On June 9, 2001, the Destiny’s Child song “Bootylicious” entered the Billboard charts, on its way to being the group’s fourth number one single.
Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams were national stars by this moment, but “Bootylicious” was still a down-home affair, recorded primarily at Houston’s historic SugarHill Studios that had hosted artists from Freddy Fender to Lightnin’ Hopkins, the 13th Floor Elevators to Selena.
Destiny’s Child’s first two albums involved some sessions in Houston and Dallas, and for their third offering, Survivor, the group wanted to ensure Texas stayed in the mix. They enlisted SugarHill and its engineers Dan Workman and Ramon Morales.
The group recorded six of Survivor’s tracks there, four of which hit the top 10, and two, “Independent Women Part 1” and “Bootylicious,” reached number one.
“Bootylicious” showcased the playful pop that made Destiny’s Child turn-of-the-millennium icons. It originated with a Fleetwood Mac sample from “Edge of Seventeen,” developed into an R&B track by producer Rob Fusari. Bell Biv Devoe had been angling for it, but Fusari insisted on giving Destiny’s Child the first right of refusal.
The team had worked up some music around it, and Beyoncé would listen to the tracks on the drive to and from the Houston sessions. Then, according to Workman: “she wrote all the lyrics for it right in our studio A. Then she taught the song to Kelly and Michelle, and all three of them worked on the vocals together.”
