MICKEY & SYLVIA - WHAT WOULD I DO

WHAT WOULD I DO

MICKEY & SYLVIA

SONGWRITERS: JAY ROBINSON; LEONARD LEE & GIBSON SYLVIA

COUNTRY: U.S.A.

ALBUM: WHAT WOULD I DO/78RPM

LABEL: RCA VICTOR

GENRE: RHYTHM & BLUES

YEAR: 1958

Mickey & Sylvia was an American R&B duo, composed of Mickey Baker and Sylvia Vanderpool, who later became Sylvia Robinson. They were the first big seller for Groove Records.

Mickey was a music instructor and Sylvia one of his pupils. Baker was inspired to form the group by the success of Les Paul & Mary Ford. They had a Top 20 hit with "Love Is Strange" in 1956, which sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA. The duo eventually bought their own nightclub, established a publishing company, and formed their own record label. Although Mickey & Sylvia disbanded by the end of the 1950s, they continued to record together on an infrequent basis until 1965, when Mickey quit the music industry in the United States. A second studio recording of "Love Is Strange" in 1962 featured now-legendary drummer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie, who was 18, on his first paid session gig. "Love Is Strange" would be featured (in its 1956 version) in movies like Dirty Dancing, Badlands and Casino, and would be covered many times.

If you leave me,

What will I do?

Well I'd go to the river,

Jump right in,

Drown my tears,

'Cause I can't win,

Without you.

Baby, that's what I'd do.

If you leave me,

What will I do?

Well I'd climb the mountain's,

Highest peak,

Jump into a burning?

Without you.

Baby, that's what I'd do.

They say life's a bowl of cherries.

Hmmm, hmmm, good.

But what good are cherries,

Or any wild berries,

If love ain't what it should?

If you leave me,

What would I do?

Hang my head,

Down and cry.

End my life,

I'd die-die-die,

Without you.

Baby, that's what I'd do.

They say life's a bowl of cherries.

Hmmm, hmmm, good.

But what good are cherries,

Or any wild berries,

If love ain't what it should?

If you leave me,

What would I do?

Hang my head,

Down and cry.

End my life,

I'd die-die-die,

Without you.

Baby, that's what I'd do.

Yes, that's what I'd do.

If I didn't have you...