Posted on 12/11/2015 4:08:16 PM PST by o_1_2_3__
Girls don't play trumpet, they told her.
Cynthia Robinson had an answer to that — one that would later resonate in the hit song she recorded with Sly and the Family Stone: "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again)."
At a time when black women were relegated to roles as backup singers...
Robinson died of cancer Nov. 23 in Carmichael, Calif. She was 71.
Robinson, born Jan. 12, 1944, in Sacramento, was the daughter of LaVern Robinson, a concert pianist, and William Robinson, a military man.
Cynthia began playing in the school band as a young girl. She tried various instruments. Then she heard someone playing the trumpet and knew she had to learn.
"She thought it was amazing," Cook said.
Robinson later followed up with Stone in San Francisco, where he was working as a disc jockey, and the two became a couple. In 1967, they became founding members of what would become a seven-member band.
She didn't think she could sing. But Stone urged her to. Her untamed shout became part of the band's style. It was typical of Stone, who accepted neither racial, gender nor musical barriers.
"He was into group music. And if you were a good musician and could get along with the group, you could play," Cook said.
After it split in the mid-1970s, Robinson toured with Prince, played with former Sly bassist Larry Graham's Grand Central Station and, until recently, toured as part of the Family Stone, which continues to perform.
Robinson's daughters grew up in a home where "there was always music playing," Cook said.
Robinson is survived by Cook and daughter Sylvyette Phunne Stewart — whose father is Sly Stone — and by five granddaughters, one grandson and six great-grandchildren.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Yea, no kidding, I thought the article was about the lady.
I’m a big fan of Sly & the Family.
Sly didn’t care about race, gender - any of that crap. Just shut up and play!
Indeed. Those were good times. The energy a pure fun of that music shines decades later.
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