Chip Shearin 1977 Fender Precision Bass Guitar

The Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight,” released in September 1979 and produced by Sylvia Robinson, was hip hop’s first mainstream hit, reaching Number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100. During the creation of this record, producer and musician Chip Shearin used this bass guitar in a recording session, where he played the bass line from Chic’s “Good Times” for fifteen minutes straight. The results of those sessions were infamously sampled to create the backing track of “Rapper’s Delight.” The Sugarhill Gang recorded the vocals for “Rapper’s Delight” in a single take while they were on a break from work – the song introduced hip hop to a global audience.