MICKEY AND SYLVIA
Mickey & Sylvia was an American R&B duo, composed of Mickey Baker and Sylvia Vanderpool, who later became Sylvia Robinson. They were the first big seller for Groove Records. Mickey was a music instructor and Sylvia one of his pupils. Baker was inspired to form the group by the success of Les Paul & Mary Ford. They had a Top 20 hit with “Love Is Strange” in 1956, which sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA. The duo eventually bought their own nightclub, established a publishing company, and formed their own record label. Although Mickey & Sylvia disbanded by the end of the 1950s, they continued to record together on an infrequent basis until 1965. (More from Wikipedia)
Sugar Hill Records is an early hip hop label that was founded in 1979 by the married couple of Joe Robinson and Sylvia Robinson plus Milton Malden, with financial backing by Morris Levy of Roulette Records. Sylvia Robinson – often called the “Mother of Hip Hop” – was listed as the CEO of the label. She has a long R&B history dating back to the 1956 hit “Love is Strange” (co-written by Bo Diddley and Jody Williams), under the name of Mickey and Sylvia; Mickey Baker taught her to play guitar, and they worked together off and on for about a decade. The two are also known for performing back-up singing on the 1961 Ike and Tina Turner hit, “It’s Gonna Work Out Fine”. Under the name Sylvia, Sylvia Robinson later scored a #3 hit in 1972, “Pillow Talk”.
(September 2016)
