Sugar Shack Jimmy Gilmer & the Fireballs Written by Keith McCormack. This song song written in 1962 by Keith McCormack and his aunt, Fay Voss. The song was recorded in 1963 by Jimmy Gilmer & the Fireballs at Norman Petty Studios in Clovis, New Mexico. "Sugar Shack" hit #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 (where it spent five weeks from October 12 to November 9, 1963) and on the Cashbox charts (where it spent three weeks from October 19 to November 2, 1963). Sugar Shack also hit #45 on the UK Record Retailer chart.