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...