Henry Jackson aka Big Bank Hank of The Sugarhill Gang, lost his battle with cancer and passed away today at the age of 57. Hank enjoyed worldwide fame due to his success with the group, but interestingly enough, wasn’t a rapper(he was a pizza shop employee & manager for the Cold Crush Brothers) when discovered by record label executive Sylvia Robinson. In fact, the verse Hank is most famous for, was written by the legendary Grandmaster Caz, who assumed he would be credited & compensated at a later date. That never happened, but Hank was still a major part of the “machine” that brought Hip Hop to the mainstream.
Below are two performances of the game-changing Sugarhill Gang hit, “Rapper’s Delight.”
