Search - Mickey & Sylvia :: Love Is Strange

2 Discs ... 60 Songs ... 8 Charted Hits ... One Missing ...

08/06/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Let's see now, this quirky duo, together since 1955, had exactly eight charted songs from 1956 to 1961, only one of which made the Billboard Pop Top 40, and Bear Family sees fit to put out a DOUBLE CD set with 60 selections (some of which are different takes of the same song), and they leave out Lovedrops (the flip of Baby, You're So Fine) from the Willow sessions, even though it made the lower regions of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1961.



Born McHouston Baker on October 15, 1925 in Lexington, Kentucky, and given the nickname Mickey, he became an accomplished guitarist and, at the age of 30, met Sylvia Vanderpool (born March 6, 1936 in New York City) in her home town when she came to him for guitar lessons. Prior to that she had done some singing in 1950 with the Hot Lips Page band under the billing Little Sylvia.



After forming a team they cut several sides for Groove before hitting the big time with the quaint and catchy Love Is Strange (b/w I'm Going Home). Rising to # 1 R&B and # 11 Billboard Top 100 in February 1957, it featured, on guitar, not Mickey as might be expected, but Sylvia. A couple of months later the follow-up There Oughta Be A Law b/w Dearest became a double-sided hit, with the A-side peaking at # 8 R&B and # 47 Top 100 and the flip at # 85 Top 100 in April.



Their next charter, coming in June 1958, was Bewildered, reaching # 57 Top 100 b/w Rock And Stroll Room. After that four years would pass before scoring again with What Would I Do? b/w This Is My Story - the A-side going to # 46 Hot 100 in February and the flip to # 100 Hot 100 in January.



For their final hit they took a song that had just finished charting in the early part of 1961 (Joe & Ann's Gee Baby - # 14 R&B and # 108 Hot 100) - changed the title to Baby You're So Fine, and took it to # 27 R&B and # 52 Hot 100 in September. The flipside, the missing Lovedrops, also charted at # 97 Hoy 100.



One good 20 selection CD with ALL their charted songs and their flipsides plus a few selected items such as Se De Boom Run Run (listen to that and tell me there's no connection to Da Doo Ron Ron by The Crystals in 1963), AND at a reasonable price would suffice just nicely thanks.



Sylvia later emerged as a solo artist in 1973 with husband Joe Robinson's Vibration label, taking Pillow Talk to # 1 R&B and # 3 Hot 100, and then going on to post eight more R&B hits, three of which crossed over to the Hot 100. Their son Joey was the lead of West Street Mob which had five R&B hits in the 1980s, two of which also made the Hot 100."