Sylvester James (September 6, 1947 in Los Angeles, California – December 16… Read Full Bio ↴Sylvester James (September 6, 1947 in Los Angeles, California – December 16, 1988 in San Francisco, California) was an American disco and soul musician, and a gay drag performer. Known for singing in falsetto (and occasionally a rich baritone voice), he is also considered one of the first Hi-NRG artists. His grandmother was the jazz singer Julia Morgan. He performed under his first name only, Sylvester.

Living in San Francisco in the 1960s, he performed in a musical production called Women of the Blues, then joined a short-lived group of transvestite performance artists called The Cockettes in the early 70's (famed transvestite Divine was a member of the group as well). Sylvester can be seen in The Cockettes' outrageous short film Tricia's Wedding, lampooning the wedding of President Nixon's daughter Tricia, and in an eponymous 2002 documentary about the group.

In 1972, Sylvester supplied two cuts to Lights Out San Francisco, an album complied by the KSAN radio station and released on the Blue Thumb label. In 1973, Sylvester & his Hot Band released two rock-oriented albums on Blue Thumb (their self-titled debut was also known as "Scratch My Flower," due to a gardenia-shaped scratch-and-sniff sticker adhered to the cover). Signed a solo act to Fantasy Records in 1977, and working with the production talents of legendary Motown producer Harvey Fuqua. Sylvester later alleged that Fuqua cheated him out of millions of dollars.

Sylvester soon met his frequent collaborator Patrick Cowley. Cowley's synthesizer and Sylvester's voice proved to be a magical combination, and pushed Sylvester's sound in an increasingly dance-oriented direction; his second solo album - Step II (1978) - unleashed two disco classics: "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)," and "Dance (Disco Heat)." By this time both his live shows and recordings also recognizably featured the back-up vocals of Two Tons O' Fun: future Weather Girls Martha Wash and Izora Rhodes. 1979 brought three Billboard awards and an appearance in the movie, The Rose, starring Bette Midler.

Moving to Megatone Records in 1982, Sylvester quickly landed a Hi-NRG classic with "Do You Wanna Funk." He was close friends with other Megatone artists Linda Imperial and Jeanie Tracy. Sylvester was also very close to the legendary Patti LaBelle.

Later pressure from the label to "butch up" his image would result in him attending meetings in full-on drag. A drag photo shoot, which he staged and presented to label heads as a gag (calling it his "new album cover") would later grace the cover of Immortal after Sylvester died; it was the label's way of paying tribute to his spirit. In 1985, one of his dreams came true as he was summoned to sing back-up for Aretha Franklin on her Who's Zoomin' Who comeback album. His sole Warner Bros. album was Mutual Attraction in 1986; a single from the album, "Someone Like You," featured original cover art by Keith Haring.

Sylvester died of complications from AIDS on December 16, 1988. His good friend Jeanie Tracy took care of Sylvester during his last days.

In the late 1990's, performance artist Djola Branner (co-founder of the highly influential Pomo Afro Homos troupe) created his acclaimed solo piece and CD Mighty Real around the life of Sylvester.

On September 20, 2004 Sylvester's anthem record, You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real), was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame. A year later, on September 19, 2005, Sylvester himself was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame for his achievement as an artist.

In 2005, a biography written by Joshua Gamson and titled The Fabulous Sylvester: The Legend, The music, The 70s in San Francisco was published.

2. Sylvester (Sylvester Larsen , born 1973) is a danish artist, who has released 4 albums. He is the son of Kim Larsen. See www.sylvesterlarsen.dk

Tipsong
Sylvester Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

01Dance (Disco Heat) [Louie Vega's Let's
Party a Lil Dub] by Sylvester – cover art
Dance (Disco Heat)
Sylvester
Add lyrics
02Tipsong by Sylvester – cover art
Tipsong
Sylvester

Add lyrics
03Doin' It For The Real Thing by Sylvester – cover art
Doin' It For The Real Thing
Sylvester
04Do You Wanna Funk?
Do You Wanna Funk? (Radio Edit)
Sylvester
Add lyrics
05Here Is My Love by Sylvester – cover art
Here Is My Love
Sylvester
Add lyrics
Sylvester
Add lyrics
07Dance (Disco Heat) [Louie Vega
Re-Touch Main Mix] by Sylvester – cover art
Dance (Disco Heat) [Louie Vega Re-Touch Main Mix]
Sylvester
Add lyrics
08Dance by Sylvester – cover art
Dance
Sylvester
09I Don't Wanna Think About It by Sylvester – cover art
I Don't Wanna Think About It
Sylvester
Add lyrics
10Blue Uganda by Marteria, Maeckes,
Lady Slyke, Bris Jean, Abramz & Sylvester – cover art
Blue Uganda
Marteria, Maeckes, Sylvester
11Ooo Baby Baby by Sylvester – cover art
Ooo Baby Baby
Sylvester
12Be With You by Sylvester – cover art
Be With You
Sylvester
Add lyrics
13Hard Up by Sylvester – cover art
Hard Up
Sylvester
Add lyrics
14Can't Stop Dancing by Sylvester – cover art
Can't Stop Dancing
Sylvester
15Lovin' Is Really My Game by Sylvester – cover art

Lovin' Is Really My Game
Sylvester

Overall Meaning

Tipsong by Sylvester is an energetic disco track that glorifies nightlife and partying. Here, Sylvester sings about a great time at a club where the DJ is playing fantastic music - "The D.J.'s playing some dynamite soul/ You don't know the name of it but you're rockin' the floor." He encourages everyone to let loose and dance their hearts out, and not worry about anything else - "Come baby, baby let's lose control/ We'll let the rhythm take us where we want to go." The singer also acknowledges how life can be tough, and everyone needs to unwind every now and then - "Life can weigh heavy on everyone's soul/ But you gotta party to make yourself whole."

Tipsong has a carefree and joyful vibe that captures the essence of disco music. Sylvester's voice is full of zest and enthusiasm, spurring the listener to hit the dancefloor. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of a night out in a club, where the music is the star of the show, and everyone is having a great time. It's a song that celebrates living in the moment and enjoying oneself, even with all the struggles of daily life.

Line by Line Meaning

I got a tip, baby, for your love
I have some advice on how to improve your love life

I'm the one that you should be thinkin' of
I am the person you should be focusing on for love and affection

I know you've got a lot of men on your mind
I am aware that you have many men vying for your attention

But I wanna show you, girl, my love is one of a kind
I want to demonstrate to you that my love is unique and incomparable

I'll give you everything that a man's supposed to
I will provide you with everything that is expected of a man in a relationship

If you give me your love, I'll make it up to you
If you choose to love me, I will repay you in kind

You can trust me with your heart, girl, I'll treat you right
I am a trustworthy person whom you can entrust with your heart and I will treat you accordingly

I won't hurt you, I won't fuss and fight
I will not cause you any emotional or physical harm, nor will we have any arguments or disagreements

I'll be gentle, I'll be lovin', I'll be kind
I will treat you with gentleness, love and kindness

'Cause I got a tip, baby, for your love
Because I have some valuable advice for improving your love life

Writer(s): Sylvester James, James W Wirrick

Contributed by Bailey J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS