“Sylvester defied all labeling,” said longtime gay activist Cleve Jones. “He was nonetheless an out, proud and vivid gay person.”
Listening to Sylvester’s recordings makes it easy to see why his music was so popular with gay and straight audiences alike. His voice, a powerful falsetto, was filled with raw emotion. When Sylvester sang, he transcended the disco genre. He could have sung anything – in his early days he attracted attention for his stunning vocal stylings on cover performances taken from the songbooks of jazz greats Billie Holiday and Etta James, among others.
In the 1970s, long before being gay was broadly acceptable in mainstream American society, Sylvester was a pop/disco superstar who came to national prominence. In gay culture of that era, disco hits like “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” and “Dance (Disco Heat)” were anthems.
Born Sylvester James Jr. in 1947 in Los Angeles, Sylvester created music that underscored the joy many felt for their newly found freedoms, at least in this city. Along with Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in the country, he helped make the Castro a beacon of hope.
– Steve Arnold
Following is Lauren Tabak and Barry Walters’ 2020 mini-documentary on the “brave and bold” Sylvester. Enjoy!
Exploring the Meaning and History of “Two-Spirit”
See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Remembering Little Richard, 1932-2020
• “Creative Outsider, Determined Innovator”: Remembering Berto Pasuka
• Dusty Springfield: Queer Icon
• Remembering Dusty Springfield’s “Daring” 1979 Gay-Affirming Song
• Remembering Prince, “Fabulous Freak, Defiant Outsider, Dark Dandy” – 1958-2016
• David Bowie: Queer Messiah
• Durrand Bernarr, “a Genre-Bending Talent”
• Dyllón Burnside: “For Me, the Term Queer Just Opens Up Space”
• Lil Nas X, the Latest Face of Pop’s Gay Sexual Revolution
• In a Historic First, Country Music’s Latest Star Is a Queer Black Man
• Nakhane Touré’s “Tortured Journey to Clarity”
• Nakhane’s Hymn to Freedom
• Rahsaan Patterson: Standing Within His True Light
• Ocean Trip
• Adam Lamert Comes Out: It Shouldn’t Matter. Except it Does
• Sam Sparro
• Play It Again, Sam
• Rules and Regulations – Rufus Style
• Darren Hayes, Coming Out . . . Oh, and Time Travel
• The Latest from Darren Hayes
• Remembering Stephen Gately, Gay Pop Pioneer
• No Matter What
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