The music of Sylvester

YASSSS! Love me some Sylvester!

Still makin us all feel mighty real

Someone Like You (1986) - the video features the great Miss Debbie Allen.

There was a brief Off Broadway musical about Sylvester about five years ago. They were trying to raise money for a Broadway transfer, but it never happened. The book needed some work, but I saw it at a very small venue, so I didn't think it would make it past a commercial Off Broadway run. I could see it going to a place like New World Stages or maybe Circle in the Square (for a Broadway run), but it wouldn't last long in a really big Broadway house.

A true icon. That voice just soars in all his songs, especially on You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)

I was too young (by a few years) to see or understand this the first time.

But I've watched this dozens of times over the last year or so with tears in my eyes. Mostly because of the audience, expressing their love and adoration.

But also because there's a moment where Dick Clark says "you're among friends" and.....MARY!

I wish I had seen this when I was 13, and known my tribe was out there somewhere.

Givin' it to it with the Weather Gyrls

It was New Year's Eve. I was 18 years old and had come to the city after being raised in a small, conservative ranching community. I dropped acid and went to see Sylvester's midnight show at the Palace Theater in San Francisco. Sylvester was wearing a dress that he said had been worn by Billie Holiday. He was utterly beautiful and charismatic. And sang flawlessly. I was blown away by the entire experience, and it wasn't merely the LSD. Wow.

He was awful

Menergy - with Patrick Cowley

Speaking of Billie Holiday, here’s a cover of “Lover Man” from the live album Living Proof.

R6 - I did see it when I was thirteen, and it reshaped my whole musical world - seriously. Was more into the Fantasy Records stuff than Megatone (though I still remember being late my first period class one morning Junior year because I caught Hard Up on MTV). If you have a chance, check out the early stuff on Blue Thumb -totally different sound but he's still a force of nature.

and I too have been waiting a hundred million years for some great queer black filmmaker to do his story justice.

He never got the recognition he deserved. I loved Call Me and Power of Love.

I saw Mighty Real at the Brava Theater in SF and I enjoyed it. I loved the shimmery beaded church choir gowns the Weather Girls wore in early scenes.

[quote]Sylvester had a longtime lover, an architect named Rick Cranmer, who he met in 1984. Cranmer died in 1987 of AIDS

Longtime? Your math seems off.

Would Sylvester be considered trans now?

He was far more than a singer, even more than an icon. Seeing him on American Bandstand in the 1970s with his unapologetically gay self was everything. He paved the way for so many....RIP

R15 Ha, that's what I thought. I guess for the wild 70s and 80s three years was "long time." Or maybe it was just the "longtime companion" moniker for any "gay partner" back in the day. Newspaper printed eulogies - "Mr. Jones is survived by his brother, three nieces, and his longtime companion Wilbur Milfred. Services are at McKinley-Crease Funeral home."

[quote] Would Sylvester be considered trans now?

I would say maybe gender fluid or non-binary.

By rejecting labels, millennials actually create them. Sylvester would just consider himself GAY.

[quote] Sylvester would just consider himself GAY.

Sylvester would just consider himself fabulous!

R8 that's sounds like the experience of a lifetime .. would love to hear more about it!

I love that Sylvester was just so uncompromising. Get it girl!

Don't think Sylvester would have considered himself trans, at least not by definition of time. Gender fluid probably would be better suited, but don't think that was a thing back in 1970's and 1980's. I mean Sylvester never went on about changing his sex, taking hormones or whatever....

That being said Sylvester had and still has a huge influence on music. He's been copied, studied, influenced and so on many that followed.

Jimmy Somerville is case in point. His sound be it with Bronsky Beat, Communards, or solo was (or is) right from Sylvester.

Living Proof is one of the best live albums of all time, in my opinion. It captures disco at its peak and yet Sylvester treats you to more than just disco - jazz, gospel, R&B. There's so much joy throughout the performance and you can feel the sex oozing through the audience.

They really need to do a biopic of Sylvester.

I got the recognition he deserved.