music friday: sylvia robinson

On this date in 2011, Sylvia Robinson died at the age of 76. Robinson's career spanned several decades, being part of a #1 R&B hit in 1957 and repeating that accomplishment as a solo artist in 1973. In 1979, she co-founded Sugar Hill Records ... she was later dubbed "Hip-Hop's First Godmother".

That first hit in 1957 was "Love Is Strange" by Mickey & Sylvia:

In 1972, Sylvia sent a song she had co-written to Al Green. Al declined to record it (due, some say, to his religious beliefs), Sylvia hit the studios and, 16 years after "Love Is Strange", she had a hit with "Pillow Talk":

In 1974, another song written by Sylvia hit the top of the charts. This time, we're talking disco:

In 1979, Sugar Hill Records released its first record, featuring the best-ever use of Kaopectate in a lyric:

In 2022, Sylvia Robinson was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.