Sylvia Robinson was born as Sylvia Vanterpool, aka Little Sylvia (May 29, 1935 - September 29, 2011) and was an American singer, musician, record producer, and record label executive. Robinson was best known for her work as founder/CEO of the hip hop label Sugar Hill Records which caused her to be dubbed "The Mother of Hip–Hop".
She began recording music in 1950 for Columbia Record at the age of 15 under the name Little Sylvia. In
1954, she teamed up with guitarist Mickey Baker as the duo Mickey &
Sylvia. Although they split up briefly in 1959, they reunited in 1961
till Mickey moved to Paris in 1964.
In 1956, they recorded the Bo Diddley and Jody Williams written rock single, "Love Is Strange," which topped the R&B charts and reached number eleven on the Billboard pop charts in early 1957.
Also in 1956 and on the same Groove label they released the absolutely brilliant R&B stunner "No Good Lover".
Sylvia restarted her solo career shortly after her initial split from Baker, first under the name Sylvia Robbins and later on as just Sylvia. In 1966 she moved to New Jersey where she formed with her husband a soul music label, All Platinum Record.
In 1972, Robinson sent a demo of a song she had written called "Pillow Talk" to Al Green, who passed on it due to his religious beliefs, so 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.
Robinson recorded four solo albums on the Vibration subsidiary and had other R&B hits including "Sweet Stuff" and "Pussy Cat". In the 1970s, she co-founded Sugar Hill Records. In 1979 the label released the song "Rapper's Delight" performed by The Sugar Hill Gang, bringing rap into the public music arena and revolutionizing the music industry by introducing rap, scratch, and breakdance. Sylvia was also the driving force behind "The Message" (1982) by Grandmaster Flash and the Furius Five.
Robinson died on the morning of September 29, 2011, aged 76, at Meadowlands Hospital in Secaucus, New Jersey from congestive heart failure.
