On April 30th, 1957, rap pioneer, recording artist, poet, born-again Christian, painter, rapper, sketch artist, and member of the rap trio known as The Sugarhill Gang-Wonder Mike (Michael Anthony Wright) was born in Englewood, New Jersey. Wonder Mike is most known for his verses on songs like Rapper’s Delight, 8th Wonder, and Apache. Rapper’s Delight is the first official rap record to be released, and he sparks it off with
"I said a hip, hop, the hippie, the hippie to the hip hop hoppa, ya don’t stop rockin’, to the bang-bang boogie, said up jump the boogie to the rhythm of the boogie the beat…"
Pretty much anyone who’s familiar with the genre of rap-lovers, haters, and those that are indifferent-know this verse as well as the song. Wonder Mike said "Hello to the Black, to the White, the Red and the Brown, the Purple and Yellow."
"I said a hip, hop, the hippie, the hippie to the hip hop hoppa, ya don’t stop rockin’, to the bang-bang boogie, said up jump the boogie to the rhythm of the boogie the beat…"
Pretty much anyone who’s familiar with the genre of rap-lovers, haters, and those that are indifferent-know this verse as well as the song. Wonder Mike said "Hello to the Black, to the White, the Red and the Brown, the Purple and Yellow."
"Now what you here is not a test, I’m rapping to the beat. And me, the groove and my friends are gonna try to move ya feet."
He relayed to the crowd what was about to happen to them; and if you're not sold on the first few bars of this song-then you’ll never be sold. He probably has one of the best intros to a 14-minute song that I’ve ever heard. It’s fun, simple, to the point, and extremely rhythmic. Wonder Mike signed to Sylvia Robinson’s Sugarhill Records imprint in 1978. A chance association with her son brought the opportunity for him to recruit Big Bank Hank (who he wrote rhymes for), and Master Gee (who also wrote rhymes for Hank), to be the other two members of 'The Gang.’ Rapper's Delight was released in 1979. Based off the Chic groove Good Times, it quickly shot up the R&B and Pop charts (worldwide). Wonder Mike is 61 today.
He relayed to the crowd what was about to happen to them; and if you're not sold on the first few bars of this song-then you’ll never be sold. He probably has one of the best intros to a 14-minute song that I’ve ever heard. It’s fun, simple, to the point, and extremely rhythmic. Wonder Mike signed to Sylvia Robinson’s Sugarhill Records imprint in 1978. A chance association with her son brought the opportunity for him to recruit Big Bank Hank (who he wrote rhymes for), and Master Gee (who also wrote rhymes for Hank), to be the other two members of 'The Gang.’ Rapper's Delight was released in 1979. Based off the Chic groove Good Times, it quickly shot up the R&B and Pop charts (worldwide). Wonder Mike is 61 today.
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On April 30th, 1983, we lost seminal Bluesman, singer, guitarist, folk/spiritual musician, songwriter, Chicago Blues pioneering inventor, and Chess Records recording artist-Muddy Waters (McKinley Morganfield). TOV has covered the artist in a number of posts, including his birthday of April 4th, 1913. Please refer to them for more information. Muddy is a musical legend, most known for innovating The Chicago Blues Sound, and being a major influence in the psychedelic/blues rock movement of the 1960's. The Blues and Rock and Roll Hall Of Famer played at jazz festivals (Newport), and toured the country bringing them a soulful and funky rendition of the genre. He was backed by Willie Dixon (co-writer/producer/bassist), Otis Spann (piano), Elga Edmonds (drums), Little Walter (Blues Harp/vocals), and Jimmy Rogers (guitar/vocals).
The latter two, along with Muddy, called themselves The Headhunters-because they’d go to other blues bands’ gigs, and "cut heads" (they would out play them so the crowd would ask them to play instead, which was a common practice among urban musicians). Waters was sought out by The Library of Congress before he migrated to Chicago. His reputation as a Southern Bluesman was well-known-he sang spirituals that had been passed down from working in the field. After hearing his vocals on the recording, he knew his calling was music and he left Mississippi for Chicago. He became a session musician for Aristocrat Records in 1947. In 1948, he recorded I Can’t Be Satisfied b/w I Feel Like Going Home. I Can’t Be Satisfied shot up the charts, and his then-producer Leonard Chess started Chess Records in 1949. Muddy was 'the ‘franchise’ artist on the label. He was 70 years old when he passed.
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On April 30th, 2015, we lost a versatile soul singer, Rock ‘n’ Roll innovator, songwriter, composer, multiple RIAA Gold Record certified musician, and former member of The Four B’s, The Drifters, and The Five Crowns-Ben E. King (Benjamin Earl King). The Henderson, North Carolina native is most known for singing and co-composing hit songs like Stand By Me, There Goes My Baby (with The Drifters), and Supernatural Thing. His family moved to Harlem in 1947 (when he was nine). He sang in the church choir, and formed The Four B’s doo wop group. They performed at The Apollo, which is where King honed his stage performance skills. He also wrote most of their songs, and sang lead.
King joined The Five Crowns (who were consolidated into The Drfiters by their manager George Treadwell) in 1958. He didn’t write as much of their music, as he did with The Four B’s and Five Crowns. Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman at Atlantic did most of the writing. They’re biggest hits with The Drifters were This Magic Moment, and Save The Last Dance For Me. This stifled King’s creativity, so he went solo in 1960. His first single was Spanish Harlem. It did very well, but his second single-Stand By Me (co-written with Mike Stoller and Jerry Leiber) was voted as The Song Of The Century by RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America). King kept up with the times, during the 1970's, and moved his sound from soul-based pop to funk with the hit Supernatural Thing (1975). King is a musical icon! He was 76 when he passed away.
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HONORABLE MENTION: On April 30th, 1948, guitarist, singer, film/TV scorer, bassist, songwriter, composer, producer, member of The White Panther Party (WPP) & MC5 (Motor City 5)-Wayne Kramer (Wayne Kambes) was born in Detroit, MI. Kramer is most known for working with MC5 and the WPP. The band was the musical theme music for their radical left-wing organization. It was much like The Black Panther Party, which it was patterned after. Kramer and colleagues got caught up in the rock drug culture, and internal conflicts caused the band to dissolve in the early 1970's. He sobered up in the early 1990's, and returned to a successful music career. He’s 71 today.
On April 30th, 1961, one of the best point guards of all-time, former Detroit Piston (the original Bad Boys), and NBA coach- Isiah Lord Thomas III aka Zeke was born in Chicago, IL. Thomas was a first round draft pick (second overall) in 1981. He came from Bobby Knight’s hard-knock school of mental toughness and defense-both of which he excelled at for The Indiana Hoosiers. He’s unique in that he only played for one team his entire career (The Detroit Pistons 1981-1994). He’s a two-time NBA champion (1989, 1990), two-time NBA All-Star MVP (1984, 1986), and 12-time NBA All-Star. He later became the head coach for The Indiana Pacers (2000-2003), The New York Knicks (2006-2008), and Florida International University (2009-2012). Zeke is 58 today.
On April 30th, 1992, NBC aired the final episode of a historic TV sitcom, The Cosby Show. By the time the show ended, Rudy (Kiesha Knight-Pulliam) had become a teenager, Vanessa (Tempestt Bledsoe) was married, Theo (Malcolm Jamal Warner) was in college, Denise (Lisa Bonet) was the step-mother of Olivia (Raven Symone) and wife to Kendall (Joseph C. Phillips), Sondra (Sabrina Le Beauf) and Elvin (Geoffrey Owens) were married-with two kids, cousin Pam (Erika Alexander) was a live-in guest. The show was in its eighth season, which had started on September 19th, 1991. The Cosby Show had served us hundreds of great episodes between 1984 and 1992.
On April 30th, 2005, we lost a seminal Blueswoman, singer, guitarist, songwriter, and long time collaborator with Bo Diddley-Norma Jean Wofford aka The Duchess. She was the second female guitarist in Bo Diddley’s band-replacing Peggy Jones-and stayed with Diddley from 1962 to 1966. Diddley taught her rhythm guitar, and told fans she was his sister because they were so close-like family both on and off stage. She wore tight clothes at their live shows, and was featured on a lot of his album covers, including: The Originator, Hey! Good Lookin,’ and Bo Diddley & Company. She was 63 when she passed.
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