The woman that was know as the Mother of Hip-Hop for her involvement in Sugar Hill Records and the first rap hit, Rapper’s Delight, has passed away at the age of 75. Sylvia Robinson died on Thursday in a New York hospital from congestive heart failure.
Sylvia Robinson
Long before rap, Robinson was a major music star. Born Sylvia Vanderpool, she made her first record at the age of 14 while a student at Washington Irving High School in New York. Columbia Records was the first to see her talent, pairing her with trumpeter Hot Lips Page on a series of blues records. She then moved to Savoy where she recorded as Little Syliva.
Later, while recording on Cat Records, Robinson met guitarist Mickey Baker. The two began playing together and, in 1956, were signed to RCA where they recorded Love is Strange as Mickey and Sylvia. The record went to number 1 on the R&B charts in early 1957 along with number 11 on the pop chart.
Mickey and Sylvia followed with There Oughta Be a Law (1957/#8 R&B/#47 Pop) but would wait four years before their final hit, Baby You’re So Fine (1961/#27 R&B/#52 Pop). They were also the backing singers on the Ike and Tina Turner hit It’s Gonna Work Out Fine (1961/#2 R&B/#14 Pop).
The next year, Mickey Baker moved to Paris and Sylvia was left without a musical partner until 1964 when she found one for life and music, marrying Joe Robinson. In 1968, the couple started All Platinum Records which not only released new material from Sylvia, but also had hits by the Moments (Love On a Two-Way Street), Donnie Elbert (Where Did Our Love Go) and Shirley & Company (Shame, Shame, Shame) among others.
Sylvia recorded the song Pillow Talk in 1971 after first offering it to Al Green who felt it was too risque for his religion. It took two years before the record was released, but it went on to become a major hit topping the R&B chart and reaching number 3 on the Hot 100. She continued to release new singles and albums throughout the 70’s, reaching the R&B charts an additional ten times.
Even with two number 1 R&B hits on her resume, Robinson’s most significant contribution to music was yet to come. In the late-70, Sylvia and Joe partnered with Milton Malden to form Sugar Hill Records. Robinson found three guys in the same town as the label which she renamed the Sugarhill Gang and their record, Rapper’s Delight, became a major hit reaching number 4 on the R&B and 36 on the pop charts. Most significantly, the release is considered the first Rap record to have commercial success and ushered in a new genre of music.
The label released 26 records that went gold from artists like Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five (Sylvia produced their hit The Message), the Sequence, Funky Four Plus One and the West Street Mob. Joe Robinson provided new industry innovations using the label’s music including the cassette single and producing syndicated programming to stations when MTV would not air the label’s records.
Unfortunately, the label hit hard times in 1986 after litigation with MCA Records over a distribution deal drained the company funds and the ensuing problems led to the divorce of Sylvia and Joe. Sylvia went on to form Bon Ami Records and discovered the group The New Style who would later become Naughty by Nature.
Sylvia is survived by three children and a number of grand and great-grandchildren.
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