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Sylvia Robinson

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For the country singer, see Sylvia (singer).

Sylvia Robinson
Sylvia
Robinson in 1976
Background information
Birth nameSylvia Vanderpool
Also known as
  • Little Sylvia
  • Sylvia
  • Sylvia Robbins
  • Shirley Robbins[1]
  • Mother of Hip Hop[2]
Born(1935-05-29)May 29, 1935[3][4][5]
Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
OriginEnglewood, New Jersey, U.S.
DiedSeptember 29, 2011(2011-09-29) (aged 76)[6]
Secaucus, New Jersey, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • record producer
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • synthesizer
Years active1950–2011
Labels
Spouse
Joseph Robinson Sr.
​
​
(m. 1959, divorced)​

Sylvia Robinson (née Vanderpool; May 29, 1935[3][4][5][7] – September 29, 2011), known mononymously as Sylvia, was an American singer and record producer. Robinson achieved success as a performer on two R&B chart toppers: as half of Mickey & Sylvia with the 1957 single "Love Is Strange", and her solo record "Pillow Talk" in 1973. She later became known for her work as founder and CEO of the pioneering hip hop label Sugar Hill Records.[8]

Robinson is credited as the driving force behind two landmark singles in the hip hop genre: "Rapper's Delight" (1979) by the Sugarhill Gang,[9] and "The Message" (1982) by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, both of which she produced. At the 11th Annual Rhythm and Blues Awards Gala in 2000, she received a Pioneer Award for her career in singing and for founding Sugarhill Records.[10] Several publications have dubbed her the "Mother of Hip Hop". In 2022, she was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Ahmet Ertegun Award category for being a major influence on the creative development of hip-hop's early successes,[11] and she is the first woman to receive the award unaccompanied by another person.

Life and career

[edit]

Early life

[edit]

Robinson was born as Sylvia Vanderpool[12] on May 29, 1935, in Harlem, New York, United States, to Herbert, who worked for General Motors,[13] and Ida Vanterpool.[3][14] Robinson attended Washington Irving High School until dropping out at the age of 14,[15] and began recording music in 1950 for Columbia Records under the stage name "Little Sylvia".

Advertisement for Little Sylvia's debut single, September 8, 1951

Early career

[edit]

In 1954, she began teaming up with Kentucky guitarist Mickey Baker, who taught her how to play guitar. In 1956, the duo now known as Mickey & Sylvia recorded the Bo Diddley and Jody Williams-penned rock single, "Love Is Strange", which topped the R&B chart and reached number eleven on the Billboard pop chart in early 1957. After several more releases including the modestly successful "There Oughta Be a Law", Mickey & Sylvia split up in 1958 and she later married Joseph Robinson. Sylvia restarted her solo career shortly after her initial split from Baker, first under the name Sylvia Robbins. In 1960, Robinson produced the record "You Talk Too Much" by Joe Jones, but she did not receive credit.

In 1961, Mickey & Sylvia recorded more songs together for various labels including their own. Their label was called Willow Records and was distributed by King Records of Cincinnati. That year, Baker provided vocals and Robinson played guitar on Ike & Tina Turner's hit single "It's Gonna Work Out Fine" which earned Ike & Tina their first Grammy nomination. "I paid for the session, taught Tina the song; that's me playing guitar," Robinson said in a 1981 interview with Black Radio Exclusive.[16]

In 1964, frustrated with the music business, Baker moved to Paris.

In 1966, the Robinsons moved to New Jersey where they formed a soul music label, All Platinum Records, the following year, with artist Lezli Valentine, formerly of the Jaynetts, bringing the label its first hit with "I Won't Do Anything". In 1968, the duo signed a Washington, D.C. act named The Moments, who immediately found success with "Not on the Outside". Within a couple of years and with a new lineup, the group scored their biggest hit with "Love on a Two-Way Street" (1970), which Sylvia co-wrote and produced with Bert Keyes and (uncredited) lyrics by Lezli Valentine. Other hits on the label and its subsidiaries, including Stang and Vibration, included Shirley & Company's "Shame, Shame, Shame" (1975), The Moments' "Sexy Mama" and "Look at Me (I'm in Love)", Retta Young's "(Sending Out An) S.O.S." (1975), and the Whatnauts/Moments collaboration, "Girls". Robinson co-wrote and produced many of the tracks, although later she was supported by two members of The Moments, Al Goodman and Harry Ray, as well as locally based producers, George Kerr and Nate Edmonds.

Solo career

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Billboard advertisement, March 24, 1973

In 1972, Robinson sent a demo of a song she had written called "Pillow Talk" to Al Green. When Green passed on it due to his religious beliefs,[17] Robinson decided to record it herself, returning to her own musical career. Billed simply as Sylvia, the record became a major hit, reaching number-one on the R&B chart and crossing over to reach the US Billboard Hot 100 (#3), while also reaching #14 on the UK Singles Chart in the summer of 1973. She was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in May 1973, and earned a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 1974 Grammy Awards.[17] "Pillow Talk"'s subtly orgasmic gasps and moans predated those of the 1975 Donna Summer song "Love to Love You Baby".[18] Reviewing Robinson's 1973 debut LP (also titled Pillow Talk), Robert Christgau wrote in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981) that it is "Let's Get It On without production values. Call it underdeveloped if you want; I'll mention that it's unaffected. Including the best peace lyric heard lately, entitled 'Had Any Lately?'"[19]

Robinson recorded four solo albums on the Vibration subsidiary[20] and had other R&B hits including "Sweet Stuff" and "Pussy Cat". "Pillow Talk"[21] was a soulful medium dance number.

Sugar Hill Records

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In the 1970s, the Robinsons founded Sugar Hill Records. The company was named after the culturally rich Sugar Hill area of Harlem, an affluent African-American neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City, known as a hub for artists and performers in the early and mid-1900s.[22][23] The song "Rapper's Delight" (1979), performed by The Sugar Hill Gang, brought rap into the public music arena by attaining one of the first commercially successful hip hop songs[24] and revolutionized the music industry by introducing rap, scratch, and breakdance. Later acts signed to Sugar Hill Records included all-female rap/funk group The Sequence, featuring a teenage Angie Stone (recording as "Angie B"), who had a million-selling hit in early 1980 with "Funk U Up".

In 1982 Sylvia Robinson with Grandmaster Melle Mel produced the record "The Message", which was performed by Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five. [25] The record discussed life in the ghetto and became one of the most influential tracks of the hip-hop genre.[25] On December 5, 2012, Rolling Stone selected "The Message" as one of the "50 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time". In order for Rolling Stone to compose this list, the publication asked 33 different artists and experts from every genre of music including Busta Rhymes, Boots Riley, from the Coup, Mike Diamond, from the Beastie Boys and Talib Kweli.[26] Once the votes were in, "The Message" was placed in the number 1 spot on the list.[26] Grandmaster Flash stated, "And when that project was on the slate to be done--The Message, I'm talking about--she would ask us for a period of time about doing a record having to do with the real life things that happen in the 'hood. And we kind of ducked it for a minute."[27] Without Sylvia Robinson's insistence and pressure there would be no "The Message". This was the first record of its kind, where the DJ who was the cornerstone of hip hop at the time (1980s) was not involved in creating a track that they performed.[27]

Sugar Hill Records folded in 1985 due to changes in the music industry, the competition of other hip-hop labels such as Profile and Def Jam and also financial pressures. Robinson, who had by now divorced Joe Robinson,[28] continued her efforts as a music executive, forming Bon Ami Records in 1987. The label was noted for signing the act The New Style, who later left and found success as Naughty by Nature.

Personal life

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Robinson was married to businessman Joseph Robinson Sr. from May 1959 until their amicable divorce in the late 1980s.[29] Together they had three children, sons Joseph "Joey" Robinson Jr. (1962–2015),[30][31] Leland Robinson (b. 1965 or 1966) and Rhondo "Scutchie" Robinson (1970–2014).[32] Robinson owned a bar in Harlem, New York named "Joey's Place" after her husband in the 1960s.[33] Robinson also owned another New York bar and nightclub named the Blue Morocco during the mid-1960s.[34]

Death

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Robinson died on the morning of September 29, 2011, at the age of 76, at Meadowlands Hospital in Secaucus, New Jersey due to congestive heart failure.[14][35]

[edit]

Biopic

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In 2014, producer Paula Wagner acquired the film rights to Robinson's life story from her son, Joey Robinson, an executive at Sugar Hill Records.[39] Joey (who died in July 2015)[30] was scheduled to executive produce and serve as a consultant on the project, along with rapper Grandmaster Melle Mel, while music executive Robert Kraft was to co-produce the film along with Stephanie Allain.[40][41] In October 2015, Warner Bros. announced that it would be the studio producing the film, and that Malcolm Spellman and Carlito Rodriguez, two of the writers on Empire, were writing the script.[40] In October 2018, it was announced that Wagner and Warner Bros. were still moving forward with the film, Spellman and Rodriguez had been joined by Tracy Oliver in completing the script, Justin Simien had been attached as the director, and that Oliver would join Robinson's son Leland as executive producers.[42]

Discography

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See also: Mickey & Sylvia § Discography

Studio albums

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List of studio albums, with selected chart positions
Title Details Peak chart positions
US
[43] 		US R&B
[44]
Pillow Talk 70 16
Sweet Stuff
  • Released: 1975
  • Label: Vibration
  • Formats: LP, CD
 — —
Sylvia
  • Released: 1976
  • Label: Vibration
  • Format: LP
 — —
Lay It on Me
  • Released: 1977
  • Label: Vibration
  • Format: LP
 — —
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Compilation albums

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List of compilation albums, with selected details
Title Details
Pillow Talk
  • Released: 1991
  • Label: K West
  • Format: CD
The Queen of Sexy Soul
  • Released: 1991
  • Label: P-Vine
  • Format: CD
Queen & King of Sweet N.J.
(with George Kerr)
  • Released: 1991
  • Label: P-Vine
  • Format: LP
The Greatest Hits
  • Released: 1994
  • Label: Sugar Hill
  • Formats: CD, cassette
Pillow Talk: The Sensual Sounds of Sylvia
  • Released: August 20, 1996
  • Label: Rhino
  • Formats: CD, cassette
Pillow Talk: The Best of Sylvia
  • Released: 22 April 1997
  • Label: Deepbeats
  • Format: CD
The Best of Sylvia

Singles

[edit]
List of singles, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
US
[45] 		US R&B
[46] 		AUS
[47] 		CAN IRE NZ
[48] 		UK
[49]
"Little Boy"[A] 1951 — — — — — — — Non-album singles
"I Went to Your Wedding"[A] 1952 — — — — — — —
"I Found Somebody to Love"[A] — — — — — — —
"A Million Tears"[A] — — — — — — —
"The Ring"[A] 1953 — — — — — — —
"Fine Love"
(with Mickey Baker and His Band)[B] 		1954 — — — — — — —
"Frankie and Johnny"[C] 1960 — — — — — — —
"Don't Let Your Eyes Get Bigger Than Your Heart"[C] 1964 — — — — — — —
"Our Love"[C] — — — — — — —
"Oo-Wee Baby"[D] 1967 — — — — — — —
"I Can't Help It" — — — — — — —
"Have You Had Any Lately?"[D] 1970 —[E] — — — — — —
"Lieutenant (Had Any Lately?)"[F] 1971 — — — — — — —
"Pillow Talk" 1973 3 1 59 3 18 15 14 Pillow Talk
"Didn't I" 70 21 — — — — —
"Soul Je T'aime"
(with Ralfi Pagan) 		99 39 — — — — — Sweet Stuff
"Alfredo" — 62 — — — — —
"Private Performance" — — — — — — —
"Sweet Stuff" 1974 —[G] 16 — — — — —
"Sho Nuff Boogie (Part 1)"
(with the Moments) 		80 45 — — — — —
"Easy Evil" — 68 — — — — — Non-album singles
"Gimme a Little Action" — — — — — — —
"Pussy Cat" 1975 — — — — — — — Sweet Stuff
"L.A. Sunshine" 1976 — 54 — — — — — Sylvia
"We Can't Hide It Anymore"
(with Chuck Jackson) 		1977 — — — — — — — Non-album single
"The Lollipop Man (Kojak-Theme '77)" — — — — — — — Lay It on Me
"Lay It on Me" — 65 — — — — —
"Automatic Lover" 1978 — 43 — — — — — Non-album singles
"It's Good to Be the Queen" 1982 — 53 — — — — —
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d e Credited as Little Sylvia.
  2. ^ Credited as "Little" Sylvia Vanderpool.
  3. ^ a b c Credited as Sylvia Robbins.
  4. ^ a b Credited as Sylvia Robinson.
  5. ^ "Have You Had Any Lately?" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number 102 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.[50]
  6. ^ Credited as Mother of Three.
  7. ^ "Sweet Stuff" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number 105 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.[51]

References

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  1. ^ "Broke Up $3,500 Song To Start Anew". Google Books. JET Magazine/Johnson Publishing Company. October 8, 1959. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  2. ^ "Sylvia Robinson – 'Mother of Hip-Hop' Dead at 75". Tmz.com. September 29, 2011. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c Bob L. Eagle, Eric S. LeBlanc (2017). Blues: A Regional Experience. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9780313344244. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Leland Robinson Sr". Instagram. May 29, 2017. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  5. ^ a b "Leland Robinson Sr. (@ lelandrobinson.nj)". Instagram. May 29, 2017. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  6. ^ "Instagram post by Leland Robinson • Dec 26, 2016 at 12:02am UTC". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  7. ^ "Darnell Robinson (@thedarnellroy)". Instagram. May 29, 2016. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  8. ^ III, Harris M. Lentz (May 3, 2012). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2011. McFarland. ISBN 9780786469949. Retrieved October 26, 2017 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ "'Rapper's Delight'". National Public Radio. December 29, 2000. Retrieved December 20, 2010.
  10. ^ Company, Johnson Publishing (October 16, 2000). "Jet". Johnson Publishing Company. Retrieved October 26, 2017 – via Google Books. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  11. ^ "Artist: Sylvia Robinson:Ahmet Ertegun Award". www.wkyc.com. 2022. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  12. ^ "Sylvia Robinson". Cashbox Magazine News. Archived from the original on October 4, 2011. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
  13. ^ "Sylvia Robinson". Biography. Archived from the original on February 13, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  14. ^ a b James C. McKinley Jr. (September 30, 2011). "Sylvia Robinson, Pioneering Producer of Hip-Hop, Is Dead at 75". The New York Times. Retrieved October 1, 2011.
  15. ^ "Names You Should Know: Sylvia Robinson". Teamugli.com. May 5, 2014. Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  16. ^ Charnas, Davis (October 17, 2019). "The Rise and Fall of Hip-Hop's First Godmother: Sugar Hill Records' Sylvia Robinson". Billboard.
  17. ^ a b Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 338. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
  18. ^ Laing, Dave (September 30, 2011). "Sylvia Robinson obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  19. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: S". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 13, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  20. ^ Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 7th edition by Joel Whitburn; ISBN 0-8230-7690-3 (pg. 619)
  21. ^ "Pillow Talk - Sylvia Robinson - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  22. ^ "Harlem – New York City Neighborhood – NYC". Nymag.com. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved September 30, 2011.
  23. ^ "Harlem, Hamilton Heights, El Barrio, New York City". Ny.com. Retrieved September 30, 2011.
  24. ^ McKinley, James C. Jr. (September 30, 2011). "Sylvia Robinson, Pioneering Producer of Hip-Hop, Dies at 75". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  25. ^ a b Robinson, Yonaia (June 22, 2016). "Sylvia Robinson (1936-2011)". BlackPast.org.
  26. ^ a b "50 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. December 5, 2012.
  27. ^ a b Carmichael, Rodney (September 30, 2011). "How Sylvia Robinson mastered 'The Message'". Creative Loafing.
  28. ^ Charnas, Dan (October 17, 2019). "The Rise and Fall of Hip-Hop's First Godmother: Sugar Hill Records' Sylvia Robinson". Billboard. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  29. ^ Charnas, Dan (October 17, 2019). "The Rise and Fall of Hip-Hop's First Godmother: Sugar Hill Records' Sylvia Robinson". Billboard. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  30. ^ a b Christopher R. (July 14, 2015). "Joseph Robinson Jr., Sugar Hill Records Exec, Dead at 53: Son of Sugar Hill founders Joe and Sylvia Robinson played pivotal, yet contentious, role in Sugar Hill Gang's career". Rollingstone.com. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  31. ^ Billboard staff (July 14, 2015). "Sugar Hill Records Exec Joseph Robinson Dies of Cancer". Billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  32. ^ Jerry DeMarco (February 26, 2014). "Rhondo 'Scutchie' Robinson, youngest of Sugar Hill heirs, dies at 43". Daily Voice. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  33. ^ "New York Beat". Google Books. JET Magazine/Johnson Publishing Company. November 3, 1960. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  34. ^ "New York Beat". Google Books. JET Magazine/Johnson Publishing Company. April 20, 1967. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  35. ^ Tracy Scott (September 29, 2011). "Sylvia Robinson, mother of Hip Hop, dead". s2smagazine.com. Archived from the original on October 1, 2011. Retrieved September 29, 2011.
  36. ^ Cummings, Jozen (March 8, 2015). "Was 'Empire' inspired by these real hip-hop stars? | New York Post". Nypost.com. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  37. ^ "Sylvia Robinson: Pioneering Record Producer, Ushered in Era of Rap | Kate Kelly". Huffingtonpost.com. March 18, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  38. ^ Asante, M. K. (March 17, 2015). "Update Our Culture, Not Just Copyright Laws". The New York Times. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  39. ^ Rooney, David (August 19, 2014). "Paula Wagner Developing Sylvia Robinson Biopic". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
  40. ^ a b Rose, Lacey (October 21, 2015). "'Empire' Writers to Pen Movie About the "Mother of Hip-Hop" (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  41. ^ ionerlogan (August 24, 2014). "Sugar Hill Record's Co-Founder Sylvia Robinson Biopic in the Works". News One. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
  42. ^ McNary, Dave (October 24, 2018). "Justin Simien Directing Sylvia Robinson Biopic". Variety. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  43. ^ "Billboard Top LPs & Tape". Billboard. July 7, 1973. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  44. ^ "Billboard Best Selling Soul LPs". Billboard. July 7, 1973. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  45. ^ Peaks on the Hot 100 Chart:
  46. ^ Peaks on the R&B Singles Chart:
  47. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 303. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  48. ^ Flavour of New Zealand, 23 July 1973
  49. ^ "Sylvia". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  50. ^ "Bubbling Under the Hot 100 – Have You Had Any Lately?". Billboard. August 22, 1970. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  51. ^ "Bubbling Under the Hot 100 – Sweet Stuff". Billboard. May 18, 1974. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
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