The legacy of Sugar Hill Records extends more than a decade before founder Sylvia Robinson became enchanted with the popular "talking music" that she decided to record and distribute in 1979. Robinson, previously known as Sylvia Vanderpool, was a huge star in her own right, long before she became a maker of stars. Under the stage name "Little Sylvia," she recorded for the Savoy and Jubilee labels as early as 1951, scoring hits such as "Little Boy" and "A Million Tears." By the mid 1950s, she had formed a duo with her former guitar instructor Mickey Baker and scored the hit "Love Is Strange," which topped the U.S. R&B chart and peaked at number 11 on the U.S. Pop chart. The song has been remade dozens of times and appeared in the 1987 film Dirty Dancing and on its soundtrack. In 2004, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for its influence as a rock and roll single.

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