R&B
Love certainly can be strange – and addictive, too, as the tell us about in the golden oldie “Love is Strange” by Mickey and Sylvia. The song was written and recorded first by Bo Diddley (although credited to his wife Ethel Smith because of a legal dispute with his recording company). It is based on a guitar riff by Jody Williams. The version by Mickey and Sylvia, which they recorded in 1956, differs from Diddley’s and is known for the conversation where Mickey asks, “How do you call your loverboy?” Sylvia coyly responds, “Come ‘ere, loverboy.” In 1957, the song peaked at #1 on the R&B Chart and #11 on the U.S. Pop Chart.
The duo were McHouston “Mickey” Baker and Sylvia Vanderpool Robinson. Baker was a guitarist and music teacher; she was one of his students. Baker is one of Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Guitarists of Al l Time. Robinson went on to become a record producer and record label executive. With her husband Joe Robinson, she formed All Platinum Record and later was founder and CEO of Sugar Hill Records.
