Sylvester James Jr. September 6, β December 16, , known simply 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 s and s.
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 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 such as Billie Holiday and Josephine Baker. He came to front Sylvester and his Hot Band, a rock act that released two commercially unsuccessful albums on Blue Thumb Records in before disbanding.
His first solo album, Sylvester , was a moderate success. Distancing himself from the disco genre, he recorded four more albums β including a live album β 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 ". During the late s, Sylvester gained the nickname 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.
Let's just say that I came from an upper-middle class Black bourgeois family in Los Angeles, and that I left a boring nine-to-five job to move to San Francisco. Better yet, let's say I was the first test tube baby.
