Mickey & Sylvia
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Mickey & Sylvia was an R&B duo composed of Mickey "Guitar" Baker and Sylvia Vanderpool Robinson. They were the first big seller for Groove Records.[1]
Mickey was a music instructor and Sylvia one of his pupils. The duo had a Top 20 hit with "Love Is Strange" in 1957. The song was written by Bo Diddley, (but credited to his wife at the time, Ethel Smith), and Jody Williams, who had developed the distinctive lead guitar riff. Williams had recorded the riff earlier on a song called "Billy's Blues" for Billy Stewart. Eventually the song, much more than just a riff, ended up being credited to Smith, Baker and Vanderpool.
Mickey & Sylvia continued to record together until 1965. After that, Mickey had a successful career as a studio musician. Sylvia had a huge hit (#1 R&B, #3 Pop) in 1973 with the song "Pillow Talk", and later assisted in the formation of the Sugar Hill rap label.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Shaw, Arnold (1978). Honkers and Shouters. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, pp 460-466. ISBN 0-02-061740-2.
[edit] External links
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