The Heart of Rock and Soul by Dave Marsh

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The Heart of Rock and Soul by Dave Marsh 90 LOVE IS STRANGE, Mickey and Sylvia Produced by Bob Rolontz; written by Ethel Smith [Bo Diddley] Groove 0175 1957 Billboard: #11 Mickey Baker's middle name was "Guitar," or anyway that's how they billed the tough, red-headed Kentuckian as one of the leaders of the great band featuring saxophonists Sam "The Man" Taylor and King Curtis that dominated New York's R&B recording scene in the fifties. Sylvia - Little Sylvia, she was originally called - was a lot younger than Mickey but she convinced him to teach her guitar. It was also Sylvia's idea that she and Mickey should form a team (although he swears he couldn't convince her to make their relationship more intimate, which suggests something about the veracity of things that happened later). They hooked up musically sometime in 1955. Their manager persuaded Bob Rolontz, a former Billboard reporter running Groove Records, RCA's R&B label, to sign them up. They came up with "Love is Strange" at their second session. Allegedly, they were given the song by Ethel Smith, Bo Diddley's wife. Maybe they were, but Smith didn't write it. Bo did. He didn't want to cut it himself because he was pissed off at his music publishers because they never gave him enough money, so he passed the song along. Rolontz at first thought the concept was crazy, especially because they wanted a children's chorus to sing the refrain, then insisted that the duo sing it themselves and rehearse the number with unheard-of thoroughness. When they knew what they wanted to do, instead of going in and cutting live, he began to overdub, building up the guitar parts through multitracking and repeated rerecordings. The staid RCA engineers told Rolontz he was crazy. He told them to shut up. The result is the most polished version of the Bo Diddley beat ever pieced together. It's also simultaneously among the most erotic and the most comic records ever made - where the emphasis falls sort of depends on how you take the "How do you call your lover boy?" bit. There's no reason you can't have it both ways, though. After all, horny as he may be, Mickey sounds like one suave fella as he invites Sylvia's enticements. And earthy as Sylvia may be, she also sounds like she's about to dissolve into giggles any second. The record was a smash, but not only love is strange. Mickey Baker, the first great rock and roll guitarist, hated the touring and the glitz and the TV shows. He loved music. So he broke up the partnership and moved to Paris for twenty-five years, from whence he occasionally toured 'round the world for the U.S. State Department. as a paragon of blues guitar. Sylvia got married and became Sylvia Robinson, had another sex-schmooze hit in the disco era with "Pillow Talk" and formed Sugar Hill Records to give her son a place to record the Sugar Hill Gang, guys he heard on weekends in Harlem and the Bronx. Who became the first recorded rappers - if you don't count Mickey and Sylvia. Created: October 2, 2021 at 10.49 am at http://www.lexjansen.com with FPDF 1.81 Page 1.

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Discography of the Turbo Label
The Labels of Joe and Sylvia Robinson The All-Platinum Label was formed by Joe and Sylvia Robinson, husband and wife in New Jersey in 1969. Sylvia Robinson was one-half of the duo Mickey and Sylvia of “Love is Strange” fame. George Kerr and the Robinson’s were responsible for A&R. Joe Robinson had parlayed a music publishing company that he established years before in New York into the All-Platinum, Stang, and Turbo record labels. Artists included his wife Sylvia, The Moments, Brother to Brother, Shirley and Company, Linda Jones, Jack McDuff and Chuck Jackson The labels were All-Platinum, Stang, Turbo and Vibration. All-Platinum distributed Charisma (US) which released Malcolm X recordings, More which released Eldridge Cleaver recordings and Maple which released R&B and Psychedelic. In the late 70’s All-Platinum went bankrupt. The Robinson’s then formed Sugar Hill Records in 1979 with Milton Malden and financial funding of Morris Levy, the owner of Roulette Records and pioneered Rap Music The Sugar Hill label's first record was "Rapper's Delight" (1979) by The Sugarhill Gang, which was also the first Top 40 hip hop single. Afterwards Grandmaster Flash, The Sequence, Funky Four Plus One, Crash Crew, Kool Moe Dee, The West Street Mob, and Melle Mel joined the label. Sugar Hill's in-house producer and arranger was Clifton "Jiggs" Chase. The in-house recording engineer was Steve Jerome. Al Goodman, leader of The Moments, ran the show and George Kerr was a major producer. Joe and Sylvia's sons Joey and Leland were also active in the business.
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Journal of Hip Hop Studies
et al.: Journal of Hip Hop Studies Published by VCU Scholars Compass, 2014 1 Journal of Hip Hop Studies, Vol. 1 [2014], Iss. 1, Art. 1 Editor in Chief: Daniel White Hodge, North Park University Book Review Editor: Gabriel B. Tait, Arkansas State University Associate Editors: Cassandra Chaney, Louisiana State University Jeffrey L. Coleman, St. Mary’s College of Maryland Monica Miller, Lehigh University Editorial Board: Dr. Rachelle Ankney, North Park University Dr. Jason J. Campbell, Nova Southeastern University Dr. Jim Dekker, Cornerstone University Ms. Martha Diaz, New York University Mr. Earle Fisher, Rhodes College/Abyssinian Baptist Church, United States Dr. Daymond Glenn, Warner Pacific College Dr. Deshonna Collier-Goubil, Biola University Dr. Kamasi Hill, Interdenominational Theological Center Dr. Andre Johnson, Memphis Theological Seminary Dr. David Leonard, Washington State University Dr. Terry Lindsay, North Park University Ms. Velda Love, North Park University Dr. Anthony J. Nocella II, Hamline University Dr. Priya Parmar, SUNY Brooklyn, New York Dr. Soong-Chan Rah, North Park University Dr. Rupert Simms, North Park University Dr. Darron Smith, University of Tennessee Health Science Center Dr. Jules Thompson, University Minnesota, Twin Cities Dr. Mary Trujillo, North Park University Dr. Edgar Tyson, Fordham University Dr. Ebony A. Utley, California State University Long Beach, United States Dr. Don C. Sawyer III, Quinnipiac University Media & Print Manager: Travis Harris https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/jhhs/vol1/iss1/1 2 et al.: Journal of Hip Hop Studies Sponsored By: North Park Universities Center for Youth Ministry Studies (http://www.northpark.edu/Centers/Center-for-Youth-Ministry-Studies) . FO I ITH M I ,I T R T IDIE .ORT ~ PAru<.UN~V RSllY Save The Kids Foundation (http://savethekidsgroup.org/) 511<, a f't.dly volunteer 3raSS-roots or3an:za6on rooted :n h;,P ho,P and transf'orMat:ve j us6c.e, advocates f'or alternat:ves to, and the end d, the :nc..arc.eration of' al I youth .
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