© Copyright Harutyunyan 2024

sunfilm-logo
Home/Sylvester
Sylvester‌

Gender

Male

Birthday

calendar1947-10-06

Popularity

star1.1

Sylvester

Los Angeles, California, USA

Sylvester

Los Angeles, California, USA

Gender

Male

Birthday

calendar1947-10-06

Popularity

star1.1

Biography

Sylvester James Jr. (September 6, 1947 – December 16, 1988), known mononymously as Sylvester, was an American singer-songwriter. Primarily active in the genres of disco, rhythm and blues, and soul, he was known for his flamboyant and androgynous appearance, falsetto singing voice, and hit disco singles in the late 1970s and 1980s. Born in Watts, Los Angeles, to a middle-class African-American family, Sylvester developed a love of singing through the gospel choir of his Pentecostal church. Leaving the church after the congregation expressed disapproval of his homosexuality, he found friendship among a group of black cross-dressers and transgender women who called themselves the Disquotays. Moving to San Francisco in 1970 at the age of 22, Sylvester embraced the counterculture and joined the avant-garde drag troupe the Cockettes, producing solo segments of their shows which were heavily influenced by female blues and jazz singers like Billie Holiday and Josephine Baker. During the Cockettes' critically panned tour of New York City, Sylvester left them to pursue his career elsewhere. He came to front Sylvester and his Hot Band, a rock act that released two commercially unsuccessful albums on Blue Thumb Records in 1973 before disbanding. Focusing on a solo career, Sylvester signed a recording contract with Harvey Fuqua of Fantasy Records and obtained three new backing singers in the form of Martha Wash and Izora Rhodes – the "Two Tons O' Fun" – as well as Jeanie Tracy. His first solo album, Sylvester (1977), was a moderate success. This was followed with the acclaimed disco album Step II (1978), which spawned the singles "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" and "Dance (Disco Heat)", both of which were hits in the U.S. and Europe. Distancing himself from the disco genre, he recorded four more albums – including a live album – with Fantasy Records. After leaving this label, he signed to Megatone Records, the dance-oriented company founded by friend and collaborator Patrick Cowley, where he recorded four more albums, including the Cowley penned hit Hi-NRG track "Do Ya Wanna Funk." An activist who campaigned against the spread of HIV/AIDS, Sylvester died from complications arising from the virus in 1988, leaving all future royalties from his work to San Francisco-based HIV/AIDS charities. During the late 1970s, Sylvester gained the moniker of the "Queen of Disco" and during his life he attained particular recognition in San Francisco, where he was awarded the key to the city. In 2005, he was posthumously inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame, while his life has been recorded in a biography and made the subject of both a documentary and a musical. Description above from the Wikipedia article Sylvester (singer), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Movie Credits

The Cockettes

The Cockettes‌
star6.7
calendar 2002

Ruminations

Ruminations‌
star0.0
calendar 2018

Castro

Castro‌
star0.0
calendar 1986

Sylvester: Mighty Real

Sylvester: Mighty Real‌
star0.0
calendar 2002

Rhythm Divine - History of Disco Music

Rhythm Divine - History of Disco Music‌
star0.0
calendar 1992

Love Me Like You Should: The Brave and Bold Sylvester

Love Me Like You Should: The Brave and Bold Sylvester‌
star8.0
calendar 2020

The Rose

The Rose‌
star6.6
calendar 1979

Tricia's Wedding

Tricia's Wedding‌
star4.9
calendar 1971

Disco’s Revenge

Disco’s Revenge‌
star7.0
calendar 2024

Tv Credits

TV Story Superstar

TV Story Superstar‌
star0.0
calendar 2020