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SPEAKER_01: This Women's History Month Encyclopedia Wamanica is brought to you by Mercedes Benz. Mercedes Benz is celebrating women in high powered roles around the world and within their own company. Tune in tomorrow to hear the story of Nicolette Lambrecht, the Vice President and Managing Director of Sales and Marketing for Mercedes Benz Vans USA. Then we'll travel from the boardroom to the showroom floor to highlight a mother-daughter team, Juanita and Grené Borrenco, who run a family owned Mercedes Benz dealership.
SPEAKER_00: Hip hop, the hippie, the hippie to the hip, hip hop. You don't stop.
SPEAKER_04: Rock it to the bang, bang. I says, what is this?
SPEAKER_01: Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I'm Jenny Kaplan and this is Encyclopedia Wamanica. Today's story is about an American singer, record producer and music executive. She topped the R&B charts in her early years before founding the legendary hip hop label, Sugar Hill Records. Her pioneering work in the genre earned her the title, The Mother of Hip Hop. Let's talk about Sylvia Robinson. Sylvia Vanderpool was born on March 6th, 1936 in Harlem, New York to Herbert and Ida Vanderpool. Growing up, Sylvia loved to sing. While attending Washington Irving High School, she was discovered by a Columbia Records staffer. At the age of 14, Sylvia dropped out of high school to record music under the name, Little Sylvia. While in the recording studio, Sylvia met session guitarist, Mickey Baker and the two began working together as Mickey and Sylvia.
SPEAKER_00: Let's welcome Mickey and Sylvia, here they are.
SPEAKER_01: In 1956, the duo recorded the Bo Diddley and Jodie Williams single, Love is Strange, which topped the R&B charts and reached number 11 on the Billboard pop charts. The song was later covered by Paul McCartney, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. ["Love is Strange"]
SPEAKER_00: ["Love is Strange"] ["Love is Strange"]
SPEAKER_06: ["Love is Strange"]
SPEAKER_01: In 1961, Mickey provided vocals and Sylvia played guitar on Ike and Tina Turner's hit single, It's Gonna Work Out Fine. But after that, Mickey and Sylvia struggled to replicate their past success, and Mickey began to grow tired of the music business. The duo eventually split and Mickey moved to France. In 1964, Sylvia married real estate agent, Joseph Robinson. The pair went on to have three children. After getting married, Joseph left his career in real estate to become Sylvia's manager. In the late 1960s, Sylvia and Joseph moved to New Jersey and opened their own record label, All Platinum Records. They even built an in-home recording studio called Soul Sound Studios. Sylvia produced soul hits like the moments Love on a Two-Way Street and Shirley and Company's Shame, Shame, Shame. In 1972, Sylvia sent a demo of a song she'd written called Pillow Talk to soul singer Al Green. When Green passed on the song, Sylvia recorded it herself and scored a surprise hit. ["All Platinum Records"] ["All Platinum Records"] The song went on to earn Sylvia a nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 1974 Grammy Awards. The success inspired Sylvia to revive her singing career, and she put out four more albums throughout the decade. By the end of the 1970s, All Platinum Records was no longer producing hits and was in need of money. Sylvia was also in need of inspiration. In 1979, while attending a birthday party at a New York City club, Sylvia observed people dancing to a man talking over a record, something she'd never heard before. Unbeknownst to her, she was witnessing the very earliest days of rap music. Sylvia later said in an interview, All of a sudden, a voice said to me, If you put a concept like that on wax, you'll be out of all the trouble you're in. Using her son as a talent scout, Sylvia found three unknown rappers in Englewood and formed them into a group she named the Sugarhill Gang. The name was an homage to Sylvia's new label, Sugar Hill, which was named after a section of Harlem. Sylvia persuaded the group to record improvised rhymes over a 15-minute rhythm track adapted from Chic's Good Times. The song was rapper's delight, and it was the first hip-hop recording to become a commercial hit with more than 8 million copies sold. Sylvia and her husband Joe signed several more talented rappers to their new label, including the all-female trio The Sequence, with a member calling herself Angie B, who later went on to R&B stardom under the name Angie Stone. Other artists on the Sugarhill roster included Funky, 4 Plus 1, Spoonie G, and most importantly, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. In 1982, Sylvia produced a work called The Message for Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. The track was a groundbreaking piece about ghetto life that became one of the most powerful social commentaries of its time, laying the groundwork for the gangster rap of the late 1980s. According to Grandmaster Flash, without Sylvia's insistence and pressure, the song would not have been produced. In fact, no member of the Furious Five was involved in the creation of the song. They just performed it.
SPEAKER_00: ["The Message for Grandmaster Flash"] It's like a jungle sometimes It makes me wonder how I keep from going under It's like a jungle sometimes It makes me wonder how I keep from going under ["The Message for Grandmaster Flash"]
SPEAKER_01: Sugarhill Records continued its success until the mid-1980s, when its market share began to wane. Stiff competition, a disintegrating roster, and cash flow problems prompted Sylvia and Joe to search for corporate partners. But after a distribution deal with the large MCA label ended in a bitter lawsuit, Sylvia's long run of making hits was over. By that point, Sylvia and Joe had also finalized a divorce. So Sylvia set out on her own, forming Bana Me Records. The label was noted for signing the act The New Style, who later left and found success under the name Naughty By Nature. Sylvia's later career was marred by controversy. In 1999, she launched a lawsuit against Blaze Magazine, contending that the publication had unfairly accused her of cheating Sugarhill artists out of their proper royalties. She was also reportedly devastated by a fire that leveled the historic Sugarhill Studios in 2002. Sylvia died on September 29, 2011, due to congestive heart failure. She was 76 years old. Sylvia is remembered today for her pioneering career as a label executive and record producer, earning the deep respect of those in the industry and beyond, as the visionary who put rap music on the map. All month, we're talking about women in the driver's seat. For more on why we're doing what we're doing, check out our newsletter, Wamanica Weekly. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram at Encyclopedia Wamanica. Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator. Tune in tomorrow for a special bonus episode brought to you by Mercedes-Benz. Talk to you then! When Kamala Harris accepted her nomination as Vice President of the United States, she said, While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last. March is Women's History Month, and in honor of our first woman Vice President, and all the firsts in politics, business, the arts, and more, we are partnering with Stitcher to highlight the remarkable women firsts who paved the way. Download the Stitcher app and listen to podcasts that honor historic firsts and center women's voices like Encyclopedia Wamanica, Ordinary Equality, On Ladylike, and By the Book. You can find Stitcher for free in the App Store or at Stitcher.com slash download. Check it out!
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