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The Sugarhill Gang is an American
hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
group formed in
Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of Engle ...
, in 1979. Their hit "
Rapper's Delight "Rapper's Delight" is a 1979 rap song that serves as the debut single of American hip-hop trio the Sugarhill Gang, produced by Sylvia Robinson. Although it was shortly preceded by the Fatback Band's " King Tim III (Personality Jock)", "Rapper ...
", released the same year they were formed, was the first rap single to become a
top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...
hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, reaching a peak position of number 36 on January 12, 1980. This was the trio's only U.S. hit, though they would have further success in Europe until the mid-1980s. The trio reformed in 1994 and embarked on a world tour in 2016.


History


Formation and early years

The members, all from Englewood,
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
, consisted of Henry "Big Bank Hank" Jackson, Michael "Wonder Mike" Wright and Guy "Master Gee" O'Brien. The three were assembled into a group by producer
Sylvia Robinson Sylvia Robinson (née Vanterpool; May 29, 1935 – September 29, 2011), known mononymously as Sylvia, was an American singer and record producer. Robinson achieved success as a performer on two R&B chart toppers: as half of Mickey & Sylv ...
, who founded Sugar Hill Records with her husband, record producer Joe Robinson. The group and the record company were named after the
Sugar Hill, Harlem Sugar Hill is a National Historic District in the Harlem and Hamilton Heights neighborhoods of Manhattan, New York City, bounded by West 155th Street to the north, West 145th Street to the south, Edgecombe Avenue to the east, and Amsterdam ...
neighborhood. Their 1979 hit "
Rapper's Delight "Rapper's Delight" is a 1979 rap song that serves as the debut single of American hip-hop trio the Sugarhill Gang, produced by Sylvia Robinson. Although it was shortly preceded by the Fatback Band's " King Tim III (Personality Jock)", "Rapper ...
" was the first rap single to become a top 40 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. "Rapper's Delight" is now considered one of the most important rap songs of all time. The group never had another top 40 U.S. hit, though it had multiple European hits, such as "
Apache The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...
", " 8th Wonder" (which was performed on the American music show ''
Soul Train ''Soul Train'' is an American musical variety television show. After airing locally on WCIU-TV in Chicago, Illinois, for a year, it aired in syndication from October 2, 1971, to March 25, 2006. In its 35-year history, the show primarily featu ...
'' in 1981), "Rapper's Reprise (Jam Jam)", and "Showdown" (with the Furious Five). The trio wound down over the next five years and disbanded in 1985.


Later years

In 1990, the group briefly reunited to perform during the "RapMania: The Roots of Rap" concert at the
Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater (formerly the Hurtig & Seamon's New Theatre; also Apollo Theatre or 125th Street Apollo Theatre) is a multi-use Theater (structure), theater at 253 125th Street (Manhattan), West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of U ...
in New York City. Joey Robinson, Sylvia Robinson's son, reformed the Sugarhill Gang in 1994. The group recorded ''
Jump On It! ''Jump On It!'' is a 1999 studio album by American hip hop group the Sugarhill Gang made of children's music and was the first hip hop album made by rap artists for children. The album was the only one recorded after the trio of Big Bank Hank, ...
,'' a hip hop children's album, in 1999. O'Brien had not rejoined the group, and at some point, Robinson started performing under O'Brien's stage name "Master Gee". This frustrated O'Brien and Wright, the latter of whom—as Robinson's bandmate—had tried to convince Robinson not to use the name. Later, Robinson trademarked both the names "Master Gee" and "Wonder Mike". O'Brien and Wright went to court to retrieve the rights to their names. After Wright and Henry "Hen Dogg" Williams (a producer) left Sugar Hill Records in 2005, they reunited with O'Brien and started performing as "Rapper's Delight Featuring Wonder Mike and Master Gee". This was due to Joey Robinson's performing with Jackson under the name "Sugarhill Gang" simultaneously, and Sugar Hill Records claiming copyright to that name. Having reacquired the rights to the name "Sugarhill Gang", the group released "
Lala Song "Lala Song" is a song by French DJ and record producer Bob Sinclar, released on 3 April 2009 as the lead single from his sixth studio album '' Born in 69''. The track samples the 1979 hit "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang, featuring in fac ...
" with French record producer and DJ
Bob Sinclar Christophe Le Friant (; born 10 May 1969), better known by his stage name Bob Sinclar (), is a French record producer, DJ, and remixer. He is the owner of the record label Yellow Productions. Musical career A native of Paris, Le Friant began D ...
in 2009. On November 11, 2014, Jackson died at the age of 58 after a long battle with cancer. In 2016, Wright, O'Brien and Williams embarked on their first world tour in over a decade under the name the Sugarhill Gang. During this time they performed as the Sugarhill Gang for the Art of Rap festival tour and at V Festival in Hylands Park and Weston Park in the UK. Other places included the Clockenflap Festival in Hong Kong on November 27, 2016, and they headlined at the Depot in the Park Festival in Cardiff, United Kingdom on August 5, 2017. In July 2019, they played the North Nibley Festival in England. In 2019, the Sugarhill Gang celebrated the 40th anniversary of the release of "Rapper's Delight" and the group's formation. They went on a worldwide tour called Rapper's Delight 40th Anniversary World Tour. The gang made new music in early 2019. The tour lasted from May 24 to July 26, 2019. On October 25, 2019, the group performed "Rapper's Delight" on ''
Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', sometimes shortened to ''JKL'', is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, and broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show tapes and is based out of the Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywo ...
''. As of 2024, the group consists of Wonder Mike, Master Gee, Hen Dogg, DJ T-Dynasty and Ethiopian King.


Discography

The discography of the Sugarhill Gang includes five studio albums, nine compilations and fifteen singles.


Studio albums


Compilation albums

* ''Sugarhill Gang Greatest Hits'' (1984) * ''Boyz from Da Hill'' (1994) * ''Ain't Nothin' but a Party'' (1998) * ''Hip Hop Anniversary Europe Tour: Sugarhill Gang Live'' (2008)


Singles


See also

*
List of 1970s one-hit wonders in the United States A one-hit wonder is a musical artist who is successful with one hit song, but without a comparable subsequent hit. The term may also be applied to an artist who is remembered for only one hit despite other successes. This article contains artist ...


References


External links

*
Sugarhill Gang playlist on WaveCat

"I Want My Name Back" documentary on the Sugar Hill Gang, Featuring Master Gee and Wonder Mike

Master Gee interview

The Sugarhill Gang – Rapper's Delight (Official Video)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sugarhill Gang, The East Coast hip-hop groups Rappers from New Jersey African-American musical groups 1979 establishments in New Jersey Musical groups established in 1979 Musical trios from New Jersey Hansa Records artists Zafiro (record label) artists Sugar Hill Records (hip-hop label) artists Musical groups from Bergen County, New Jersey