Hip-hop hits the mainstream: The Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" (1979)
7 songs that mattered in the '70s - CNN
"Now what you hear is not a test, I'm rapping to the beat/And me, the groove and my friends are gonna try to move your feet"
The '70s were tough on cities. Unemployment and recession decimated communities. Crime and pollution were on the rise. That's the picture of inner-city life most Americans saw on the six o'clock news.
On the streets, there was a different story to tell, a story of vitality and joy. That tale got its 14:45 turn on the mic with the release of "Rapper's Delight."
The Sugarhill Gang -- "Wonder Mike" Wright, Henry "Big Bank Hank" Jackson, and Guy "Master Gee" O'Brien -- didn't know each other before recording. They were brought together for a collaboration meant to save the Sugar Hill recording studio from bankruptcy.
The result was hip-hop's first crossover success and the solidification of a cultural phenomenon on vinyl.