Base in San Antonio. After his honorable discharge at the rank of technical sergeant in 1950, Fitch moved to Luling and opened the Luling Phonograph & Record Shop to help his jukebox operation. He then started his own record label, Sarg Records, in 1953. He recorded many local artists for his label until the late 1970s. Sarg Records is noted for producing the first recordings of Willie Nelson and Doug Sahm. Fitch had sent a demo acetate recording made by Merritt at the KBOP radio station in Pleasanton, Texas along with a demo tape of a very young Doug Sahm to Mercury Records, who declined to sign either act. He then tried to get a Capitol Records A&R scout to listen to Merritt’s song. The Capitol representative told Fitch he would come to the store to listen, but he never showed. Fitch then decided to go into the record business and release the record himself.