Amid the showers of thanks and gratitude for our nation’s war veterans and those currently serving in the military, a single tweet crossed the wire remembering one of the founding members of the Sugarhill Gang. Henry “Big Bank Hank” Jackson, 57, passed away early Tuesday of complications from cancer.
Big Bank Hank, along with Wonder Mike and Master Gee, all of whom hailed from Englewood, New Jersey, were assembled by producer producer Sylvia Robinson. Their 1979 hit, “Rapper’s Delight,” was the first rap song to crack the Top 40. Jackson’s voice is probably the most recognizable in the classic 14-minute song, having been the one to vocalize such classic lyrics like, “Everybody go, ‘Ho-tel, mo-tel, Holiday Inn;’ You say if your girl starts actin’ up, then you take her friend…”
Perhaps the most entertaining part of the song involves Hank seducing Lois Lane.
[Warning: Lyrics may be NSFW]
Well, I was walking home late one afternoon
A reporter stopped me for an interview
She said she’s heard stories and she’s heard fables
That I’m vicious on the mic and the turntable
This young reporter I did adore,
So I rocked some vicious rhymes like I never did before
She said, ‘Damn, fly guy, I’m in love with you
The Casanova legend must have been true’
I said, ‘By the way, baby, what’s your name?’
Said, ‘I go by name of Lois Lane
And you could be my boyfriend, you surely can,
Just let me quit my boyfriend called Superman.’
I said, ‘He’s a fairy, I do suppose
Flyin’ through the air in pantyhose
He may be very sexy, or even cute,
But he looks like a sucker in a blue and red suit,’
I said, ‘You need a man man who’s got finesse
And his whole name across his chest
He may be able to fly all through the night,
But can he rock a party ’til the early light?
He can’t satisfy you with his little worm,
But I can bust you out with my super sperm!’
I go do it, I go do it, I go do it, do it, do it.
An’ I’m here an’ I’m there, I’m Big Bank Hank, I’m everywhere”
Few in the NBA are old enough to have been alive to enjoy “Rapper’s Delight” during the song’s heyday. However, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, 56, is.
He took time out of his day to remember Hank, sharing a Rolling Stone article and a line from another of Hank’s most notable lyrics.
Sugarhill Gang Rapper Big Bank Hank Dead at 57 RIP ..Did you ever go over a friends house to eat http://t.co/Z34EdXLSnK via @rollingstone
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) November 11, 2014
Have you ever went over a friends house to eat
And the food just ain’t no good?
The macaroni’s soggy, the peas are mushed,
And the chicken tastes like wood”
His bandmates, Wonder Mike and Master Gee, issued a statement to Rolling Stone, “So sad to hear about our brothers passing. The three of us created musical history together with the release of ‘Rapper’s Delight.’ We will always remember traveling the world together and rocking the house. Rest in peace, Big Bank.”
The sentiment is shared; rest in peace.
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Michael Brumagin writes the Tweet of the Day for SheridanHoops.com and is also a correspondent for BleacherReport.com. Follow @mbrumagin