Sylvia - Pillow Talk 1973

mellow disco-soul 1973

Sylvia Robinson (born Sylvia Vanderpool, March 6, 1936, New York) is a singer, musician, music producer, and record label executive, most notably known for her work as founder/CEO of the seminal hip hop label Sugar Hill Records. She is credited as the driving force behind two landmark singles in the genre: "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five and "Rapper's Delight" by the Sugarhill Gang, the latter being the world's first rap record to be released by a hip hop act.

"Pillow Talk"

As a solo performer and billed as Sylvia (not to be confused with the country singer of the same name) she recorded and released the single "Pillow Talk" on the Vibration label in 1973. She had originally hoped "Pillow Talk" would be recorded by Al Green. But he turned it down, because it was too risqué, and against his religion. The drums on the recorded version seem to have been influenced by the productions of Willie Mitchell for Green.

"Pillow Talk" reached number one for two weeks on the R&B chart and number three on the pop chart, and is an early example of prototypical disco music. It sold over two million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in May 1973. The vocals are replete with moaning and heavy breathing, predating Donna Summer's orgasmic moans on "Love to Love You Baby". The drumming rhythm would reappear in 1985 on Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill", then again in 1987 on Fleetwood Mac's "Big Love".

The song returned to prominence by featuring on the soundtrack of the movie 54.