Englewood Makes History

Browse Items (129 total)

  • Joseph "Joey" Robinson Jr. was the son of Sylvia and Joseph Robinson. He was involved with Sugarhill Records, his parent's record label. In 1979, he helped his mother scout the three musicians who later formed the Sugarhill Gang. He also performed with the Sugarhill Gang in 1985…
    Tags

  • Rock N' Gee is a hip-hop and rap music group. It was founded by friends Reggie "Rock" Passley Jr. and John "Uncle Boogie" Grant in the late 1980s. They grew up in Englewood and attended Dwight Morrow High School. Eventually, Shawn Cheatham who grew up in Teaneck joined the…
    Tags

  • Edgar Sampson (1907–1973) was an influential American jazz composer, arranger, saxophonist, and violinist whose work helped shape the sound of the swing era. Born in New York City, he gained recognition in the early 1930s as a member of Chick Webb’s orchestra, where he composed…

  • Ronnie Scruggs was one of the key figures linking Englewood’s rich musical tradition to the rise of New Jack Swing. Born in 1947, Scruggs first gained recognition as a member of the soul-rock group the Deltas, which won the famed Apollo Amateur Night competition in 1970, just…

  • Pete Seeger (1919–2014) was one of America’s most influential folk musicians, songwriters, and social activists. Over a career spanning more than seven decades, he used music as a tool for social change, inspiring generations with his banjo, his clear voice, and his belief in…

  • Silbermann, Kurt was a spiritual leader, musician, and educator. He trained in Germany before the school he was attending was closed on Kristallnacht or "The Night of Broken Glass." He fled with his parents to New York in 1939. He graduated from the Hebrew Union School of Sacred…
    Tags ,

  • Raina Simone is a rapper, singer, songwriter, and producer whose work bridges classic hip hop traditions with a contemporary Generation Z voice. Raised between Englewood and New York City, Raina grew up immersed in hip hop history, music theory, and lyrical craftsmanship, shaped…

  • Larry "Chief" Singletary was a musician. He was also a founding member of the R&B group Today. He grew up in Englewood with the other members of the group.
    Tags

  • Tommy Smalls was a pioneering radio personality, entrepreneur, and cultural impresario whose influence extended across radio, nightlife, and Black popular culture in mid-20th-century New York and New Jersey. Best known on air as “Dr. Jive,” Smalls developed a fast-paced,…

  • Earl Clarence “Buster” Smith was a jazz drummer whose steady, expressive playing connected him to both mainstream and avant-garde currents in postwar American music. Born on March 20, 1932, in Englewood, New Jersey, Smith spent much of his life rooted in the same community where…
Output Formats

atom, dcmes-xml, json, omeka-xml, rss2