SYLVIA ROBINSON
Sylvia Robinson (née Vanderpool; May 29, 1935 – September 29, 2011) was an American singer, musician, record producer, and record label executive. Robinson was best known for her work as founder/CEO of the hip hop label Sugar Hill Records. Robinson is credited as the driving force behind two landmark singles in the genre: “Rapper’s Delight” (1979) by the Sugarhill Gang, and “The Message” (1982) by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five; which caused her to be dubbed “The Mother of Hip–Hop”. Robinson received a Pioneer Award for her career in singing and being the founder of Sugar Hill Records at the 11th Annual Rhythm and Blues Awards Gala in 2000. (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”.
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“Beat Street”, the debut single by Lightning Strike has true royalty among its songwriters: Melvin Glover (rapper Melle Mel of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five), Sylvia Robinson (“the mother of hip hop”), and Reggie Griffin. As recorded by Grandmaster Melle Mel and the Furious Five, “Beat Street” is the title song of the 1984 hip hop movie Beat Street, featuring a host of rap pioneers.
(September 2016)
