Sylvester's beginnings:

In the history of dance music and the disco era, there have been many divas, but only one of them was male. Sylvester James is a singular figure in the history of dance music and GLBT history. Part of San Francisco’s diverse and cross pollinated music scene in the '70s, Sylvester worked occasionally with the avant-drag troupe The Cockettes, finding his own sound and some fame with his own Hot Band.


After Sylvester was signed:

After signing with Fantasy Records and bringing collaborators Harvey Fuqua (production/arranging) and Patrick Cowley (keyboards/arranging) and longtime background vocalists Martha Wash, Izora Armistead, and Jeanie Tracy, Sylvester embraced the sound of disco, crafting many albums worth of great material, as well as several pop crossover efforts. In the early '80s, working with Cowley, Sylvester helped to define the new Hi-NRG sound with the immortal “Do Ya Wanna Funk.” Though Sylvester died of complications from AIDS in 1988, his music and legacy endure to this day.

Genre:

Disco, Hi-NRG, Morning Music

Active:

1974-1988

Also known as:

Sylver and His Hot Band

Essential Listening for Sylvester fans:

Stars (1978, Fantasy)
Living Proof (1979, Fantasy)
Greatest Hits (1990, Unidisc)

Labels:

Fantasy, Honey, Megatone, Warner Bros., Unidisc

Further Information about Sylvester:

The Fabulous Sylvester: The Legend, The Music, The Seventies in San Francisco by Joshua Gamson

At the Movies:

Sylvester’s “(You Make Me Feel) Mighty Real” is featured prominently in 54 and the Sandra Bernhard film Without You I’m Nothing. His 1982 Hi-NRG anthem “Do Ya Wanna Funk” can be heard in both Longtime Companion and Trading Places. You can also see Sylvester playing a drag queen in the Bette Midler film The Rose.