Still currently residing in Englewood, Leland Jr. is exploring the craft of DJ'ing while continuing to help expand the Sugarhill brand. When Kerr arrived, he found Sylvia and Joe waiting for him beside a black limousine, both bedecked in white mink coats and hats. 4 on the R&B charts, No. kim white. 20 in Australia and No. Grandmaster Flash White lines (don't do it)", "Duran Duran White Lines (Don't Do It)", "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100", White Lines (Don't Don't Do It) (Sugar Hill Records single release), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=White_Lines_(Don%27t_Don%27t_Do_It)&oldid=1151491196, This page was last edited on 24 April 2023, at 11:51. Here she was still royalty her casket borne in a white carriage by two ivory-colored horses, the altar bedecked with a perfect floral replication of the Sugar Hill logo. Eseni Ellington is a first generation American "Latina" born to migrant parents from Guatemala and Brazil. [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. Born into hip hop royalty, artist and producer Darnell Roy is the grandson of the legendary Sylvia Robinson, who founded Sugarhill Records. Sign up to receive breaking news alerts from your Neuse News team. As a singer, Sylvia released five albums: Pillow Talk, Sweet Stuff, Sylvia, Lay It On Me, and Pillow Talk: The Sensuous Sounds of Sylvia. The parking lot at 96 WestSt. filled with expensive automobiles. After being denied credit as a producer, she founded her own label, All Platinum Records. In order for Rolling Stone to compose this list, the business asked 33 different artists and experts from every genre of music including Busta Rhymes, Boots Riley, The coup, Mike Diamond, from the Beastie Boys and Talib Kweli. He started experimenting with making beats at an early age after being inspired by his step-brother. In 1991, White conspired with two men to kill her husband. Sylvia Rhone, who in May was named chairman of Epic Records only the second time in history that a black woman has attained that title at a major label, the first being Rhone herself at Elektra in 1994 began her own journey by following the paths of three female executives. The climax of Sylvias rap run was White Lines, the 1983 dancefloor smash by Mel, on which Wimbish replayed the bassline from Liquid Liquids Cavern. (The writers of which, of course, remained uncredited.) It introduced the world to rap and rhyming.. Get a VIP pass to never-before-seen content, exclusive sweepstakes, and much more! Faced with the school's collapse, Sylvia returns to the North to raise funds. As long as they didnt have any access to their money. But in the mid-1980s, the game was Sugar Hills to lose, and it lost because big money had reinforced its bad habits. If she had, it might have cemented her as the first-ever black and female independent record producer to have a top10 pop hit. Sylvia has three sons, Joey, Leland. Sylvia Robinson Credits (text only) Hide Composer (6 credits) 2011 Life + Times: Empire State of Mind (Music Video) 1992 Izabella: Shame, Shame, Shame (Music Video) 1983 Grandmaster Melle Mel: White Lines (Don't Do It) (Music Video short) 1982 The Sequence: Simon Says (Music Video) Before then, she had been Little Sylvia Vanderpool, a teen artist releasing a string of minor R&B singles on the Savoy and Jubilee labels between 1951 and 1953. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/empire-writers-pen-movie-mother-833206. In 1955, the two released their first record, Im So Glad, via Rainbow Records. March 10, 2012. Most recently, Somaya has partnered with her girlfriend Lady Luck to launch a joint record label and television/film production venture, "La Rosa Ent" and "The Greatest Entertainment." She launched Bon Ami Records in 1989 with an album from an East Orange, N.J., rap group called The New Style. In 1954 she teamed up with Mickey Baker, a guitarist from Kentucky, who taught her to play guitar. Sylvia hugged Kerr like an old friend. Always looking to have a good time, Rhondo enjoys playing basketball, watching documentaries, and seeking inspiration from the travel channel. At the time, Belafonte was married to his first wife, Marguerite Belafonte, and Robinson was dating Marlon Brando. Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. She was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. After facing criticism from hip-hops pioneers for fabricating The Sugarhill Gang from three wannabe rappers, Robinson filled out her roster with genuine acts: Grandmaster Flash& The Furious Five, The Funky 4+1, The Treacherous Three. Tavius Robinson was drafted with pick 124 of round 4 in the 2023 draft class. Atticus is the Father of Jem and Scout, he sits on the Alabama State Legislature and acts as Maycomb's leading attorney. Facebook gives people the power. Kerr was promoting the record at a radio station in Virginia when Joe found him. She built the roster, signing groups like The Moments, while Joe handled the operations and scavenged for projects to promote, like a record by The Whatnauts that was bubbling at black radio. "[21], "Join Us for Cocktails & Covers at House of Blues Fridays This Summer", "Kidd Creole's fall from hip-hop icon to rock bottom", "Forum ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts CHART POSITIONS PRE 1989", Grandmaster Melle Mel & The Furious Five White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)", The Irish Charts Search Results White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)", "Duran Duran feat. What was Sylvia Robinsons net worth at the time of her death? In 1956 the duo recorded the rock single Love Is Strange by Jody Williams and Bo Diddley, which reached No. Joe, with his years in the numbers game and New York nightlife, had amassed a lifetime of relationships with Harlem kingpins like Nicky Barnes and industry operators like Morris Levy and Nate McCalla, who were both tied to the Genovese family. Forego a bottle of soda and donate its cost to us for the information you just learned, and feel good about helping to make it available to everyone. She made her first record when she was 14, backed by the veteran jazz trumpeter "Hot . But their reputation preceded them at Columbia, an internal memo cast them as the black mafia. It was, in fact, the mob to whom they turned to facilitate a pressing-and-distribution deal with MCA in the personage of a wiseguy named Sal Pisello. This first release from an album of covers [] is an exceptional effort. Sylvia had the talent and the ability for a planB songwriting and production but there was little precedent for a woman in that role. They had a way of running stuff that was like, Just give a person enough to make em happy, Wimbish told hip-hop historian JayQuan. Check out never-before-seen content, exclusive sweepstakes, and much more! (Vibration 524), "It's Good to Be the Queen" (Sugar Hill 781), Sylvia Robinson is allegedly one of the inspirations for the character, Robinson is featured on the documentary series, 1951: "Little Boy" / "How Long Must I Be Blue" (Savoy 816), 1952: "I Went To Your Wedding" / "Drive Daddy Drive" (Jubilee 5093), 1952: "A Million Tears" / "Don't Blame My Heart" (Jubilee 5100), 1953: "The Ring" / "Blue Heaven" (Jubilee 5113), 1954: "Fine Love" / "Speedy Life" (Cat 102), 1960: "Frankie and Johnny" / "Come Home" (Jubilee 5386), 1964: "Don't Let Your Eyes Get Bigger Than Your Heart" / "From The Beginning" (Sue 805), 1964: "Our Love" / "I Can't Tell You" (Sue 106), 1968: "I Can't Help It" / "It's A Good Life" (All Platinum 2303), This page was last edited on 25 March 2023, at 11:41. Sylvia White at Olympedia; This page was last edited on 27 November 2021, at 10:11 (UTC). Oh, Lover Boy! If childhood was a. [I]ts not that hard to do. Her success with Sugar Hill was historic. Do you find this information helpful? The trash was searched by investigators for evidence, officials say. All Rights Reserved. It was not only the first rap single to conquer the radio and the charts topping Billboards R&B tally and reaching No. White Sox pull Luis Robert for not hustling against Rays. The movie has been in the works since . Her father has worked for General Motors. In 1950, she began recording music under the alias Little Sylvia for Columbia Records. He didnt want the divorce to affect us.. [3], An unofficial music video was directed by Spike Lee, then a New York University film student, and starred actor Laurence Fishburne.[9]. Your donation is fully tax-deductible. It tanked, but the act resurfaced two years later as Naughty by Nature proof that Sylvia still had an eye for talent. Sylvia is related to Daniel Donnell Robinson and Jeffery D Robinson as well as 3 additional people. Sylvias epiphany birthed a million musical revelations. Robinson was born Sylvia Vanderpool on March 6, 1936, in New York City. We lost Mommy Sylvia this morning but she will never be forgotten!, Author Dan Charnas declared: Hip-hop, unlike R&B, began with a sense of black equity. Visit Billboard Pro for music business news, We Changed Culture: An Oral History of VibeMagazine, The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel. Sylvia was an uncredited producer for Ike & Tina Turner. Robinson, a former five star recruit out of Arizona's Salpointe Catholic High School, had an incredible . 1 on the R&B chart and landed No. She was famous for conceiving and producing the first successful rap record. And if he doesnt answer? However, the two quickly became infatuated with each other and ended their separate relationships. And we kind of ducked it for a minute. 2023 Billboard Media, LLC. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. This article originally appeared in the Oct. 19issue of Billboard. [4] The animosity between the two artists continued well into the future.[5]. Robinson Leland Robinson, Sylvias middle son. I made a lot of money with Sylvia and Joe, says Kerr. The late singer Sylvia Robinson also known by her stage name, Little Sylvia, was considered the Mother of Hip-Hop. That June, Sylvia White rushed her stepson to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. Therefore, at the time of her death, record producer Sylvia Robinson had an estimated net worth of $1.5 million. His grievances werent unique. www.huffingtonpost.com/kate-kelly/sylvia-robinson-pioneerin_b_6894924.html; Names You Should KnowIn Music: Sylvia Robinson, Most recently, Luck has partnered with her girlfriend Somaya Reece to launch a joint record label and television/film production venture, "La Rosa Ent" and "The Greatest Entertainment," which will house independent artists all while releasing her own album "She God" under the label side. 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. I felt like I was being threatened, he recalls. But about a quarter of the money I should have made.. The original death certificate stated the death was accidental. After White was arrested in connection with the death of her husband, her stepsons body was exhumed, finding a large skull fracture that happened weeks before his death, and the examiner ultimately determined that it would not be possible for a 4-year-old boy to swallow a piece of dry cleaning bag as large as it had been, the examiner testified in court. Robinson was born in 1936 as Sylvia Vanderpool in New York City. Her motto in life has always been "To Live In Love, which has helped her during setbacks to be persistent and endure. Including the best peace lyric heard lately, entitled 'Had Any Lately?'"[19]. Sylvia Robinson (birth name Sylvia Vanterpool) was an American record label executive, record producer, musician, andsinger, who is best known as an artist for singles Pillow Talk and Love Is Strange., Robinson is also the co-founder and CEO of the hip-hop record label Sugar Hill Records.. The pair went to be married for 47 years before divorcing in 2004. She identified with the story more than a bit Wagner had risen from agent to producer to CEO of United Artists until a messy exit and split from her business partner Tom Cruise in 2008. Fiercely driven to be an independent woman, from a young age, Eseni had a love for entertainment and at 18 she began competing in pageants. Currently residing in Hackensack, NJ with his son, Rhondo is focused on becoming a successful entrepreneur as he continues to expand his brand. He was a military guy, says Wimbish. Select this result to view Sylvia Robinson's phone number, address, and more. In 1957, Harry and Julie got married. I put a bag over it until it stopped breathing. . The sudden success of Love Is Strange took Mickey & Sylvia to stages across the country. She was the Founder and. Is smokey Robinson partly white? The gentlemen clarified that they merely wanted to introduce Kerr to someone who could help with his record. The 85-year-old White is serving two life sentences and has been up for parole since 2005. [30] Together they had three children, sons Joseph "Joey" Robinson Jr. (19622015),[31][32] Leland Robinson (b. And all that before Sylvia Robinson created the billion dollar industry we call hip hop Text Callum McGeoch Photography Simon Di Principe http://teamugli.com/names-you-should-know-in-music-sylvia-robinson/; In addition, she was the founder of the hip-hop label Sugar Hill Records. Twitter: TheLeARobinsonInstagram: TheLeARobinson. 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. There was Florence Greenberg of Scepter/Wand Records, says Rhone. 2. Rapper Grandmaster Caz said about the song for NPR: Rappers Delight was a monumental song. Affectionately known as the Granddaughter of hip-hop, LeAnetta Robinson (a.k.a. This single had more promo releases than most bands have releases, and across this myriad of 12" and CD singles the band released more than 20 distinct remixes and edits of "White Lines", many of which were crafted by DJ Junior Vasquez. No stranger to the spotlight, Somaya started out her reality television career on Love and Hip Hop New York, which brought in over 11 million weekly viewers, and after three seasons she moved onto starring in the hit series Famously Single on E!. Its a decision that the family of Billy White, including his daughter, has been fighting ever since parole was an option for White. No kidding! Alison Cutler is a National Real Time Reporter for the Southeast at McClatchy. Rhondo Robinson died suddenly in 2014. Nice, Daddy! whereupon she made what Kerr had come to know as her signature pronouncement: Thats a motherfucking smash!. 47 on the Billboard Hot Black Singles chart in 1983. Robinson, who had by now divorced Joe Robinson,[28] continued her efforts as a music executive, forming Bon Ami Records in 1987. [25] On December 5, 2012, Rolling Stone selected "The Message" as one of the "50 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time". When she was producing The Moments, she would be in the studio with headphones dancing in front of Harry Ray or Billy Brown and open up the buttons on her blouse to draw the best performance out of them. In Somaya's free time, she enjoys connecting with her fans through social media, working on her four part business and health book series (including children's books), and running her multi-million dollar fitness brand, which includes all natural weight loss products such as the well-known tea-tox phenomenon, the Get Slim Detox Tea. Instead, Sylvia would become famous for another breakthrough: conceiving and producing the first successful rap record. "[20] Dave Sholin from the Gavin Report felt that "at first this Grandmaster Flash classic and Duran Duran seem like an unlikely pairing, but it won't after you hear the finished work. They inherited not just the enterprise, but some of the bad practices that had built it. Upon further inspection, a large piece of plastic laundry bag with no torn edges or teeth marks was removed from the childs throat. "She's arguably one of the most consequential producers and label owners of all time," Billboard magazine wrote in 1976. And by 1981, the Robinsons had cornered the market on rap records, building Sugar Hill Records into a multimillion-dollar empire with a global reach. Eseni is no stranger to television as she began her reality television career as in Lifetime's The Sisterhood: Becoming Nuns, which was a show based on young women pursuing the transition into nunhood. Soon, Kerr began spending time with Sylvia in the studio the Robinsons had built at 96 West St. in Englewood. On NBCs Steve Allen Show, their act simmered with sexual innuendo Sylvia wrapped in a sequined dress, cooing and throwing her hips at the besuited Baker. A little less high-hat here. As such, Kerr was a hustler after Joes heart. Their label was called Willow Records and was distributed by King Records of Cincinnati. Robinson was born as Sylvia Vanderpool[12] on May 29, 1935, in Harlem, New York, United States, to Herbert, an immigrant from the Virgin Islands who worked for General Motors,[13] and Ida Vanterpool. Wilson Jacobs, the school is overcrowded and severely underfunded by local white authorities. It made Sylvia Robinsons career. In 1954, she began teaming up with Kentucky guitarist Mickey Baker, who taught her how to play guitar. She wasnt afraid to be alone in the creative wilderness, says Wagner of Sylvia. While there, he worked on projects for artists such as Queen Pen, 3LW, and a budding R&B group called Sanity. The song made the Billboard Top . 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". Soon as you pissed em off, they would cut you off and ice you.. On the morning of September 29, 2011, at the age of seventy-five, Sylvia Robinson died at Meadowlands Hospital in Secaucus, New Jersey, of congestive heart failure. She found three young unknown male rappers in Englewood, New JerseyBig Bank Hang, Master Gee, and Wonder Mikeand persuaded them to improvise their rhymes and record them as the Sugar Hill Gang. 8 to the Atlanta Falcons. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 1.5 Million! 1 on the Billboard R&B charts in 1957. 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. The bassline is taken from a performance of the Sugar Hill house band (featuring bassist Doug Wimbish) covering "Cavern", a single by New York City band Liquid Liquid. Robinson's 2022 season is the only one to produce both 6.0-plus yards per rush and at least 16.0 yards per reception. [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". In 1954,Mickey Baker and Sylvia began recording together. [42][43] 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. Sylvias sonics often paralleled the Philadelphia sound 100 miles to the south, awash with sweet strings and soft vocals, but Al Greens Memphis machine was the mood she evoked in Pillow Talk, a tune she wrote with Michael Burton expressly for Green and shopped to his producer, Hi Records Willie Mitchell. Leland is responsible for the royalties and music publishing whenever artists such as Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Wale and Justin Timberlake sample music from his family's catalogue. She was 75. Sylvia and Joe Robinson started Sugarhill Records in 1979, which has been dubbed the first hip hop record label ever created. After a period of remission and then a relapse, Joe died in 2000. Sylvia Robinson, who had a hit as a singer-songwriter with the sexually charged "Pillow Talk" but was later known as one of hip-h . Rivera was born in New York City in 1951 to a . Sylvia is related to Thomas Shawn Robinson and Karen Lee Johnson as well as 3 additional people. [26] Once the votes were in, "The Message" was placed in the number 1 spot on the list. Sugar Hill Records signed many rap pioneers, including the Treacherous Three, Funky 4 +1, andGrandmaster Flash & The Furious Five. Darnell fell in love with music and began recording songs as a child at the Sugarhill studio. At Sugar Hill Records, she never dealt with the business side of things, only the creative, according to her statement: I never handled the business side I was the producer, the co-writer, the A&R person. Robinson went on to say: I was in the studio 20 hours a day.. In 1961, Mickey & Sylvia recorded more songs together for various labels including their own. Sylvia with Baker, her partner in the million-selling 1957 classic Love Is Strange, in New York, circa 1958. [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. The song was co-written by Melle Mel and Sylvia Robinson. What historian says her death should mean, This bill is a knife in the back of public education in NC | Opinion, Fayetteville police officer and his wife found shot to death at their home. Love Is Strange gave Mickey& Sylvia a forever hit that proved impossible to follow. She was the architect of their prosperity, interpolating a Bo Diddley vamp, rewriting the lyrics and adding the songs flirty repartee: Oh, lover boy Still, it was initially credited to Diddleys alias, Ethel Smith (his wifes name), likely in order for Diddley to dodge contractual commitments one woman denied credit, another used as a vessel for her husband. has been fighting the womans release ever since. She was given two life sentences and 10 years for conspiracy, WNCT reported. 37 on the Hot100 but the first to sell over a million. She could see things, says Wimbish. The members of the group consisted of Guy Master Gee OBrien, Henry Big Bank Hank Jackson, and Michael Wonder Mike Wright. Sylvia Robinson died in 2011 at the age of 75. Although Sugar Hills first records ignored hip-hops original street culture by spotlighting the rapper and demoting the DJ, Sylvia was the first to correct the slight with 1981s cut-and-scratch landmark The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel, which paved the way for the break-, loop- and sample-driven tracks of golden age hip-hop. I always like to come up with something new, something different., I just wanted to say things that women wanted to say but were afraid to., She may be one of the inspirations for the character Cookie Lyon on the TV show Empire.. (Sung) Baby/ Oh baby/ My sweet baby/ Youre the one.. Raised in the Boogie Down Bronx, by 14 she began working to help support her parents and saved what she could for her future aspirations. When Homer sees Marge's silhouette through the cabin window, Marge tells Alberto to hide in a chest at the end of the bed. LeA is an outgoing, ambitious, and eccentric singer, songwriter and dancer whom has performed at events such as NBA basketball games to The Waldorf Astoria to the United Nations International Year of Youth Conference. Subjects: African American History, People Terms: 20th Century (1900-1999) When Mitchell balked at making it a single and insisted on taking the publishing, Sylvia shelved the tape.
