Wonder Mike (born April 30, 1957) – 8th Wonder (1980)
Co-written by Commodores bassist Ronald LaPread, the super funky title track from the Sugarhill Gang's second LP hit #15 R&B and had one of the first-ever rap videos.
Watch full video on Twitter.
Michael “Wonder Mike” Wright is one of the original members of the Sugarhill Gang, who were the first hip hop group to score a hit single when their iconic “Rapper’s Delight” (1979) went Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Michael Wright was born and raised in Englewood, New Jersey. He became part of the Sugarhill Gang when Sugar Hill Records owner Sylvia Robinson assembled a group to cash in on the new hip hop trend she had heard about from her son. While eating at Crispy Crust Pizza in Englewood, she heard the store’s 24-year old manager Henry “Big Bank Hank” Jackson rapping some material by the Cold Crush Brothers, a local group he was managing. On the spot, Robinson asked Jackson to join the new group she was forming. The other members she recruited were 22 year-old Wright and 17 year-old Guy “Master Gee” O'Brien.
According to Grandmaster Caz of the Cold Crush Brothers, Jackson used Caz’ rhymes for Jackson’s verses on “Rapper’s Delight,” only asking him for permission after the record was made. The single came together after Blondie and Chic were opening for The Clash at the Palladium in New York City from September 20-21, 1979. When Chic played their smash disco hit “Good Times,” rapper Fab Five Freddy and the three members of the recently formed Sugarhill Gang jumped onstage with them and started freestyling.
“Rapper’s Delight” was recorded within the next two weeks, using the instrumental version of “Good Times” as its backing track, which resulted in Chic’s Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards threatening legal action and subsequently being credited as co-writers. It became a #4 R&B hit, peaked at #36 on the Billboard Hot 100 on January 12, 1980, and was included on the group’s self-titled debut album.
The track blew up even bigger internationally, going to #1 on the pop charts in Canada, Spain, and the Netherlands, #2 in France and Sweden, #3 in the UK, West Germany, and South Africa, and Top 5 in most of the rest of Europe. The 12” single sold an estimated 5 million copies worldwide and was unquestioningly the first record to expose hip hop to a global audience.
Like their debut LP, the Sugarhill Gang’s second album 8th Wonder (1981) was co-produced by Sylvia Robinson and her husband Joe. Wright co-wrote two tracks, one of which was “Apache (Jump On It),” their second biggest hit after “Rapper’s Delight,” reaching #13 R&B and #53 pop. Also featured on 8th Wonder was the opening cut “Funk Box,” a full-fledged funk jam. It was co-written by bassist Doug Wimbish who was part of the group’s backing band.
The album’s masterpiece was its very funky title track “8th Wonder.” It was co-written by Cheryl Cook of The Sequence (aka “Cheryl the Pearl”) and Commodores bassist Ronald LaPread. To promote the single, the group shot one of the very first rap videos, which like the album’s cover art transported them back in time to ancient Egypt.
#hiphop #funk #SugarhillGang #WonderMike