EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. — At North Carolina A&T State University’s “Greatest Homecoming on Earth,” history and music will collide. Powerhouse vocalist Sybil Lynch, known to millions simply as Sybil, is returning to her HBCU — not just as a legendary voice, but as grand marshal of the 2025 Homecoming Parade.
Sybil’s 1989 hit “Don’t Make Me Over” isn’t just a song. It’s a cookout classic, the kind that makes uncles break into the electric slide and cousins grab plates before the grill shuts down.
For me, this one hits a little different. Sybil isn’t just a voice from the cookout — she’s family, my big cousin to be exact. I grew up dancing in the living room, watching the “Don’t Make Me Over” video on TV, as if I were one of the dancers in the video myself.
A Voice That Traveled the World — And Never Forgot Home
Born in Paterson, New Jersey, Sybil graduated from N.C. A&T in 1985. Not long after, she became a transatlantic star. Her rich, emotional voice powered R&B and pop hits through the late ’80s and early ’90s…