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
happiness
Sylvester Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You got life, you're inspiration
I love the way that you do
Your heart's so freely
You're a sweet sensation
You're my invitation to happiness
You're full of sweet surprises happiness
You fill my heart desire
And over and over again
Keep that goodness coming
I love the way you watch the world
Through kind eyes
That's why you're never sad, sad
Things don't bother you like dos, don'ts and whys
You hold on to the good and you let the bad go by
Yeah, yeah
Happiness
I want your love forever
Happiness
Give me your love forever
More, more, more and more
And over and over again
Keep that goodness coming
Happiness
Give me your love forever
Happiness
Say you'll leave me never
More, more, more and more
And over and over again
Keep that goodness coming
Keep it coming, keep it coming
Keep it coming, coming
Keep it coming, keep it coming
Keep it, keep it coming
The lyrics to the song "Happiness" by Sylvester are all about the singer's exaltation of his partner. The song highlights the way in which he admires the person he is singing to, which is clear from the very beginning: "I love the way you love to live / You got life, you're inspiration." This person inspires the singer and brings joy to his life, as seen in the chorus where the singer exclaims, "You're my invitation to happiness / You're full of sweet surprises happiness."
The lyrics also touch upon how the person he is singing to approaches life with a positive attitude, demonstrated in the line "Things don't bother you like dos, don'ts, and whys." This positive attitude is something the singer finds attractive in this person and continues to augment his happiness. The song is not just about love, but it's also about appreciating the positive aspects of life, about feeling happy and staying positive, which is a common theme in Sylvester’s music.
Overall, the song "Happiness" is an upbeat celebration of the good in life, which comes with the love and inspiration of a good-hearted person. The song's primary message is that just by being positive, kind and putting goodness out into the world, one can be a source of happiness and inspiration for others.
Line by Line Meaning
I love the way you love to live
I love the way you enjoy life
You got life, you're inspiration
You have so much energy and you inspire me
I love the way that you do
I love the way you do things
Your heart's so freely
You have a kind and generous heart
You're a sweet sensation
You make me feel so good
You're my invitation to happiness
You make me happy, just being with you
You're full of sweet surprises happiness
You bring so much joy and surprise into my life
You fill my heart desire
You complete me
More, more, more and more
I want more of you
And over and over again
I want it to never end
Keep that goodness coming
Never stop making me happy
I love the way you watch the world
I love how you view the world
Through kind eyes
You see things in a positive light
That's why you're never sad, sad
You are always happy
Things don't bother you like dos, don'ts and whys
You don't get bogged down by rules and regulations
You hold on to the good and you let the bad go by
You focus on the good things in life and don't dwell on the bad
Yeah, yeah
Happiness
Happiness is what you bring me
I want your love forever
I want to be with you forever
Give me your love forever
Please never leave me
Keep it coming, keep it coming
Keep the love coming
Keep it, keep it coming
Please don't ever stop
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ALLEN TOUSSAINT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
WinGate Mose
No one could or can curl a note like Sylvester. There will never be another and the world is much duller without him. RIP Sylvester and Thank You for all the 🎶 Music.
Thierry Alexandre
One of the most passionate, powerful and varied live album to have been recorded that decade in my humble opinion. A fascinating odyssey. Thank you Universe for having made such creativity and beauty possible.
Daniele innocenteventi
i loved every second of this ashtonishing album, with the superb Martha & Izora at their absolute best and Patrick still sitting there, where he was supposed to stay for a long time was it not for that goddamn disease..
Tnx for posting.
Lucius Johnson
Great voices Sylvester,izora anr martha