Super Funky Cocktail

Sugarhill Gang (Big Bank Hank on the left)

It started somewhere in the late sixties, but especially in the early seventies jazz artists began to cross over to funk and soul music. Well known jazz musicians like Chet Baker, Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones and Miles Davis started to experiment with modern dance influences. Jazz purists were horrified, but these crossovers resulted in some very interesting pieces of music.

'Passion play' by Sugarhill Gang is my tribute to Henry Jackson aka Big Bank Hank. He died on the 11th of November, aged 57. He appeared on the group’s ‘Rapper’s Delight’, the 1979 single that introduced hip hop to a worldwide audience (although it was not the first hip hop single). When soul singer and label owner Sylvia Robinson of Sugar Hill Records wanted to put together a rap crew, she asked Jackson to join the Sugarhill Gang. His part in 'Rapper's Delight' was probably the most significant one:

Check it out, I'm the C A S N the O V A
And the rest is F L Y
Ya see I go by the code of the doctor of the mix
And these reasons I'll tell ya why

Ya see I'm six foot one and I'm tons of fun
And I dress to a 'T'
Ya see I got more clothes
Than Muhammad Ali and I dress so viciously

I got bodyguards, I got two big cars
That definitely ain't the wack
I got a Lincoln' continental and a sunroof Cadillac
So after school, I take a dip in the pool

Which really is on the wall
I got a color TV so I can see
The Knicks play basketball