Big Bank Hank
The booming voice on hip-hop's first pop smash, 'Rapper's Delight,' who helped introduce rap music to the entire world overnight.
1956–2014 (age 58)·American hip hop artist·Birthday: January 11·Baby Boomers
Biography
Big Bank Hank, born Henry Lee Jackson, was working in a pizza shop when his life changed forever. His connection to Sylvia Robinson of Sugar Hill Records led to an impromptu audition and a spot in the hastily assembled Sugarhill Gang. With his imposing frame and deep, commanding voice, Hank delivered the opening verse of 'Rapper's Delight' in 1979, a moment that cracked open the door for hip-hop on radio stations and in living rooms globally. The track's success was meteoric and complicated; it was later revealed Hank's lyrics were borrowed from his friend, Cold Crush Brothers MC Grandmaster Caz, a common practice in park jams that became a point of contention in the commercial era. Despite the controversy, Hank's performance was indelible. He remained with the group for subsequent records and later managed younger artists, forever etched as one of the three faces that launched a cultural revolution.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Big was born in 1956, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Big Was Born
The biggest hits of 1956
#1 Movie
The Ten Commandments
Best Picture
Around the World in 80 Days
#1 TV Show
I Love Lucy
Big's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1956Born
Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $10,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Heartbreak Hotel" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: Around the World in 80 Days
1961Started school
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,500Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Tossin' and Turnin'" — Bobby LewisBest Picture: West Side Story
1969Became a teenager
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1972Could drive
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1974Could vote
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1977Turned 21
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
1986Turned 30
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1996Turned 40
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
2006Turned 50
Twitter launches; Pluto reclassified as dwarf planet
Gas: $2.59/galHome: $174,700Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Bad Day" — Daniel PowterBest Picture: The Departed
2014Died at 58
Russia annexes Crimea; Ebola outbreak in West Africa
Gas: $3.37/galHome: $160,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Happy" — Pharrell WilliamsBest Picture: Birdman
Key Achievements
- Performed on 'Rapper's Delight,' the first hip-hop single to become a Top 40 pop hit, reaching No. 36 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1980.
- As a member of the Sugarhill Gang, helped sell over 8 million copies of 'Rapper's Delight' worldwide.
- The Sugarhill Gang's success led to the first-ever televised performance of a rap song on American Bandstand in 1981.
Did You Know?
He was working as a pizza shop manager and part-time bouncer when he was recruited for the Sugarhill Gang.
His stage name was inspired by his large stature and his fondness for expensive, flashy clothing and jewelry.
The lyrics for his famous verse were written on a pizza shop order pad by Grandmaster Caz, who was not initially credited or compensated.
“Throw your hands in the air, and party hardy like you just don't care.”
